Riverpoet31 said:

The truth....

NDRU said:

The underground is the shit, lol No matter what genre.

Timmy84 said:

Thats what I like about underground artists, they're not shackled by label's overview of "relevance",,,,,they're FREE from all of that mess.

Again, people need to listen to Sa-Ra Creative Partners if they think that rap music has nobody with musicianship.

As for the negative portrayal, what else is new? America has always villainized the image of black folks and gained wealth from it, and those dumb motherfuckers fell for the bait for a sake of afew crumbs.

Harlepolis said:

THANK YOU! I don't conform to that shit either, it's like why, let them enjoy their ignorance, lol

The rise of Jay Z is about the time I lost interest in hip hop. He is a decent rapper, but typifies a lot of the attitude that just isn't interesting to me. He just seems bored & monotone--especially compared to his immediate predecessors Snoop who is very musical and Pac who was always totally engaged.

If Jay is bored then I certainly can't be interested either.

NDRU said:

I don't think its boredom,,,,,merely jadedness I think his attitude is derived from reverse psychology,,,,,which is the reason why he's different.

I'm not much of a fan of Shawn Carter, but sometimes I listen esp when he drop the ball in his lyrics.

Harlepolis said:

How do you mean reverse psychology?

he's okay, actually, but I think part of what has kept him around is that attitude. It's important to not give a shit and he has that down but yeah I see what you're saying. It is kind of like a jaded attitude where he acts as if he's seen it all and it takes a lot to get his attention. As if he's above it all.

NDRU said:

I think you answered your own ?uestions pretty elequantly there plus, the fact that he purposely made his delivery laid back so people could pay more attention to it,,,,,which is not the norm, since rappers are usually loud.

He & Snoop mastered that "mellow" style, although Snoop doesn't really have anything to say.

Snoop be high 24/7 so he says nonsense.

Timmy84 said:

His debut was the only thing that worked for his favor,,,,after that, he lost me.

Timmy84 said:

but he's always been musical, which goes a long way with me

NDRU said:

That's true.

Harlepolis said:

That's true also. "Doggystyle" was a masterpiece.

NDRU said:

It takes the pleasure out of the experience though when most of what you say is gibberish

I had to slap my forehead when I heard myself singing Skyy's "Call Me",,,,let alone ALL of Snoop's shit.

Harlepolis said:

In my opinion, Jay-Z has been somewhat inconsistent material. It seems like every other album has been a hit. Maybe it is due to the fact that there really isn't anybody out there who could give him any competition. If Biggie or Pac were alive, this would be a different story. Those made you step your game up...Now? There isn't anybody out there that eats, breathe and sleeps, hip/hop. It is all about the bling and who has the bigger segment on "Cribs".

Timmy84 said:

I agree, despite the fact the lyrics sing about garbage and his swear count runs into the hundreds, the singing, the rhyme flow and general pattern of the rapping by himself and crew (Mainly Warren G, Dat nigga Daz and Kurrupt), pushed this record into the upper echelons of gangsta rap. Despite the fact the lyrics are misogynistic garbage, I was 17 when it came out and thought it was hilarious. My brother was 20 and we would listen to it non stop. It was mega popular in New Zealand through all of 1994. I can still remember all the rhymes to "I don't love you hoes" and "All my niggas and bitches" along with the track "Whats my name". Its weird I am so anti shit hop now, but from 1990 to 1996 I thought it was the greatest shit around. I even liked Notorious BIG and Tupac. Not for the lyrics, but because the guys had mic skills, they could really flow and rhyme shit together. Plus he had all those harmony touches like the Dramatics in the song "Doggy Dogg World". But now its the same music without the techniques all the great rappers of the early 90s had.
[Edited 10/30/09 16:48pm]

japanrocks said:

So what? That song got zero promo, didn't do anything amazing on the charts, basically came and went quick as anything. Her songs are all the same now any way. Work It was original, everything after that is just a carbon copy, like Eminem trying to emulate Without Me with all those damn parody videos.

Oh, and Work It doesn't even come close to her older work like One Minute Man or Hot Boyz.
[Edited 10/30/09 21:20pm]

oh ok.....so i see something has to hit the charts in order for you to notice it

nevermind then

japanrocks said:

Quote me where I said that.

I loved this song, if you must know. I was waiting for it to be successful...and waiting...and waiting...I see it tanked at #60 on the US charts. Anyway, look back at the 90s, female rappers everywhere. Now it's just Missy.

purplesweat said:

missy is talented and Queen Latifah sings now.....plus i do not think there was ever a big audience for female hip hop

japanrocks said:

Now that I'm gonna have to disagree with you, I do think there was a big market for female hip-hop, problem was there weren't too many women in hip-hop that weren't "video vixens".

Timmy84 said:

yeah.....i guess my HWA thread is a good example.....must be hard to get noticed if you are a female hip-hop act

speaking of that, what ever happened to that Salt & Peppa reality show...i kinda liked that and always had a crush on Salt

oh, i just checked....looks like they have an album coming out next year! must be hard for them to make a comeback
[Edited 10/31/09 20:07pm]

japanrocks said:

Yeah it is. It's just hard period. I'm just glad for those who survived hip-hop's changes like S&P and Queen Latifah and Missy.

japanrocks said:

I never said she wasn't talented. Geez. There was a big audience in the 90s when companies weren't so money hungry and people were less superficial and picky when it came to artists they liked.