LOL Rap died in 1999. There is still shards of greatness, but it aint the powerhouse it used to be. When you got a cockknocker like Lil Wayne as the face of hip-hop, you know you got a problem. What ever happened to integrity in rap? Oh wait, that was few and far between. Its all about a hook now. You got knuckleheads spittin Kindergarten verses only to build it up for a hook that their producer probably created. Put it this way: Out of 10 MCs, the chances are only 2 of them actually write serious lyrics, while the other 8 are shooting for a pay-day.

There just isnt any SOUL in hip-hop anymore, and its left me very embittered. Especially since I have younger cousins who are surrounded by a musical culture thats on shaky ground. I was fortunate to have an older brother in the 90s with his finger on the pulse of the golden era. Now, its motherfucking embarassing! People look at you crooked when you name-drop Pete Rock, let alone DJ Premier!

One can only hope. It just perpetuates so much negativity. I see it in my community all the time. People acting like "gangsta's, bitches, ho's". It makes me sick to my stomach, especially when there are so many senseless shootings and brutal crimes.

[Edited 1/31/12 9:55am]

That bullshit ain't going nowhere. It's still cheap to make, the people that make it are still stupid enough to be ripped off by record labels and they're also still stupid enough to be the rich white record executive's clown, not to mention, the music is still slow and dull enough to please a gray pubic haired record executive's Lawrence Welk tempoed tastes and a huge part of the younger generation that has been raised to like an old gray pubic haired buzzard's tastes. No, shit hop ain't going nowhere anytime soon.

"rap ain't dead, it lives in the south, I should know cuz it bought me a house..."

If it is dying I wish it would hurry the fuck up.

Rap ain't dying. As long as there are knuckle heads out there who think drive-bys, selling/using drugs and extreme fornication are entertaining, Rap will continue to stay alive and do well.

kitbradley said:

Rap ain't dying. As long as there are knuckle heads out there who think drive-bys, selling/using drugs and extreme fornication are entertaining, Rap will continue to stay alive and do well.

Well that's a big part of the population of the USA. Look at all of the cop/detective shows on TV. Action movies have been the most popular movies for decades, whether it was Jimmy Cagney gangster movies, westerns, John Wayne, war movies, blaxploitation, kung fu, Clint Eastwood, Star Wars, Clockwork Orange, Scarface, Freddy Kreuger, Schwarzenegger/Norris/Van Damme/etc. and so on. Blues, folk, and country music also had violent themes like Stagger Lee. People were fascinated with Frank & Jesse James, Bonnie & Clyde, Charles Manson, Hitler, Julius Caesar, and others. Most of it had nothing to do with rap music.

MickyDolenz said:

kitbradley said:

Rap ain't dying. As long as there are knuckle heads out there who think drive-bys, selling/using drugs and extreme fornication are entertaining, Rap will continue to stay alive and do well.

Well that's a big part of the population of the USA. Look at all of the cop/detective shows on TV. Action movies have been the most popular movies for decades, whether it was Jimmy Cagney gangster movies, westerns, John Wayne, war movies, blaxploitation, kung fu, Clint Eastwood, Star Wars, Clockwork Orange, Scarface, Freddy Kreuger, Schwarzenegger/Norris/Van Damme/etc. and so on. Blues, folk, and country music also had violent themes like Stagger Lee. People were fascinated with Frank & Jesse James, Bonnie & Clyde, Charles Manson, Hitler, Julius Caesar, and others. Most of it had nothing to do with rap music.

MickyDolenz said:

kitbradley said:

Rap ain't dying. As long as there are knuckle heads out there who think drive-bys, selling/using drugs and extreme fornication are entertaining, Rap will continue to stay alive and do well.

