After making such a statement with 'Dead On It',why do u think Prince went on2 make music with rap stylings,took on Tony M in the NPG & etc...

was it Prince trying 2 do the latest hot thing & wanting 2 b mainstream & keep up with the latest trends & what the kids bought etc...?

OR

Prince just experimenting with something different,growing as an Rtist & xploring areas he hadn't fully b4.... ?

or perhaps because he actually found a passion 4 the genre ?


i am not totally sure what the real deal was with P taking on the rap/hip hop sound.
i only really know what i have heard from aquaintences on the BBC2 PurpleReign Story.

please discuss this... would love 2 c what people's opinions r on this.
(Finess perhaps u would have the best insight)


,
joshy

N.E.W.S. released on my birthday eDiT
[This message was edited Sun Jun 29 0:05:41 PDT 2003 by Joshy]

I think it's a combination of both, the problem was that it came across as 'forced' and not real.

Ummm... cause he likes to kick mad rhymes?

he should have stuck with what he does better than anyone, singin and jammin that six string.

4nowneway said:

someone say Call The Law?

Joshy said:

That's one of the funniest statements I've ever heard regarding Prince and rap.

Xpertlover said:

err,it wasn't a statement...
it was a question.

& what is funny about it?

Joshy said:

Prince was asked something similiar in a interview and he said Dead on It wasnt slagging off rappers and if u care to listen to the lyrics again u may come to agree.

Dead On It




Riding in my Thunderbird on the freeway
I turned on my radio 2 hear some music play
I got a silly rapper talking silly shit instead
And the only good rapper is one that's dead on it

Uh, Dead on it

Shall we go back? (Yeah!)
Let's go

Negros from Brooklyn play the bass pretty good
But the ones from Minneapolis play it like it oughta should
A magnum fro is better when u got a poof on it
And the 2 and fro is funky when the grease is dead on it

(Funky dead on it)
uh, dead (on it) on it

Shall we go back? Let's go

They dead on it, wow

See the rapper's problem usually stem from being tone deaf
Pack the house then try 2 sing,
there won't be no one left (ha ha) (on it)
Parking lot's on fire, brothers peelin' out of the town
They say in disgust, they singin' their guts
Rappin' done let us down (down down)
u got 2 be dead... on it

Dead on it

(dead)

All the sisters like it when u lick 'em on the knees
Don't believe me? (no)
Try it once then stop, they'll be begging
Please, please, please (please, please, please)
Shoo be doo wa, dead on it
What does that have 2 do with the funk?
Nothing, but who's paying the bills?
If u don't wanna lick my knees, I'm sho' your mama will

Uh, cuz we, cuz we, cuz we dead on it

De, de- de- de- de- de- de, dead on it, on it

La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la

My bed's a coffin, Dracula ain't got shit on me
My nickname's Hell's-a-Poppin', I'm badder than the Wicked Witch
I got a gold tooth, costs more than your house
I got a diamond ring on four fingers, each one the size of a mouse

They dead, they dead on it, on it

La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la

La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la

Wait now, hang up, dial tone on the 3
U know, U know, I'm busy, 2 scizzy
Can't nobody fuck with me

Cuz I'm dead (on it, on it, on it)
on it

Shoo be doo wa wa, dead on it

Dead on it, on it, on it

Dang, dang, dang, dang, (dead on it) shoo be dang, dang, dang, dead on it
Dead, dead on it


©1988 Controversy Music - ASCAP

he isnt sayin all rappers are rubbish he is saying the only
good rappers are dead on it
maybe he means dead "on" the subject they are rapping about.

This bit:

See the rapper's problem usually stem from being tone deaf
Pack the house then try 2 sing,
there won't be no one left (ha ha) (on it)



Seems to attack all rappers. Susan Rogers has stated many times that Prince had a problem with rap in general. That was until he saw a way to make money from it. Then he became a turncoat.

