Hip Hop Argument...

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G-French

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Hey man you are right about that. I went to your site you have some good songs on there. So how long long have you been making music? Are part of a group? Sorry about a the questions but I am new to the site just trying to see what's up with everyone. You never know who may be able to help you get better with your music.
 

Shonsteez

Gurpologist
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 33
Man!, Yo i hate to say it EX-ONE - But ive been preachin this ever since i came to illmuzk!...Its really like "What can u do?" tho, ya kno!?....U cant change peoples opinions, ive learned this myself from trial and error....Basically, some people just dont wanna open theyre minds a little or ALOT for that matter, and realize hiphop is way bigger than theyre small yet distorted interpretation....Hiphop will keep goin and still be here in tha end tho after those cats are gone cuz its its own energy you know what im sayin?....Hiphop; bluntly - is LIFE translated though art....that aint gonna change, but maybe tha cats that think they got it all figured out will do theyre homework one day and realize MTV and BET aint tha essance of what HIPHOP really is?

StressWon said:
what I think is "wack" is:

1) The majority of these rappers don't even write they're own rhymes.

2) Alotta rappers havnt really seen these things.

3)As an MC myself, I grew up around alotta the same shit, did "things" I'm not proud of, and caught cases in real life,,,BUT I never rgyme about that because who cares.

4)Bottom line is these cats are rhymin all this bullshit just to get paid! I mean we all wanna get paid, but at what cost?

I fogot to add: I totally agree with this list Stress - Real good points here man,...it bothers me too about that shit cuz thats a bullshit way to stay in tha game...


-steez
 

Cold Truth

IllMuzik Moderator
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
i dont know about this whole bambata/herc/flash thing, getting all the "official" pioneers together and having them voice an opinion on whats "real" or whats "fake". they laid the foundation, and they were pioneers. that doesnt make their views any more valid than the next mans. if we held to those standards as what "real" hip hop was, then we might as well go back to tight lee pants and dangling earings while we are at it.

does RJD2 sound anything like those guys? what about the RZA? does COMMON spit like flash? can you even hear an honest influence, outside of the boom-bap sound?

do you honestly believe that we should just sit here make hip hop the way it was made in the 80's? should we use the simple and sometimes corny rhyme schemes over every record? bambatta's brand of hip hop was really electric funk if you want to get right down to it. we should keep our music sounding like that, right?

whatever happened to the natural progression of an art form? things grow and progress.

i dont like lil flip. i dont like lil john. you wont find me online trying desperately to get tickets for the next lil wayne show in california. but to say that these guys arent a part of hip hop... is a stretch. i dont like what they do. i do not really appreciate what crunk or puffies pop has done to hip hops mainstream viability.

you know what else? i didnt care for dj premier and his limp bizkit experiment. DJ PREMIER. the patron saint of the sound we currently call the underground. fred durst is the biggest joke of an "mc".....any "purist" cant deny the influence and impact on the entire landscape of hip hop as we know it. he and guru have been adamant in their "staying true" to so-called "real hip hop"... and yet snoop dog is on their joints. premier does songs with damn near anybody.

krs one was on a song with SUGAR RAY, people. is kurupt considered "real hip hop"? not to most "purists"... krs did a song with him.

run dmc... featuring fred durst. run dmc... featuing sugar ray... kid rock.... aerosmith....

these are some of the most loved guys in hip hops history. they helped drive hip hop towards the mainstream.

slum village has went the bitches and hoes route and the underground, in general, loves them... but htey supposedly hate the south who talks about nothing but woman and money.

the inderground loves aesop rock and del. they are lauded as geniuses.... but dont really appeal to many people.... myself included.

but they dont subscribe to anything like the hip hop or forbearers created, now do they? does that mean they arent hip hop?

kool keith is all sex, most of the time.... huge, and fiercely loyal following. el p doesnt exactly fit the mold of 80's hip hop, does he?

when wa the last time mos def spit about break dancing, or graffiti? should every rhyme be about those things, since thats what hip hop is, element wise? we shouldnt talk about anything personal,then, right?

all i am saying, is that we can be awfully critical about one thing, and then love another that does the same thing becasue we like the packaging better. slum village's "fantastic vol 2" is among my all-time BEST EVER list of albums. what do they talk about? bitches. sex. more sex. dont fall in love, guys. q tip rocks a weak ass verse on his guest spot, one of the best songs on the album to me. but i regard him very highly.... and i dont hold snoop to much of anything as a lyricist. i badmouth him for his bitches and hoes content. guess what? that makes me a hypocrite.

i suspect many of you are in the same category without realizing it.
 