Well that's a big part of the population of the USA. Look at all of the cop/detective shows on TV. Action movies have been the most popular movies for decades, whether it was Jimmy Cagney gangster movies, westerns, John Wayne, war movies, blaxploitation, kung fu, Clint Eastwood, Star Wars, Clockwork Orange, Scarface, Freddy Kreuger, Schwarzenegger/Norris/Van Damme/etc. and so on. Blues, folk, and country music also had violent themes like Stagger Lee. People were fascinated with Frank & Jesse James, Bonnie & Clyde, Charles Manson, Hitler, Julius Caesar, and others. Most of it had nothing to do with rap music.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Lord have mercy!!!!! Now, you know TV and movies are totally different than music. They are supposed to tell a story and yes, violence is entertaining. But music is supposed to be the either for the dance floor or the bedroom. That story tellling bullshit has no place in music unless you can shake ass or fuck to it and if you can't do either to it, then the folks making the music need to sit their tired asses down and get the hell out of the way of the people that make music to suit those purposes. Anything that stands in the way of ass shaking jams dominating, needs to get the fuck out of here.

vainandy said:

MickyDolenz said:

Well that's a big part of the population of the USA. Look at all of the cop/detective shows on TV. Action movies have been the most popular movies for decades, whether it was Jimmy Cagney gangster movies, westerns, John Wayne, war movies, blaxploitation, kung fu, Clint Eastwood, Star Wars, Clockwork Orange, Scarface, Freddy Kreuger, Schwarzenegger/Norris/Van Damme/etc. and so on. Blues, folk, and country music also had violent themes like Stagger Lee. People were fascinated with Frank & Jesse James, Bonnie & Clyde, Charles Manson, Hitler, Julius Caesar, and others. Most of it had nothing to do with rap music.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Lord have mercy!!!!! Now, you know TV and movies are totally different than music. They are supposed to tell a story and yes, violence is entertaining. But music is supposed to be the either for the dance floor or the bedroom. That story tellling bullshit has no place in music unless you can shake ass or fuck to it and if you can't do either to it, then the folks making the music need to sit their tired asses down and get the hell out of the way of the people that make music to suit those purposes. Anything that stands in the way of ass shaking jams dominating, needs to get the fuck out of here.

What about the Beatles? They had violent songs like Run For Your Life, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, and Rocky Raccoon. Yer Blues was about wanting to commit suicide. Movies had songs written for them like Freddie's Dead by Curtis Mayfield.

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Lord have mercy!!!!! Now, you know TV and movies are totally different than music. They are supposed to tell a story and yes, violence is entertaining. But music is supposed to be the either for the dance floor or the bedroom. That story tellling bullshit has no place in music unless you can shake ass or fuck to it and if you can't do either to it, then the folks making the music need to sit their tired asses down and get the hell out of the way of the people that make music to suit those purposes. Anything that stands in the way of ass shaking jams dominating, needs to get the fuck out of here.

What about the Beatles? They had violent songs like Run For Your Life, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, and Rocky Raccoon. Yer Blues was about wanting to commit suicide. Movies had songs written for them like Freddie's Dead by Curtis Mayfield.

Yeah, and those were actual songs with instruments, singing, and an actual groove and melody. Not a damn stripped down slow,weak, cheap sounding beat that just barely taps with some talking on top of it. There's a big difference in actual "music" and a bunch of bullshit that's called music just because it's recorded onto a record, tape, or CD.

vainandy said:

MickyDolenz said:

What about the Beatles? They had violent songs like Run For Your Life, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, and Rocky Raccoon. Yer Blues was about wanting to commit suicide. Movies had songs written for them like Freddie's Dead by Curtis Mayfield.

Yeah, and those were actual songs with instruments, singing, and an actual groove and melody. Not a damn stripped down slow,weak, cheap sounding beat that just barely taps with some talking on top of it. There's a big difference in actual "music" and a bunch of bullshit that's called music just because it's recorded onto a record, tape, or CD.

I fully agree with you. Due to a lack of funding for music education in our schools and raps personna of not promoting any kind of musicianship at all, we now have a relatively talantless generation of younger musicians, primarily due to their peers only rapping to lyrics that they may not have even written. Oh what a shame!!!!!!!!!!

As long as white people keep buying music, it will never die.

madhattter said:

vainandy said:

Yeah, and those were actual songs with instruments, singing, and an actual groove and melody. Not a damn stripped down slow,weak, cheap sounding beat that just barely taps with some talking on top of it. There's a big difference in actual "music" and a bunch of bullshit that's called music just because it's recorded onto a record, tape, or CD.

