Re: The Offical Rap Thread Part 3

[dmize]

[El Gunner]

So just listened to Year of the Wolf.
And I liked it very much tbh.
My favourites are Bigger Than Me, FUN, The Purge, Really, Married to the Game, Bloody Moon.
Tbh I liked the whole first half of the album really much except Fk Your Feelings of course. I kinda didn't pay much attention when I got to the second half of the album, will have to listen to it more.
But yeah, good album overall I say. Game should just cool down with the many features on his albums though. I always feel it's better to go +75% solo on your albums. Look at how Drake and Kendrick does it and they're the NIGGAS!

[Arsenalfaithfull]

I grew up on mid-late 90s East coast hiphop. This is when rap was at its best. Any thing post/prior to this era was too gimmicky or simply downright wack imho.

New York is where hip hop started, and they were the trend setters and the face of hiphop for nearly 2 decades. You look at all the classic albums, and god emcees and 8/10 of them repped the big apple.

WHat happened? why did New York/East coast fall off? Its pretty sad to see rappers hopping on that #CHIRAC bull shit when they live in the mecca of hiphop ...draw inspirations from your surroundings right?

Anyways here is an interesting theory i came across as to why New York fell off!

The Reason NYC HipHop Isn’t Relevant anymore: Blame 50 cent

Call it prophecy

“The plan is to put the rap game in a choke hold”

Before 2003, The NY Hip-Hop Crown was (more or less) shared by two titans Nas and Jay-Z. New York was heavily represented in mainstream hip-hop. Fabolous and Cam’ron were carving their place in the game. Fat Joe went double platinum by crossing over with J.O.S.E. D-Block was in full effect. Roc-A-Fella continued to dominate the streets (more or less) with a relentless marketing campaign to become the premier hip-hop label in hip-hop. Method Man and Redman were acting the fool…literally (How High) and musically speaking. Talib Kweli and Mos Def were holding down the conscious side. Diddy was P. Diddy back then.

Simply put, NY wrestled Hip-Hop away back from the West Coast, and was comfortably running things. Though collaborations weren’t frequent, beefs were amount, NY set up a system that as long as you were from NY, you had the resources to make a bigger name for yourself through the machine of better studios, distribution, TV and radio exposure, and competition. The machine worked for Biggie, Jay, Nas, and numerous MCs in the 90s. Even if you drop a wack album, the machine backed you up so you can still sell platinum or at a minimum, retain critical acclaim.

Enter 50 cent, who happened to come at the most vital point in the information era of modern history.

When 50 cent came on into the NY hip-hop era, his bravado, wit, and mass appeal exceeded all who came before him. He had the pedigree of a NY Hip-Hop Superstar: Looks, charm, charisma, gangster appeal, and a knack for quirky punchlines. He had the enormous co-sign of Dr. Dre and Eminem on (more or less) the biggest rap label in the game, Aftermath Records. He sold over 12 million records on his first album. Went on a Roc The Mic tour. Created a G-Unit brand. He accomplished what he set out to do: Put the rap game in a choke hold.

And that’s what he did.

He had the clothing line. He had video games. He was a NY product and milked the machine to its limits. He had the set-up to stay relevant in the game for 10 or 15 years in Hip-Hop world. His posse (Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, Game…I’m not counting Tony Yayo) had all done well commercially. He dominated XXL Magazine covers. He bought Mike Tyson’s house. The torch (seemly at the time) was passed to him. He was the new face of NY rap. And the machine worked for him.

Enter the new internet era: MySpace, Youtube, Bloggers, and Media Evolution

The competition (Curtis) with Kanye is what killed his career….unfortunately. Simply put, in terms of quality and quantity, Kanye destroyed 50 cent.

After that competition, we saw the current state of NY hip-hop began to fall victim to the new Internet era. Combine that with the fact that 50 cent himself did little to nothing to advance the NY landscape of hip-hop. NY became stagnant. Because the NY machine worked so well with legends in the past, many up and coming MCs tried to use the same formula to success, and to our avail many failed miserably (Papoose among others). Many tried the beef avenue, only to not translate those beefs into an industry buzz or record sales. The landscape shifted into the South, who understood the evolution of technology and had access to promote, distribute, and sell their own records without using NY as a barometer of success.

The landscape (along with 50 cent’s career) and scope of NY rap became stagnant, it began to die slowly in relevancy. It stop becoming about the music, and became about “who’s 50 taking shots at now.” It became “50 cent is feuding with ???” It became all about 50 cent, and less about the music he was making. The machine had failed, losing to the information era. Now rappers had access to online resources to address beefs and controversy. Popular opinion worked against 50 cent as a result.

Before you know it, the only thing NY rappers can agree upon is that 50 cent is a clown. He didn’t respect the game, or those who came before him. He went at Nas, JadaKiss, and Fat Joe, and each rapper saw him for what he was, a gimmick trying to sell records. We heard about his constant shenanigans and issues, and overexposure. Young Buck left. Lloyd Banks flopped with his second album. It all went downhill from there.

NY has had its ups and downs in regards to hip-hop over the years. No matter how the South or West may dominate, there is always a few rappers that can keep NY Hip-Hop relevant. NY is still looking for relevancy in hip-hop where rhyming offbeat (Souljah Boy) can get you radio play everywhere. The formula for success in hip-hop is more accessible thanks to the Internet, but with that, NY no longer becomes the source of all media avenues of hip-hop. Its just a city that has some of the best studios, TV exposure, and musical resources in the U.S.

