Rap when if first came on the radio in the late 1970s/early 1980s was mostly dance records so as far as I'm concerned, a rap record that isn't a dance record is shit hop.

vainandy said:

There's a difference in being successful and being mainstream. No matter how successful Prince may have been hese days with his recent albums or tours, he is still considered an oldies act rather than a current mainstream one.

Prince's success these days has a lot to do with having a loyal fanbase that buys every single album he puts out. Sure, other artists have loyal fanbases like that but nowhere near as large as Prince's loyal fanbase. That accounts for his album sales these days and that same fanbase, plus a lot of ex-fans account for a lot of his tour sales also because he has a ton of folks that haven't bought a Prince album in years but flock to his concert to hear his old hits.

A lot of those fans could care less about his new songs. That's how it is with an oldies act and Prince is definately one.

A lot of groups have people that go to their concerts strictly to hear their old songs. That's what an oldies act is and Prince is no exception. For instance, Ronald Isley, from The Isley Brothers, would be considered more mainstream these days than Prince would be. A whole hell of a lot more kids loved his "Mr. Big" bullshit much more than they liked anything Prince has ever recorded in his entire career. Ronald was very mainstream at the time. However, when I went to The Isley Brothers concert, the majority of people there were my age and older who absolutely hate and dispise that "Mr. Big" sellout bullshit. I saw very few of those kids there. When he started singing his current stuff, I went to the restroom and when I came back, everyone was at the bar getting a drink until the new song was over. That's how it is with all oldies acts and I saw the same thing happening at the Prince concert I went to in 2004. Ronald Isley had mainstream success with his sellout current stuff (popularwise and radiowise) much moreso than Prince has because the radio and majority of the younger generation loved Ronald and couldn't stand Prince. But it was the loyal fanbase that made the concerts successful (although I would consider the Isley Brothers concert sales a flot compared to Prince because of the much larger amount of the loyal fanbase that Prince has).

skywalker said:

Did I say hip hop? No, I said shit hop. If it's good, it's hip hop. If it's bullshit, it's shit hop. That's the reason I use the word because there were some good rap acts (usually underground and being played in dance clubs...usually gay ones because most straight ones played shit hop ). But as far as a rapper being good because he has something to say, hell, he can say all the stuff he wants but if the music behind what's he's saying sounds like hell and has no ass shaking appeal whatsoever, then it's shit hop. Rap when if first came on the radio in the late 1970s/early 1980s was mostly dance records so as far as I'm concerned, a rap record that isn't a dance record is shit hop.
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[Edited 3/23/10 14:43pm]

As far as Prince back in 1986 or 1987 goes, yeah, a lot of folks were pissed at him back then for changing his style. Would they still have gone to see him in concert though? Yes, because a lot of folks just like myself were grown by then and never got to see Prince back in our favorite years because of either being too young or having parents that wouldn't have let us go. "Purple Rain" made Prince an icon like Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, or Tina Turner. Folks like that could never make another record again and could still fill up concert venues. Did a lot of folks go see the "Sign O The Times" movie in the theater though? No, they didn't because that was simply a movie in a movie theater but a concert would have been a whole different thing altogether. If Diana Ross had made a concert film at that time, they wouldn't have gone to see it either but they would have flocked to see her in concert though.

You're confusing being an icon or musical legend with being mainstream. When you asked what I meant by "current", I wasn't referring to people who are currently selling out venues, I was referring to people who are being played on stations that play current so-called music in heavy rotation on a daily basis. Prince isn't in that category. I see that apparently he wants to be since he keeps putting at least one sellout track on each album lately but the current dead ass stations still aren't playing him in heavy rotation between the dull ass current artists they're playing. But as for him being played on a daily basis on oldies stations, well hell, I heard two or three songs by The Barkays last week during the "Lunch Time Oldies" show on the local R&B station also so I guess that makes them mainstream too?

You've got me all wrong though when you say it's a no win situation with me because I consider a song that was a recent radio hit a "bathroom break song" and an act that doesn't get a recent radio hit an "oldies act". It's not a no win situation with me. Being strictly an oldies act is a good thing. That's a win situation. I'm all for being an oldies act and wish Prince would realize that he has a large enough fanbase that he doesn't have to try for a current mainstream hit. I wish he would say "fuck you" and give the entire current mainstream the finger and not even try to please them even in the slightest way. Current mainstream music is the worst that it has ever been in the history of music. Hell, I'd take a thousand songs like "Do U Lie" or "Venus De Milo" or anything in the mainstream these days. So you see, it's not no win with me. Make the jams that sound like they come from an oldies act and as for getting a radio hit or even trying to get a radio hit these days and tell the mainstream to go to hell and give them the finger. That's the win situation with me right there. Hell, Prince was making retro sounding music back in the late 1980s when current music in general was still good. Hell, don't wait for the current scene in general to sound worse than it ever has before and then turn around and try to sound current. Hell, keep on making retro sounding music because in these days, sounding retro is a good thing. Hell, polka music is even better than what's out there these days.

Maybe Prince is trying to teach me a lesson. Maybe he's putting a current sounding bullshit track on each album to make me appreciate his sound in the mid to late 1980s. It's working because I played "Around The World In A Day" and "Parade" in their entirety last weekend and absolutely loved them. Then I put on "MPLShit" and after about five minutes, took it off and started cussing.
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[Edited 3/23/10 21:25pm]

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You're confusing being an icon or musical legend with being mainstream. When you asked what I meant by "current", I wasn't referring to people who are currently selling out venues, I was referring to people who are being played on stations that play current so-called music in heavy rotation on a daily basis. Prince isn't in that category.
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[Edited 3/23/10 21:25pm]