I fully agree with you. Due to a lack of funding for music education in our schools and raps personna of not promoting any kind of musicianship at all, we now have a relatively talantless generation of younger musicians, primarily due to their peers only rapping to lyrics that they may not have even written. Oh what a shame!!!!!!!!!!

Last time I checked, there's jazz, thrash, heavy metal, death metal, blues, bluegrass, tropical, tejano, salsa, classical, Native American, bossa nova, koto, and many other types of music that has people playing instruments and there's no rapping involved. I don't know the planet of 'rap only' you live on. A lot of the old musicians didn't learn music in school, they taught themselves.

smoothcriminal12 said:

wonder505 said:

I think that Europop dance music obliterated it.

I think you're rap. The only rap I've heard on the radio this week was Niggas In Paris.

This was supposed to say "I think you're right."

MickyDolenz said:

madhattter said:

I fully agree with you. Due to a lack of funding for music education in our schools and raps personna of not promoting any kind of musicianship at all, we now have a relatively talantless generation of younger musicians, primarily due to their peers only rapping to lyrics that they may not have even written. Oh what a shame!!!!!!!!!!

Last time I checked, there's jazz, thrash, heavy metal, death metal, blues, bluegrass, tropical, tejano, salsa, classical, Native American, bossa nova, koto, and many other types of music that has people playing instruments and there's no rapping involved. I don't know the planet of 'rap only' you live on. A lot of the old musicians didn't learn music in school, they taught themselves.

I understand your point, however, the influence of rap is not one of a motivating force when it comes to musicianship. Dont take this personally, so lets be realistic, most of the genres of music that you've mentioned no longer receives the promotion or airplay that rap has/had received. Therefore their influence among the youth has been limited. I respect rap in its current condition for what it is: CRAP!!!! And I hope it dies! I come from a background that was common to have a high school with 2 or more bands that competed with each other therefore promoting musicianship but nowadays, writing rap lyrics and learning how to program a beat machine seems to be the unfortunate norm and for that I again say "what a shame". We as a society only have ourselves to blame since an emphasis on the arts has been diminished especially in the inner city schools. You are correct in that a lot musicians didn't learn music in school in the old days but that was then and this is now. Kids have other "distractions" or means of expression that many of us on this forum didn't have such as the internet, iphones, computers drum machines, workstations etc that provide the immediate gratification of youth today. Im not speaking of everyone but only those in general the passion and patience to learn a musical instrument isn't as stong anymore.

Rap DIED a LONG ASS time ago!!!!!! U know, when Russell Simmons SOLD OUT His Partner (Rick Rubin) then SOLD Def Jam to the HIGHEST bidder!!!! Now somehow, Jimmy Iovine runs the Rap Game???? GTFOH w/dat shit!!!!!!!

And.....the FUNNY thing is, NO ONE took Him 2 task 4 it. They're buying Rush cards NOW!!!!!

I used to enjoy some hip-hop and actually at one point developed a certain respect for it. However, as I've gotten older, it's a genre I've just seemed to have outgrown. I've pretty much sold most of my hip-hop CDs. I've kept most of my Tupac CDs and some stuff I grew up on in the 80s but I totally lost respect for the genre. One of the things that hurt it for me was the fact that ANYONE can be a rapper. For years, I 've been watching an onslaught of rappers releasing music. It seems like every month, a new hoard of them crops up! It's like anyone who can talk over a recycled beat calls himself a rapper. You don't necessarily have to possess any special skills/talent. You don't even have to stay on beat anymore!!! Sometimes when I'm channel surfing and I can actually stomach watching 106 & Park for more than 60 seconds, it just amazes & saddens me what the hip-hop genre has been reduced to.