Shonsteez

Gurpologist
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 33
Cold Truth said:
whatever happened to the natural progression of an art form? things grow and progress.

I think thats exactly whats happening right now with HIPHOP....Its regurgitating into its new form as we speak....HipHop, like any other genre is gonna follow tha cycle of digging back into histories cabnets and finding things to bring back till that shit gets old again and then a new style is BORN....This always happens.

Me personally - I jus think that tha turning point at which hiphop is at - AT LEAST ON MTV, ETC... - SUX ASS RIGHT NOW....and it may always due to tha commercial beast of an industry, but i think that what alot of people including myself are having a problem with is that many people let these stations help DEFINE what hiphop REALLY IS right now, and thats basically agrivating.

Cold - i dont think that to have RAP/HIPHOP be acceptable - it must revert back to tha 80's! - HELL NO!, I mean alot of classic shit came outa that era, but im really jus fiendin for some REAL HIPHOP thats not TAINTED by tha bullshit you see on MTV, ETC; but in tha "NOW", with a "TODAYS SOUND" not being held back CREATIVELY!.....Thats tha thing! - I really cant feel most tha shit on tha TUBE these days on a CREATIVE, ORIGINAL TIP like i can with some of tha shit i have to dig and do more research for to find.
 

MadScientist

Geniuz
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 20
Music Is Music ...... I Like What I Like ...... I Don't Care If It's Hip Hop Or Not. Who Gives A Flying Fuck! If It Sounds Good To Me That's All That Matters. I Don't Need To Label Music ...... The Same Way I Don't Need To Label People With Race. Good People Are Good People And Good Music Is Good Music.

Bottom Line ________________________________________________________
 

Shonsteez

Gurpologist
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 33
MAD - I agree man...Seriously, i agree to tha fullest! - But regardless, tha music that were intersted in and we listen to is catagorized as HIPHOP, so i dont think that its outa line to make tha comments that everyone did, as long as theyre in tha correct context.
 

Cold Truth

IllMuzik Moderator
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
i agree completely with both of you.

let me some up my previous rant:

we cant really impose our individual standards and say what constitutes "Real" hip hop. we can say, this is what hip hop is TO ME, personally. to do otherwise, would be to turn it into the same type of eletist establishment we all claim to dislike so much...

so what if lil john taps three notes over an 8080 line and its a huge hit? so what if some dude with 20 years of training can compose an orchestral score on his fully loaded fantom x88? big deal if kanye west loops yet another soul sample with vocals and has another hit.... .big deal about dj shadow and his relentlessly obscure chops...... different people like them.

i personally would rather listen to the guy with the orcestral piece and dj shadow, respectively... but that doesnt mean i have the right/clout/AUTHORITY to say that lil john shouldnt be included in the "real hip hop" club...

and besides, at the end of the day, i lve and appreciate music. just music. i like the red hot chili peppers. i like thrice. i like maroon five. i like the old dmx. i like redman and the fugess. i like pharcyde and tribe and slum and black star and krs and electric funk. i like the fatback band. i like blink 182. i like metallica. i like 80's new wave. i like bebop. i like jazz and swing. i like u2. i like Christian music. i like "white" worship music as much as "black" worship music.

i like music that appeals to ME. if i dont like it, i shouldnt listen to it. why should i sit there and complain about what i dont like?

especially when just like most of you here, and unlike the average person, i have the skills, resources, knowledge and GIFT, to make something i do like, and create something new for those as jaded by the current industry as i am. i'm through ranting about kanye west or lil john and my perception of their wackness. i'm just going to make the music that i like and stop bitching about the music i dont like. what good does it do fo rme to keep complaining about it? we have had this exact same rant fest countless times in the year i have been here. every other forum does the same. screw that. lets be REAL original and REALLY push hip hop to anohter level by focusing on ourselves and what we do as artists and let us do soemthing that changes the face of the culture we used to love.
 