See the rapper's problem usually stem from being tone deaf
Pack the house then try 2 sing

yeah that bit doesnt sound to complimentary

Ahh, Prince was dropping rhymes here and there on the 1999 album.(the end of "Let's pretend we're married" is one example of this). I think Prince likes rap and hip hop, but finds it hard to blend it into his unique musical style at times

Joshy said:

This bit: "Prince just experimenting with something different,growing as an Rtist & xploring areas he hadn't fully b4".
Especially "Rtist", "xploring" and "b4".

Xpertlover said:

like 2 use princebonics.
dont c y other ppl dont like it 2.

are u rating ure own topics again??

Joshy said:

In any case, I don't think you'll find anyone who would seriously make the claim that the "rappers" Prince included in his music, let alone his own attempts at rapping, constituted any kind of artistic growth. I hope you agree.

Xpertlover said:

i never said i thought it was 'growth' of any sort.
i was posing the question 2 all of u ...if u thought that Prince wanted 2 xplore new areas.
in which case,Prince would b thinking of growing as an artist.

myself,i dont mind alot of the rap stuff on his records.
Call The Law is incredible... u cant even put that in a category.
but it has rapping so i spose it would b in the vacinity.

On page 168 of the 'Possessed' book,Charles Koppelman (a Prince associate) is quoted as saying...

"I remember Prince saying something to the effect that he had invented rap"


While this is a preposterous claim,if you listen to some of Prince's early records,there is definitely a little rap thrown into the mix.Listen to songs like "Controversy" ("people call me rude,I wish we all were nude..."),"Lady Cab Driver" ("this is for politicians who were born to believe in war..."),and "If A Girl Answers (Don't Hang Up"),a Vanity 6 song that featured bitchy lines that are rapped.These songs were all released in the early 80s,long before rap became a mainstream thing.


.
[This message was edited Mon Jun 30 0:41:18 PDT 2003 by DavidEye]

In "Dead On It" Prince expresses his dislike of rappers that have nothing useful to say and also his criticism of many rappers not being able to sing if needed. Now true, you may find some rappers who have a "voice", but in general, most can't. Do they have flow? Do they have mad rhyme? Sure, that can't be argued with many rappers. But the ability to sing a tune, or carry a melody? Well, I have yet to see many who can. They're out there, I'm sure, but they're not out there in droves.

Anywho, read the lyrics again, it's not a bash against rappers as a whole. In fact Prince states, "The only good rapper is one that's dead on it." In other words, a rapper is good if he's singing about something important, not just toting about himself and singing about bitches, hos, and all their mad bling. Public Enemy was one of the first I can remember who went mainstream with a style that was consistently out of the norm. It's this norm of pompous, ego-laden rappers that Prince sings about in "Dead On It". Is it any wonder why he has deep rappers like ?uest and Chuck D on his music?

Then again, he did do a silly rap/singing deal on "My Name Is Prince". I mean, that whole song is about him... that's his "this is who I am and I'm badass!" song.

Does anyone else agree on anything that I've typed?

Love Chuck D., love Nate Dogg (who, coincidently can SING). Hate Prince's raps and other rappers he invited, except for CD, and Dougie Fresh, and Q-Tip (on remix of Greatest Romance...)

Just my 2cents

DavidEye said:

don't forget "irresistable bitch"; that can be considered as rap also.
Something that's always confused me was the rap in "alpahbet street", i mean, around that time Prince clearly stated that e didn't like rap, but had put rap in tah song (cat did a great job, BTW); maybe his thoughts on rap changed right after 'the black album'...hmmm...

Joshy said:

cuz it wasbasically a new thing at the time and you know how Prince gotta try all things concerning music , rap no different ... I think Prince sounded okay rapping myself
[This message was edited Sun Jun 29 15:06:19 PDT 2003 by DigitalLisa]

errr what you fulez talking shit bout P for. you know he's got the mad skillz that make you be illin' like yo mama's.

jesus. he invented the wheel for gods sake. i'm sure if P decided to make a fucking SUV, some of the people here would claim it's the best they've driven.

Prince = Genius

Prince + Rap = fucking dreadful.