Current Rap Culture... Distructive?

Originally posted by jozuph
pff there quite some, like the new atmosphere, aesop rock, check some anticon label releases or rhyme sayers entertainment releases..theres a lott of good stuff, just stay away from the guntotin # talking commercial #ttt

damn thats the exact lineup i was going to mention and in that order!!!
one thing that really anoys me is that most people only see one side of the whole rap thing. rap and hip hop are completely diff but most people wouldnt know that.
basically when i see things like this i see people that like to point fingers, because its not their thing. but in all reallity it dosent matter what you think or anybody for that matter. these rappers are still richer than you and will probably stay that way.
not only that but when most of these rappers are raised around these type of things thats all they can relate to. if you were to listen to atmosphere or listen to someone like wu tang you can tell where each grew up because of what they relate to.
and on top of this you have the general public that cant make a decision of their own and they love this garbage. not to point out the one who started this post but in general posts like this show you how little people really know about any one thing. i dont think i would start a topic by saying " i listen to rock but theres some things i dont like" not every one is going to relate to me, and on that note the question is who is the authority on whats good? or bad? not me, not you. live and let live.
*if i came off as mean i didnt mean it i had to sit through a 5th grade concert and hated every ,minute of it and im in a bad mood.

Hmmm. Interesting. Every musical genre has its ups and downs. However, I don't think this was aimed at underground hiphop, or even old school rap. I think this thread was directed at popular rap nowadays, which seems to be angry, lewd, and otherwise seemngly destructive. As someone who listens to metal, it is empty and materialistic even to me. THAT seems to eb the major topic of this thread. Thoughts on these forms of rap?

DE

well since you put it that way, yes this "gangster rap" in which you speak of is trash. it holds no real value or quality to it. it sells so people buy it. but like in any music or any type of media there is the good and the bad, like you said. its a shame that this type of rap is how everybody sees the whole hip hop culture.
the thing is that certain forms of rap are done for money, this being the gangster rap. while they speak of being hip hop they are the farthest thing from it. they are slowly helping it rot.
but hip hop done for love takes on a whole new sound and meaning. there is a line id like to quote from atmosphere which fits this topic perfectly, "ill never rhyme about guns, selling drugs or murder, sooner see a future of flipping burgers" (sorry if i butchered it).
damn here i go again defending underground hip hop when the focus is gangster rap. its just i hate to see opinions formed about one of the things i love because of a few ignorant people who are only in it for the money and fame.

People always envy those who are the most famous and are selling the most songs. It very often does not matter if their music is good. It's just that they're at the top that people envy them and try to break them down. That's a reason why lots of people like the underground. Even if someone who's at the top is actually better than the one who's still in the underground, people just won't admit it.

so what your saying is that those that are underground are just jealous?

Originally posted by DeusEx
I think this thread was directed at popular rap nowadays, which seems to be angry, lewd, and otherwise seemngly destructive.

All mainstream rap isn't bad either. I'm not a person that is so close-minded to listen to strickly underground or mainstream. I like to blend the two together. Most people think they are two completely different things, in a way they are, but in reality they aren't. It's just the fact that the majority of mainstream is filled with music to make money and nothing more. There are some really good artist that are mainstream. Common Sense is undeniably one of the best all around artist to ever grace hip hop. Jay Z was a great artist, mostly on the Reasonable Doubt album and The Black Album. Big L(With out a doubt the best freestyler ever),Wu tang, JMT, ATCQ, Outcast, Gangstarr, Eminem (Yes, he is a great artist), Nas, Loyd Banks, and I could go on and on, but they are some of the greatest artist of their generation.

To go back a few years, KRS One, Rakim, De La Soul, Tupac, just to name a few.

Originally posted by JStormz

Originally posted by DeusEx
I think this thread was directed at popular rap nowadays, which seems to be angry, lewd, and otherwise seemngly destructive.

