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Hype Vs Skill

September 25, 2008 | Tags: rap, Hype, Skill, Ass music, take that take that take that

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.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Daaaaamn Homey: 2008 Fall Off List

March 02, 2008 | Tags: Hip Hop, rap, Add-2, Random Adventures, Fall Off list, Joe, Wayne, niggas

The other day me and my homey was arguing about emcee's, rappers and singers and as the conversation turned into a debate...and later an argument. First off, i'm a true school hip hop head born in the mid 80's but raised in the 90's (sidenote: just cause you were born in the 80's does not make you a 80's baby, especially if you cant remember any of it lol) and he's a fanatic for the newer stuff which off the top is a set up for a bad debate. For a minute i thought that maybe i had caught the dreaded old man 'back in my day' syndrome....but then i rethought that shit and realized that alot of shit now still couldnt hold a torch to freestyle from Big L. And to be fair, no one stays consistent forever, eventually we all reach our primes and then fall the fuck off so i'll try to be as honest as possible cause i know we wont agree on all of this but fuck it who cares. It aint about hits i'm talking about the distance between them and their prime lyrically. IF ANYONE HAS ANY SONGS/EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE STILL IN THEIR PRIME PLEASE BY ALL MEANS SHARE AND I WILL GLADLY CHECK IT OUT AND EVEN TAKE BACK MY STATEMENT IF IM WRONG. ALSO WHATS YOUR 2008 FALL OFF LIST????

Fat Joe - Seems like an easy target cause he's been taking alot shit since he flipped sides and became the fat bald ass albino version of wayne without the punchlines. Some people may say 'when was he ever tight lyrically?' well it had to be around the time when Pun was still alive (if he was writing it or not is up for you to decide). Its hard to even believe that this is the same guy who did 'This Shit Is Real' produced by the legendary Preemo. I will say this his ear for beats is still pretty good, but the lyrics is ri-goddamn-diculous, the subject matter is simply...crack (not in the good way). A few weeks ago i seen a video with him demanding respect as one of the top rappers alive but its hard to get that title when you dont write your own lyrics. To sum it up Joey needs some better ghostwriters.

Lloyd Banks - Banks use to be the best cat on the mixtape scene and when 50 just got on aftermath he was the biggest problems out there following him. He had his own style and voice plus he had skills and with 50 there to help he was able to make good songs as well. After the Rotten Apple dropped to deaf ears and G-Unit now up against the ropes and Buck being the favorite its hard to really see where this leaves Banks. Plus after he let Game just abuse him without really saying much back makes me further wonder what the hell happened?

Snoop Dogg - He was once one of my childhood heroes and what sold Snoop honestly has always been his charisma and how he said stuff i.e '80 degrees when i tell that bitch please, raise up off these N-U-T's cause you gets none of these, at ease, as i mob with the dogg pound feel the breeze'. I guess i really should have stop expecting classic work especially after the No limit Snoop or the infamous '2+2 = 4, this the type shit that last forever more' snoop. In his defense, Sexual Eruption was dope and one of the most creative videos and at this point Snoop is so recognizable that he doesnt need to say anything on records for it to be a hit. Gon head and make that money snoop!!!

Papoose - Maaaaaaaaaan this nigga disappointed me, i could of sworn after Alphabet Slaughter and Charades (2 was dope too) and even the mainstream exposure on Touch It remix that he was on his way to being one of the most thought provoking emcees but then somewhere between getting signed and dropped i started hearing a new papoose, one that i aint really care to listen to. When i first heard 'Fitted Hat Low' i aint believe it. I still think he has enough time to rebound if he got another 'Black Democrat' freestyle in em and that maybe this is just a 'Oochie Wally' phase.

Lil Wayne - Before all the stans take a minute to jump off his dick to throw stones at a nigga i'd say to be honest for a second. There was once a time when wanye damn near killed everything he was on, hell after the 'Show Me What You Got' and 'Taking Ova' freestyle and the dedication mixtapes it made me think that maybe wayne his claim as best rapper wasnt too far off. But then came oversaturation (which can work but at the same time it can hurt you), then came the recycled and basic lines (im on like the television) and then came the singing (i heard he's coming out with an r&b cd too, no joke). His cameos are still enough to give anybody a hit record but i havent heard a wayne verse that made me say run that shit back since the freestyle over the Jay-z joint. If you have any verses that he kilt as of recently (and he's not singing) please comment cause i will gladly check it out.

Nelly - Its not that i'm really waiting on a Nelly record i'm just wondering where the hell did that nigga go? He wifed up Ashanti and hasn't really made any good music since (it dates further back before this but for argument sake we'll settle on once ashanti came). This isnt a lyrical fall off like the other ones cause Nelly was more of a party song rapper but his presence is completely missing especially considering how much of a mainstream artist he was.

Consistency awards - Some of the few who have been killin every verse for years
Common
Black Thought
Elzhi

And the THAT SHIT SHOULDNT HAVE BEEN DONE AWARD goes to.............NAACP for giving that wack ass Tyler Perry show House of Payne any award, the show is awful and if thats the standard of entertaining Black television then we all going to hell

Again this isnt a list of who's still selling records, who's still in the public eye. This is a emcee's list of ppl who i felt fell off lyrically. Whats your list cause i know i missed out on a bunch

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