Shonsteez

Gurpologist
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 33
"so what if lil john taps three notes over an 8080 line and its a huge hit? so what if some dude with 20 years of training can compose an orchestral score on his fully loaded fantom x88? big deal if kanye west loops yet another soul sample with vocals and has another hit.... .big deal about dj shadow and his relentlessly obscure chops...... different people like them."

See - to me, i understand what yer sayin, but when i think of your specific example - I basically have to disagree cuz i automatically think of a LOWERED LEVEL of PROFESSIONALISM when i think of little jon....Regardless of my personal view on whats hiphop and whats not, im tryin to simply shine some light here, more so - ON WHATS SIMPLY LESSER OF QUALITY, OR NOT AS CREATIVE (of course to my standards, but i think that many others can relate here) MUSIC THAT is really a MOCKERY of GOOD MUSIC, but being portrayed as tha next BIG THING or for that matter - QUALITY HIPHOP...
 

Cold Truth

IllMuzik Moderator
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
i agree. i think there is a definite when it comes to talent and things like that.... i think its safe to say that skills wise, scott storc hruns circles around lil john. i think its safe to say that kanye cant hold rjd2's jock in terms of sampling, respectively.

but some people like lil john. i sure as heck dont. i am quite sure if you told kanye to do a shadow style beat he would be lost. most people would. rjd2 has taken sampling to a level i never even imagined.i like those guys. i prefer those guys.

i personally dont think these guys have done much for hip hop- i think they have used hip hop to do a lot for themselves. they really havent contributed anything positive musically or culterally as far as i am concerned. the thing is, there are a few million people who disagree completely on something that really comes down to a matter of taste.

basically, i am the guy that i referenced throught, even calling myself a hypocrite. i feel the exact same way you do deuce, i just think that at some point we are just being snobs about it. try showing one of your beats to a classically trained, 60 year old pianist. chances are he wont like it one bit. basically, this crunk/commercial/hip pop-garbage to us- really isnt even for us! let them make their music. why must we keep complaining about it?
 

Shonsteez

Gurpologist
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 33
Man I feel u, I just dont feel bad about NOT LIKING SOMEONES music....That DOESNT mean that im not gonna try and make better music on my own!...Matter a fact thats all im dedicated to...But either way, call me a hater, a snob, I dont really care...I just think that some of your comments, even tho i understand why u made them, sort of veered away from tha initial topic, and that retains to either NOT liking that shit or LIKING for one reason or another.

**************************************************************************

Cold Truth said:
i personally dont think these guys have done much for hip hop- i think they have used hip hop to do a lot for themselves. they really havent contributed anything positive musically or culterally as far as i am concerned. the thing is, there are a few million people who disagree completely on something that really comes down to a matter of taste.
ALSO, I could think of NUMEROUS others who are far more creative and add an element to hiphop that cats like lil jon just dont aside from tha ones you mentioned here, which by tha way i never personally noted earlier...I assume you chose these artists in particular since you have known me for a while and know that i listen to them as well.

And regarding your comment here: I think that they very much so have contributed to hiphop in one way, shape or form. At least WAAAY MORE THAN LIL JON to be specific...If you deny that - you deny people with real talent vs. people that are 100% in it for tha buck and dont care to improve theyre own art because they themselves understand that they arent tryin to really get any better and make better music in the future. Sorry, but i cant consider you as a real artist if you never even really PARTICIPATE in the music. Yelling 3 words DOES NOT CONSTITUTE making music or being TALENTED!!! SORRY!!!! - - - ANY SCHMUCK CAN DO THAT AND GET PAID IF YOU KNOW THA RIGHT PEOPLE!!!

Its kinda left field to take a stab at these guys or any others in this context....