The problem is that with this newfound information age, 50 cent can’t rely on that same NY backbone anymore as previous MCs did. You are now at the mercy of bloggers, internet hip-hop sites, and youtube, and not the NY machine. That’s is what kept NY MCs relevant: TV and the radio. Internet makes everyone relevant. That’s why NY basketball hip-hop will continue to fall behind to their contemporaries in the South unless they re-invent the machine they created to promote new and upcoming artists on a mainstream level.

Unless you like MIMS

Basically NY became irrelevant the moment 50 lost that battle with Kanye? Yall agree?

[dmize]

Shady XV Cypher
http://shadyrecords.com/2014/11/10/watch-shadyxv-the-cxvpher/?utm_medium=shady.sr-static&utm_source=t.co&utm_campaign=&awesm=shady.sr_CXV&utm_content=awesm-publisher

Em

and Joeys verse was disturbing, he needs help again

[M99]

I love this guy. So unique.

[El Gunner]

Shady XV Cypher
http://shadyrecords.com/2014/11/10/watch-shadyxv-the-cxvpher/?utm_medium=shady.sr-static&utm_source=t.co&utm_campaign=&awesm=shady.sr_CXV&utm_content=awesm-publisher

Em

and Joeys verse was disturbing, he needs help again

Em
Joel Ortiz
Yelawolf

[MaraVilla]

lol people hating on em cause he raps about punching lana del rey, clearly they havent heard any of his old stuff

[El Gunner]

Clearly.

[Gil]

This song bangs so hard in the club. I have a love-hate relationship with it. The hook is so catchy and clever and Drake's verse elevates the song to a whole 'nother level.

OVO sound continues to dominate Hip Hop.

[Gil]

Listening to Eminem in 2014.

He's shown absolutely no growth as an artist. On a technical level few can match his metaphors, similes, intricate wordplay and high complex rhyme schemes but his music really really sucks. You listen to it once and then you're done.

That Cypher is insane though. Crooked, Em & Yela all came hard.

[RealGunner]

This song bangs so hard in the club. I have a love-hate relationship with it. The hook is so catchy and clever and Drake's verse elevates the song to a whole 'nother level.

OVO sound continues to dominate Hip Hop.

Nah didn't do much to me

Beat is pretty good. The fat ronaldo look alike had the best verse in it and salvaged the track but it's decent

[Gil]

It sounds 10x better when you're drunk.

[M99]

It sounds 10x better when you're drunk.

Agreed lol.



Perfect song for grinding

[EarlyPrototype]

This is outta nowhere. J. Cole just released a promo video for his new album in 3 weeks.
Looks like he is very passionate about this one....can't wait.

[El Gunner]

J. Cole one of the realest rapperss out there today.
So that's him in 3, Em in 1 and K.Dot?

[RealGunner]

I like Cole's lyrical game. Think he is one of the best in terms of Lyrics among the new guys. However he needs to work on his production. Most of his songs have kinda bland beats to it. I know he is trying to follow the foot steps of Nas but he should add variety to his tracks

[EarlyPrototype]

I like Cole's lyrical game. Think he is one of the best in terms of Lyrics among the new guys. However he needs to work on his production. Most of his songs have kinda bland beats to it. I know he is trying to follow the foot steps of Nas but he should add variety to his tracks

I think it's a bit of an insult to call him one of the new guys. He is easily one of the best rappers in the game and has been for a few years now. Have you listened to both 'The Warm Up' and 'Friday Night Lights' mixtape a? Two classics. About the production... Listen to the whole of 'Friday Night Lights'.

[M99]

RG check out Danny Brown.

[El Gunner]

Favourite J. Cole songs to date?
Before I'm Gone
The Cure
In the Morning
Cole Summer

All of them are not on one of his albums. Or In the Morning might be, but I think that it was originally on his Friday Night Lights mixtape.

[RealGunner]

I like Cole's lyrical game. Think he is one of the best in terms of Lyrics among the new guys. However he needs to work on his production. Most of his songs have kinda bland beats to it. I know he is trying to follow the foot steps of Nas but he should add variety to his tracks

I think it's a bit of an insult to call him one of the new guys. He is easily one of the best rappers in the game and has been for a few years now. Have you listened to both 'The Warm Up' and 'Friday Night Lights' mixtape a? Two classics. About the production... Listen to the whole of 'Friday Night Lights'.

lol I call all the post-2008 guys new

Think I've heard both. I actually like him a lot. Him and Pusha T are the only ones I can tolerate. But my criticism was directed at the Born sinner album where most of the tracks felt a bit bland eventhough the lyrics were fantastic.

[MaraVilla]

anyone heard of "so proper" i listened to 3 of his songs ages ago- tried to find new stuff but there's no info of him anywhere



he's the asian rapper.

[El Gunner]

Eminem threatens to rape Iggy Azalea
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2841756/Eminem-threatens-rape-Iggy-Azalea-drag-Humvee-new-violent-song-Vegas.html

[dmize]

Favourite J. Cole songs to date?
Before I'm Gone
The Cure
In the Morning
Cole Summer

All of them are not on one of his albums. Or In the Morning might be, but I think that it was originally on his Friday Night Lights mixtape.

my sh1t

I agree most of his best tracks were from his early mixtapes, but he still makes good music

[dmize]

[RealGunner]

No rapper can ever match this flow lol



King of 00s

[El Gunner]

No rapper can ever match this flow lol



King of 00s

My dream is still to walk in the streets of as many cities as possible in this world rapping this track out loud.
Like, I AM WHATEVER YOU SAY I AM BEEEEEE-TCHHHH!!!

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