All mainstream rap isn't bad either. I'm not a person that is so close-minded to listen to strickly underground or mainstream. I like to blend the two together. Most people think they are two completely different things, in a way they are, but in reality they aren't. It's just the fact that the majority of mainstream is filled with music to make money and nothing more. There are some really good artist that are mainstream. Common Sense is undeniably one of the best all around artist to ever grace hip hop. Jay Z was a great artist, mostly on the Reasonable Doubt album and The Black Album. Big L(With out a doubt the best freestyler ever),Wu tang, JMT, ATCQ, Outcast, Gangstarr, Eminem (Yes, he is a great artist), Nas, Loyd Banks, and I could go on and on, but they are some of the greatest artist of their generation.

To go back a few years, KRS One, Rakim, De La Soul, Tupac, just to name a few.

The question is not talent- yes, some mainstream rappers do have talent- but rather content. Is the content a positive influence or a negative influence?

Just imagine that someone likes the culture already for some times, used to do graffity, djing and then people get to understand that with the music belonging to the culture one can earn mad money.. When that happened al of a sudden hiphop became mighty large, not only the music but all parts of the culture were al of a sudden selling objects, and then people who are not in it for the love of it but only for the money are starting to take over..because the big public who doesnt know what its all about thinks that this is it..This is Hiphop..but then, when u listen more carefull you can hear people screaming in the background..hard to hear because them bigmouths overshout em, but what they say is more like it really is, and they also try to let the music evolve, dont use the same samples over and over, dont say the same rhyme 100 times..they in it for theyre love for the music, love for the culture..i dont think you can call em JEALLOUS, then angry..angry because the money, like always, is destroying a lovely culture...

Its not because fat joe said, jeallous ones envy...they do, its more that he said it because he lost it..

Like this quote bout Atmosphere-The group reportedly turned down several major label deals, opting to release "Seven's'' on indie punk label Epitaph. But with stunning tracks such as "Reflections'' and "Always Coming Back Home to You,'' it won't be long before the rest of the world breathes in the Atmosphere..in the end it was released on Rhymesayers/fatbeats..

Like always, majors control the public, mtv shows what you have to listen too and jiggy jiggy boom-boom just sells better then some guys saying serious rhymes..
Dont get me wrong, also in mainstream rap there are some good ones..very good ones indeed, its just that most are not..but then, if people listen to your music you didnt do it so bad, so also respect to all sell-outs..i just dont like it..

They love the taste of blood, now i dont know what that means but i know that i mean it. Maybe there is evil as they see me, or maybe i only look out the window when its scenic. Atmosphere finally made good record, yeah right, that sjit almost sound convincing. The last time i felt as sick and contradictive as this was the last time we played a show in cinci. Git real they tell me, if only they knew how real this life really gets. They would stop acting like a silly bTch, they would respect the c0k wheter or not they believed in it....atmosphere-trying to find a balance..

-iam not insane, in fact iam kinda rational, when i be asking yo where did al the passion go.....




[Edited on 20-12-2003 by jozuph]

i work with troubled children, if you think music in general cannot be a bad influence on kids your nuts, and just because a cd has a label on it at the store when you buy it, the song has no label on it when you hear it on the radio. i perfect example of this would be the song it wasn't me by shaggy? radio played the crap out of that song and what was it talking about? thankfully my children have a filter...ME, but what about all the other children who have parents who don't care what there kids listen to? any music can be a bad influence, and thats where good parents come into the picture, to guide their children, but as i have already said there are millions on kids running around that think eminem is a god or something because there parents suck. don't get me started on mtv

Originally posted by ihatethisplace
so what your saying is that those that are underground are just jealous?

No.

I'm just saying what JStormz is saying. Mainstream rap isn't always bad like the other posters on this thread portray.

Another example, Bone Thugz'n Harmony: Gangsta Rap, but mixed with philosophy, poetry and totally different rapping styles.
Tupac Shakur: Gangsta rap, but mixed with coping with the life of himself and of those around him, showing love and respect for his mother, using simbolism, philosophy and also poetry.

Any rap, BUT "gangster rap". I can't stand that non-sence.