Outkast are great...don't get me wrong here. But whenever I listen 2 them I just hear so much of Prince's influence that it's ridiculous.
So tell me why does Outkast songs chart and new Prince songs don't ?
Why is Roses and Hey Ya top ten songs and Call my name and Musicology not ?
Has Prince lost touch with what people want 2 hear these days or are Outkast simply rehashing an old sound that Prince has already done 2 death ?
Your thoughts ?

I really don't hear any of Prince's influence in outkast music. And I honestly don't know why they are so popular(and I am from the state of Georgia). First of all they are way overrated. And secondly the reason Prince music doesn't chart is because people have lost track of what good music really is.

because shit happens, its the sign o' the times

strawberrydreams said:

'Prototype' by Outkast is pure Prince, the influence is definitely there. Especially with Andre 3000. Prince isn't getting the same recognition as Outkast because big businesses don't think they can capitalize off of Prince. It's much easier to drain money from preteens who think Outkast is great because MTV said so. And with songs like "Lean back," and Ashlee Simpson's album reaching number one, I almost don't want Prince to be involved in the joke that mainstream music has become.

I think this is a really good topic and thought the same thing,especially with the success of Roses.I remember when I first bought Speakerbox/Love below,I didn't think that Roses would be a chart hit if it were released as a single.WRONG.Strong,constant airplay on MTV,BET and VH1 is what made the song become a hit....simple as that.If a song is constantly played on MTV and the like,of course it's going to eventually be a staple on the radio and have chart success.Having a catchy video and being in vogue certainly doesn't hurt matters.

It's unfortunate Call My Name was played very little on the video stations because it would have propelled the song to some good degree of chart success.

maybe because outkast's stuff sounds like classic prince hits that mainstream audiences know and love, and current prince doesn't do likewise.

Right now in the eyes of MTV, Outckast's sh@t don't stink.

But Prince's roses smell like poo -ooh poo poo

strawberrydreams said:

They are popular because they try do different things in Hip-hop that most don't do. You wouldn't hear something lile Draculas wedding on a regular hip-hop album.

The last album was very popular because it appealed across genres and was accessable (yet sill off the beaten path) to a lot of people. This last album gained them a bigger audience...and I think it was half marketing...and half that is was a VERY good album. I mostly heard it amongst my friends by word of mouth. Someone played it for me and I played it for someone else and so on. It was one of those.

And they chart because they still "new" and Prince is not. I am sure that they are considered the new thing where as Prince is now relegated by most as a "nostalgic" act.

I like them and all but I suppose it's just because of MTV,BET and what is In Now. The Teens dig them Big Time. Hip Hop and Rap is Big now and also Teens basically like Fast and Rockin not Basically Ballads. Teens who Basically buy Everything also like Party Music and I also don't see Teens spending money on JAZZ albums and Gospel Really. Nowadays it's basically Sex, Drinking,Money,Bling Bling The Cars and Hot Women. Look at the Videos and what's being Portrayed. Decadent Lifestyle. Dancing.
[Edited 9/16/04 18:25pm]

AsianBomb777 said:

You know what's sick? The lyrics to Roses are really "roses really smell like boo-boo" and little kids are in love with this song.

TheJourney4all7 said:

That's one way to tell if someone is "with it" (i.e. black) when they say "poo-poo" that annoys the hell out of me, and I'm tempted to type a flame of everyone who says that lame phrase but I'll respect the org and the mods and keep my mouth shut but ity's "boo boo" ok, get with it folks.

kdj997 said:

Oh asians are "with it". I challenge yo ass to a stir fry!!!!!

because Prince has lost that "cool" in the eyes of 14 year olds, who ofcourse buy a lot of the new-school music. Prince has the stigma of being a has-been...whereas the youngens see Outkast as being a hot, fresh new act (they probably don't know about their early 90's days.) Also, hip-hop is pretty big right now, whereas Prince's fusion funk/rock/pop isn't in demand.

VAMPIRELLA said:

It's lilke I said before, Prince is acting like a school teacher now, and what 14 year old wants a school teacher to preach to them? They want a rebel or a slut.