[Edited 1/31/12 17:26pm]

dying??? it's dead...good fuckin riddance!

imo rap has been dead for quite sometime. however there's always going to be some ghouls out to squeeze the blood out of what ever market they can sink their fangs into. then they grab some haute lil momma (1day2b), dress her to the ill, make sure she gets applauds and acolades for her potty mouth and dingy lyrical thoughts. then some vampirish mogal convinces her to slap some silicon on her sit down and chest'mam glands, cut off a portion of her natural nose, wear some fiber-optic weaves and finally she becomes 'their puppet,' and our kids source confusion.

good rap, just a memory.

(unless you go underground )

madhattter said:

MickyDolenz said:

Last time I checked, there's jazz, thrash, heavy metal, death metal, blues, bluegrass, tropical, tejano, salsa, classical, Native American, bossa nova, koto, and many other types of music that has people playing instruments and there's no rapping involved. I don't know the planet of 'rap only' you live on. A lot of the old musicians didn't learn music in school, they taught themselves.

I understand your point, however, the influence of rap is not one of a motivating force when it comes to musicianship. Dont take this personally, so lets be realistic, most of the genres of music that you've mentioned no longer receives the promotion or airplay that rap has/had received. Therefore their influence among the youth has been limited. I respect rap in its current condition for what it is: CRAP!!!! And I hope it dies! I come from a background that was common to have a high school with 2 or more bands that competed with each other therefore promoting musicianship but nowadays, writing rap lyrics and learning how to program a beat machine seems to be the unfortunate norm and for that I again say "what a shame". We as a society only have ourselves to blame since an emphasis on the arts has been diminished especially in the inner city schools. You are correct in that a lot musicians didn't learn music in school in the old days but that was then and this is now. Kids have other "distractions" or means of expression that many of us on this forum didn't have such as the internet, iphones, computers drum machines, workstations etc that provide the immediate gratification of youth today. Im not speaking of everyone but only those in general the passion and patience to learn a musical instrument isn't as stong anymore.

There's billions of people on earth. Are you saying they all go to "inner city" schools and write raps?

MickyDolenz said:

madhattter said:

I fully agree with you. Due to a lack of funding for music education in our schools and raps personna of not promoting any kind of musicianship at all, we now have a relatively talantless generation of younger musicians, primarily due to their peers only rapping to lyrics that they may not have even written. Oh what a shame!!!!!!!!!!

Last time I checked, there's jazz, thrash, heavy metal, death metal, blues, bluegrass, tropical, tejano, salsa, classical, Native American, bossa nova, koto, and many other types of music that has people playing instruments and there's no rapping involved. I don't know the planet of 'rap only' you live on. A lot of the old musicians didn't learn music in school, they taught themselves.

Exactly...

LayzieKrayzie said:

I

Are you fucking kidding me? I typed out 1 or 2 big ass paragraphs and only the first fucking letter of it came out? I barely post anything on here anymore because I'm sick of this shit happening.

I don't want to re-type all of the stuff I did yesterday, so I'll just say right now, a lot of you are wrong or don't know what you're talking about. After reading some of your posts.

LayzieKrayzie said:

LayzieKrayzie said:

I

Are you fucking kidding me? I typed out 1 or 2 big ass paragraphs and only the first fucking letter of it came out? I barely post anything on here anymore because I'm sick of this shit happening.

I don't want to re-type all of the stuff I did yesterday, so I'll just say right now, a lot of you are wrong or don't know what you're talking about. After reading some of your posts.

rdhull said:

As long as white people keep buying music, it will never die.

That is the most truthful statement in this entire thread. That's when it completely took over everything when masses of white people got into it, it's also when it became shit hop, and it will never die until they get tired of it.

If you notice, before masses of white people got into it, it wasn't the slow stripped down "talk over a weak sounding beat" that it has been since the early 1990s. In the 1980s when it was played on black radio only and the majority of it's audience was black, 90% of the music itself was released on 12 Inch singles, and what were 12 Inch singles....they were dance singles for club. It was a party/dance oriented genre for years. It wasn't a bunch of old dull Lawrence Welk, Slim Whitman tempoed shit until it got mass appeal with a lot of white listeners.

MickyDolenz said:

madhattter said:

I fully agree with you. Due to a lack of funding for music education in our schools and raps personna of not promoting any kind of musicianship at all, we now have a relatively talantless generation of younger musicians, primarily due to their peers only rapping to lyrics that they may not have even written. Oh what a shame!!!!!!!!!!

