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The Random Adventures Of Add-2

Hype Vs Skill

Flashback 2001: I'm sitting in my cramped room writing to some random instrumentals cd-r that barely plays on my dads old cd player/tapedeck when my phone starts ringing and the convo goes like this: 

'Yo I got the bootleg to the Stillmatic cd, you want it?'
'Nah I'm waiting to go to the mall saturday and buy it'
'Nigga fuck that, I got that shit now, its cold as hell'
'Its that dope?'
'Hell yea, Nas is back, you need to hear One Mic and Rewind, that shit is crazy'

As much as I wanted to wait, I knew Nas wasnt going to disappoint me, if anything it was going to inspire me. I was on kazaa in minutes searching for the mp3s. And finally once i heard it, it was better than I pictured it. Fast Forward 2008, its slowly starting to feel like the hype doesn't stem from your skills anymore, its almost like they became two different things. Instead of skills, people started talking about the chains rappers wore, cars they drove, women they smashed, a dance they made up, did they go to jail, did they deal drugs, are they from the projects, did they shoot somebody or even worse how many times they been shot. And then it hit...no one gives a fuck if you can rap anymore. After hearing verse after verse on all of those DJ Kahled's 15+ south niggas on one beat all which are mostly skippable, i'm convinced no one is listening for anyone to kill a verse anymore. The phrase keep it real became the foundation to people being more concerned with living what they're writing more than they're ability to write. Seems like when people tell me about newer (mostly mainstream) rappers or even ones that out now, i'm generally disappointed verse wise but to their credit they can make a song built for todays standards and they're market. No lie Soulja Boy has more hype than anything else and as garbage as he is he's banking on being... wack.

Downside of having skills in today's era is that it will take years for you to get the respect you deserve and only if you weather the storm and maintain your originality. But depending on if you even get the chance cause as we know industry people are shady. Hell, the Saigon's Greatest Story Never Told seems like the perfect name cause i'm not sure if i'll ever get a chance to hear it. There are alot of artist who end up as writers or just fading out our mind cause they didn't have the hype/momentum to match their talent. But lets be clear as well, you can not just be super lyrical and expect the industry to play you off the strength of that alone. This is a business where they need something appealing to a wide variety of people. 

There are some artist I believe have both like Cory Gunz, Lupe, Wale who can back up their hype with an enormous amount of talent and if they continue to put out good music then there's potential to raise the standard and look at rappers for good songs with good lyrical content as well. And when someone taps into that shit is bound to change.   

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