TheJourney4all7 said:

I hate that song too. It smells like boo boo. But like that's one of the worst ones on there. It starts out cool...but then goes downhill with that line right there.

kdj997 said:

VAMPIRELLA said:

Sure, but when MTV and the like decide to start publicinzing the heck out of a "has been" or mature act, they get tons of air- and radio-play and all the teens jump on the bandwagon, like Santana, Neil Young, or... oh, what's his name? Lounge singer, was hitting it big on MTV a few years back???

newpowerlove said:[quote]

VAMPIRELLA said:

ok i'd like to start my reply by saying that i am 16 years old.... and am addicted to prince. not all teens are crazy about hip hop and crap. to be honest with you i cant stand rap especially the harder stuff. i dotn mind outkast tho infact i thoguth they were pretty good. the truth is teens like the oldies too. i know many people who respect and like prince, michael jackson, led zepplin, pink floyd, marley... all of the founders of what music is today. to say that all teenagers listen to is bling bling and get my drugs music is a lie. yes we listen to some of the new stuff that sput out but definetelly not all of it. dont catagorize teens into one group of music... its totally the opposite... ok thats my 2 cents lol. now im goin to bed.

peace

Musicology2004 said:[quote]

newpowerlove said:

What he said.
It is rare nowadays, but teens like us do exist.

i'll only say this one more time the reason Outkast and Usher have top 10 hits is VERY simple it has nothing to do with popularity with the public and nothing to do with the quality of songs all the charts are based on right now is RADIO AIRPLAY...radio programmers are the make and break of hits today...in the past the people decided what a hit was going to be by buying retail singles..now with retail singles virtually non existent the only way songs chart now is by radio airplay (even tho there are still a few retail singles released they count for far less than they used to when tabilating the charts)....here's an example in 1995 when I Hate U charted it was #12 on the hot 100 with #6 in SALES but #42 in radio airplay..now you take todays way of counting the charts and take away the retail sales...I Hate U charts @ #42 and doesnt even become a top 40 hit...so until retail sales make a comeback OR until online downloading of singles count as a bigger portion of the chart the radio programmers will keep having a say on who and what isa hit..and thats sad but its something the record companies want because payola is at an all time high

As stated over and over on this thread, Outcast got air play. The reason they got airplay is cuz peeps like Babyface pays mucho $$$$$ for the radio to play "shake it, shake, shake it,... shake it like polaroid picture". Prince is beyond that stage. Hey Ya!!

It's like what was said the Radio Programmers are to blame for all this stuff. The radio has never been worst than now. Having said that, I do wonder, with Outkast's music sounding so Princely, I wonder if that had an indirect effect as to why Prince is big again. I remember when Hey Ya first dropped and I kept wishing that Prince could come on the radio and show everyone how it's done. The radio still wants to hate for the most part but the people are speaking and that why Prince is on the verge of going double platinum.

Because Outkast are making better music these days than Prince does . Compared to Speakerboxx/The Love Below Musicology is totally uninspired IMO. There may be some Prince influences in their music, but Prince was influenced by other artists a lot as well. Like Prince once did they are taking different inspirations and are addding their creativity and putting it to another level. I am very happy that there are at least some artists in the charts who really make great music

Because their music is hip hop and that's practically all they play nowadays.

Radio, MTV can only handle one funkster at a time.

JB, Marvin Gaye, Rich James, Prince, then who...????

Anxiety said:

Nail on head.

vainandy said:

I agree.Anything hip-hop (or hip-hop related) will have no trouble getting played on the radio.Sad but true.But in the case of Outkast,I'm glad to see they're doing well.They put out an outstanding album.

JamesS said:

-----
Gee, Don't critics and people on this board say thatn New Prince sounds like old Prince. Has Prince not been critictized for repeating himself on Musicology? Please don't kid yourselves Prince is not on the radio because of his age and his comments about the industry. It is okay for the Neptunes and Outkast to rip off the Prince sound but it is not okay to have the real deal.

I am pretty sure he is aware of all this and that is why he did the tie in with concert and cd.

laurarichardson said:

Yeah, the new Prince stuff sounds like his old stuff. That's why it doesn't 'make the grade' in the charts. Prince fans want him to make Prince music. What he has given to the musical world and a new generation of musicians is amazing. He can't go on pushing back the boundaries... hell, he's already done that 20 years ago.

What happens though is that whilst new artists ARE influenced by P (and others), they also have their own 'thang' going on, so although there are P influences, it's not pure plagarism and therefore more fresh and interesting.

To people that are not Prince fans, I guess new P music sounds like old P music and that's why.

kdj997 said:

Probably a dumb question, but care to enlighten me: what the hell is boo-boo?