Last time I checked, there's jazz, thrash, heavy metal, death metal, blues, bluegrass, tropical, tejano, salsa, classical, Native American, bossa nova, koto, and many other types of music that has people playing instruments and there's no rapping involved. I don't know the planet of 'rap only' you live on. A lot of the old musicians didn't learn music in school, they taught themselves.

Hell, I don't want to listen to none of that shit. And don't forget to throw opera and symphony in there too because there's plenty of that around also. Yeah, there's plenty shit like that if that's what you want to listen to but I don't. I want some damn jams of a funky R&B nature....new jams....and fuck this "searching for them" because I shouldn't have to. I don't want them underground, I want them back in the mainstream R&B world. Now, tune in to a station that plays current R&B these days and you'll see what's on there....shit hop and neo stool ONLY.

madhattter said:

MickyDolenz said:

Last time I checked, there's jazz, thrash, heavy metal, death metal, blues, bluegrass, tropical, tejano, salsa, classical, Native American, bossa nova, koto, and many other types of music that has people playing instruments and there's no rapping involved. I don't know the planet of 'rap only' you live on. A lot of the old musicians didn't learn music in school, they taught themselves.

I understand your point, however, the influence of rap is not one of a motivating force when it comes to musicianship. Dont take this personally, so lets be realistic, most of the genres of music that you've mentioned no longer receives the promotion or airplay that rap has/had received. Therefore their influence among the youth has been limited. I respect rap in its current condition for what it is: CRAP!!!! And I hope it dies! I come from a background that was common to have a high school with 2 or more bands that competed with each other therefore promoting musicianship but nowadays, writing rap lyrics and learning how to program a beat machine seems to be the unfortunate norm and for that I again say "what a shame". We as a society only have ourselves to blame since an emphasis on the arts has been diminished especially in the inner city schools. You are correct in that a lot musicians didn't learn music in school in the old days but that was then and this is now. Kids have other "distractions" or means of expression that many of us on this forum didn't have such as the internet, iphones, computers drum machines, workstations etc that provide the immediate gratification of youth today. Im not speaking of everyone but only those in general the passion and patience to learn a musical instrument isn't as stong anymore.

Exactly! He's just trying to "look at the bright side of things" or "see the glass as half full instead of half empty" and have a "live and let live" attitude. The hell with that. That type of attitude doesn't bring on a change. Bitch on and encourage more people to bitch and also tell them if their children like the shit, don't buy it for them, find a site and download it for free for them. Break the motherfuckers in the pocketbook and a change will finally come. Since they killed music with computers, it's only fair that comptuters also be their downfall.

MickyDolenz said:

madhattter said:

I understand your point, however, the influence of rap is not one of a motivating force when it comes to musicianship. Dont take this personally, so lets be realistic, most of the genres of music that you've mentioned no longer receives the promotion or airplay that rap has/had received. Therefore their influence among the youth has been limited. I respect rap in its current condition for what it is: CRAP!!!! And I hope it dies! I come from a background that was common to have a high school with 2 or more bands that competed with each other therefore promoting musicianship but nowadays, writing rap lyrics and learning how to program a beat machine seems to be the unfortunate norm and for that I again say "what a shame". We as a society only have ourselves to blame since an emphasis on the arts has been diminished especially in the inner city schools. You are correct in that a lot musicians didn't learn music in school in the old days but that was then and this is now. Kids have other "distractions" or means of expression that many of us on this forum didn't have such as the internet, iphones, computers drum machines, workstations etc that provide the immediate gratification of youth today. Im not speaking of everyone but only those in general the passion and patience to learn a musical instrument isn't as stong anymore.

There's billions of people on earth. Are you saying they all go to "inner city" schools and write raps?

Do you think people are concerned with what people are listening to over in India, or Egypt, and the backside of Timbuktu? Folks don't give a damn about that. They want to hear something good in their area and they don't want to "search for it".

the thuggish lifestyle promotion that dominated rap & hip hop killed it