I mean, anyone who is making money off of theyre art is clearly in it to a certain extent for tha money as well, regardless of how much they are true to theyre music, so they arent any different from tha mainstreamers in that repsect.( this is regarding another comment you made that i didnt quote here)
 

StressWon

www.stress1.com
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 68
Whew! Wow, what a subject. I was waitin on Truth to show up and get crazy with the rant, but he spoke,,,,ummm,,,TRUTH! Steezo too, and Mad scientist! Its all a matter of opinion,,,again,,,on this subject I guess. I love Underground, but I think Aesop sucks ass!


G-French, thanks for the comments dude,,,I've been rhymin since 13, I'm 28 now,,,and makin trax for 4 years now. I got a partner ,,,and I rhyme solo. And thats what were here for,,,to help everbody else fam,,,welcome to the Family!
 

Cold Truth

IllMuzik Moderator
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
deuce, i was reffering to kanye and lil john... not rj, shadow, or any of the other guys that i mentioned.

i dont feel at all bad about not liking anything. i am just as much a critic as everyone else!

i think any artist worth his salt WANTS to be paid for it- mainly so they could afford to do it full time with the best possible tools for the job. sadly, others see our beloved art as nothing ,more than a means to an end.

i think that my comments touched the very heart of the subject, which was basically saying that these guys are ruining hip hop. as soon as it hit the afrika bambatta subject, that was what lead to that rant. i just feel like there is this myth that says that the guys who pioneered all of this are somehow the only thng that constitutes what real hip hop is.

basically, i feel the way you do deuce, and stress as well. i just figured i would play devils advocate and present a different take on the issue.

personally, i think it is something that is very important to discuss..... because we are that next generation. i decided, i wasnt going to repeat the mistakes of my family because they screwed things up royally for my generation..... the same holds true for hip hop, i think. this last generation had some truly great artists that will never get their due.... but guys like 50 will always be considered great while no one will ever see the pure brilliance of, say, pharoahe. i believe that we have such a wealth of knowledge and access that those guys didnt have to build on. the cash moneys of the hip hop world turned an artform into commerce (dont correct me, i know full well many came before them, even our beloved pioneers...) and made hip hop a joke, even an embarassment.
 

Ominous

OminousRed.com
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 21
Time changes everything, and Hip Hop is no exception....

When I was getting old enough to get money and buy my own music, I just went for what I knew. My first tapes were Special Ed and Sir Mix-A-Lot. I grew up in that late 80's early 90's and I thought I knew what there was to know about Hip Hop. Then this kid Kenneth from the varcity basketball team was listening to the Fuscniks and I didn't know who they were. He then proceeded to sh*t all over my knowledge of hip hop. For the longest time I didn't even know who Kool Herc was.

Then I was working in a Wherehouse music store for a while and DMX came out with Where My Dawgs At. The kids coming in there didn't even know that was a rip from the orginal EPMD track. Even funnier, they had no idea who EPMD was. The I turned into Kenneth and started ripping these kids.

Hip Hop is so big now, people actually study it in college. It's even got its owne politics now. What happened to the good ole days when the only thing you had to do was cut it on and listen to it.

My point is, time changes everything, and Hip Hop is no exception. You can't stop it so your choices are obvious. You can acknowledge the changes and accept them, or remain in the era of Hip Hop you love and stay there. Just do yourself a favor and don't turn into the Bill Cosby of Hip Hop. Don't just hate on all the new stuff because you can't understand it or it goes against what you normally like. You start cheating yourself out of some good things in life that way.

I personally can't stand a lot of the new sh*t. I don't care much for a lot of St. Louis stuff, but J-Kwon and Ali had some bang'n ass tracks. If I wasn't open minded I wouldn't be able to listen to some Heavy D and turn right the f*ck around and bump some Project Pat. You teach yourself to look at the good stuff in Hipp Hop instead of all the bad stuff, you will have a better time with it...




On a lighter note, my pops finally came up off his old records...what'chall know about that old Cameo! He had all his stuff in the attic. I was like "Come on man...you ain't even doing them right." When I get done going through it, I'll let yall know what I got.
 

Ominous

OminousRed.com
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 21
And I already said too much but just to add...


If you look at the basic of what Hip Hop had, all the same elements are still there. The only thing different is the size of Hip Hop. Everything you see know has been with Hip Hop for a minute, it's just huge know.

Break it Down:

Iced Out Medallions = Dookie Chains and huge earings (which are making a comeback)

Whips = Rides

B*tches and Hoes = Dimes and Butte Pecan Ricans

It's all the same....you just see it in Pepsi and McDonald commercials now.



Okay - Now I'm done. Don't you hate it when people try and come in and act like they know eveything.
 

Shonsteez

Gurpologist
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 33
Truth: Thanks for that last post!...I appreciate tha clarifying that you went outa tha way to do...Fa real man....

truth said:
"i think any artist worth his salt WANTS to be paid for it- mainly so they could afford to do it full time with the best possible tools for the job. sadly, others see our beloved art as nothing ,more than a means to an end."

Thats some real shit Truth!, I agree man. Thats basically tha tip i was coming from even tho i misinterpreted some of tha things u said earlier...Sorry bout that!

All good info from tha words u added Truth fa real man, and same with yers OM

-Steez
 

UnOwn

Sir Templeton Peck
ill o.g.
I guess a lot of the disagreement about this argument seems, at least to me, to stem from the influence of commerce on art, as was mentioned above. Money has the ability to corrupt people intentions and is very good at that. Because hip-hop is a comercially viable "art," there is a lot of difficulty in keeping people true to the art. Art, in a traditional sense, is usually done merely for the love of the art. This is a result of the fact that most artistic movements have never proven to be commercially viable in the artists lifetime, but as we have seen there is an element to hip-hop that IS commercially viable and that is why this gets the most attention by the masses. People that are truly progressing an art cannot expect the masses to be on the cutting-edge because it is just that, the cutting-edge. It is a natural tendancy of human societies for some people to lead and the majority to follow. That is how society and artistic movements progress. The problem is that with hip-hop, it is harder to weed out the people who's true intention is not progressing the music, because of the fact that hip-hop has the ability to produce money for the artist in the artist's lifetime. The people that are the innovators of their era normally influence people who may become the next big thing and the cycle continues. This is not always the case with hip-hop because people see that if they continue a tried and true formula, they will most likely profit. The result of this is that the movement is merely slowed down and splintered. We are still moving forward, but not in any uniform fashion. There will still be those that do it for "the love of the art" and those that just do it to make money. The people doing it for the love of the art, are going to be the ones that are progressing the culture in a positive manner. This is really just the pattern of a newly emerged artistic movement that has only recently become commercially viable.

Coming from a Graffiti background, this is partially why I see that Graff has more of a tendancy to stay true to the artform of hip-hop. Because Graff will never be comercially viable, people do it merely for the love of the art and nothing else. They even love the art to the point of breaking the law; so that, others might see their art. Because MCing and DJing do not follow this same pattern, we will just have to accept the influx of people that are not doing it from the heart. But always remember that those that do it for themselves are the ones that are actually progressing the artform....
 

jaydub23510

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Music Is Music ...... I Like What I Like ...... I Don't Care If It's Hip Hop Or Not. Who Gives A Flying Fuck! If It Sounds Good To Me That's All That Matters. I Don't Need To Label Music ...... The Same Way I Don't Need To Label People With Race. Good People Are Good People And Good Music Is Good Music.




I totally agree, I don't like the songs and music most people would consider 'real hip hop' and I don't buy it either, but I did just cop Ghostface I have all his cds, out of everyone that has come out these last couple of months from what I've seen his is hip hop, the south is killing it right now though and I don't think you could consider that stuff hip hop!
 

StressWon

www.stress1.com
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 68
Yo, Jay, I agree with the South killin it. I mean, look at OUTKAST they are takin over! I love them cats, and the whole Dungeon Fam! Thats why we can't limit our music by area....I know nobody on here does, but the whole world got some ill ass Hip Hop!


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