bigted

Yeah I agree with AJ that hip-hop's lacking quality artists whether it's mainstream or underground, there's probably as many less quality underground rappers as their is mainstream rappers, even worse sometimes, there's actually rappers out there that 50 Cent could beat in a battle they're so bad, there's a reason why some never blow up, they're not good, it don't really matter, and in between there's some quality mainstream rappers but overall the game's in a drought right now, there's only a handful of quality artists in between, it's really the opposite of the golden era where mostly everybody famous or not as famous all had a lot of skills and it was hard to find those who didn't have any, "real hip-hop" is about quality and there's just not much of it, there's less quality hip-hop on the most part and I think that's why a lot of people around AJ's age don't buy much current albums 'cause if you compare those who're considered the best now to what was there 15 years ago, they'd be considered average, people jump on one good album and call it classic but it's really just average, you just have to accept that there might not be another De La Soul, it's just like there won't be another Michael Jordan, you gotta accept it for what is, you might be looking for something great but there's really just a few good things in between...

Yeah it says that all of these compilations that they release have exclusive material so there's definately hope that we might get something, I think one of Busta Rhymes' albums had 20 tracks on the CD, Dr. Dre's "Chronic 2001" had 21 tracks, there are rare occurances like that, hopefully this one of them, the more, the better...

Well there's still at least another month until Will starts filming right? There's still time for him to get with Jazzy and do this, in between they could sort out the paperwork to where it's gonna be released and it could come out by the end of the year....

Jazzy's staying busy...

Oprah doesn't have to like hip-hop either if she don't want to, that's her choice, but she should learn a lil' bit about it before she goes criticising, it's just like when Bill O'Reilly criticised the hip-hop community for making violent and sexual music just because he had problems with Ludacris advertising Pepsi, Ludacris doesn't represent the whole hip-hop community, there's Common, Mos Def, Talib, Little Brother, KRS-ONE, Rakim, etc. who don't make violent and sexual music but Bill O'Reilly wouldn't know 'cause they're not on TV that much or at all in some cases, you can't go by BET or MTV just to find hip-hop, that's like if President Bush makes a stupid statement and other countries might look on and think that all Americans think like that but that's not true either, one person doesn't reflect everybody, everybody's different, hip-hop is diverse as music gets, every artist is individual, btw Kanye West was on Oprah performing "Hey Mama" when his album came out.... Wasn't the crime rate high 20 years ago when Run-Dmc was the highest selling rap artists or 15 years ago when MC Hammer was on top wasn't there drugs and violence then too? It doesn't matter how clean the music is there is always gonna be violence, you can't blame 50 Cent for the crime rate just 'cause he puts it in his music, even if Hammer came back the crime rate would be the same as it is now, I think kids are just more entertained by violence than anything else, a lot of them find rappers who don't rap about violence corny and that's why Will and Common are not as popular to them as 50 Cent and Eminem is to them,Now those who don't fit into that commercial audience respect Will and Common more than 50 and Eminem 'cause those who have love for the rap/hiphop game want more substance, there just seems to be not enough rap/hiphopheads to make a change right now though, that needs to change, it has to be cool to rap about something else than violence in order for their to be a change of the playlists on radio... It's just like how violent video games are the most popular, it won't really make them bad people though if parents tell them it's only entertainment, those who go to violence go because nobody raises them so they don't know anything, it's better for kids to sit around and play video games or listen to music at night then it is for them to run the streets where there might drug dealers hanging in the allies, they'd get into more trouble that way....

Hip-hop has changed, it's not quite as group oriented as it once was, there's a lot more solo artists than there is groups, sure it ain't the golden era nomore but there is a few dope hip-hop groups in between, you just gotta search like Turntable said, I think you'd like Little Brother...

First of all the thing is that I agree with a lot that Oprah says too but she named Jay-Z as one of her favorite rappers when she puts down Ludacris for his violent music and that comes off as hypocritical 'cause Jay-Z says b*** and raps about violence just as much as Ludacris does, they do have songs with messages though, if you listen to their albums it's not like all they do is rap about guns and sluts, they tell stories too, it ain't no different than Dr. Dre, he puts messages in his raps even though he makes songs about guns and sluts in between, it's just like a movie that has violence but it also has a story, it's not just violence, there's a plot to it, that makes what she said lose some credability, she could of said Common or Talib Kweli though if she really wanted music with substance, she probably don't even listen to hip-hop either, just naming some of the more popular rappers so she won't face no drama from the hip-hop media, she probably just named whatever platinum artist came to mind, come on now Oprah, now Ludacris should've been a bigger man and handled this behind closed doors, crying to the media about the way Oprah treated him on the show does not show maturity, the funny thing is that Luda's trying to hold on to street cred as being a tought guy but the majority of his audience is kids from the suburbs, lol, if he can't face criticism then he's not really mature either, instead of complaining about what Oprah said maybe he should make music with more substance, it wouldn't hurt to cut one song off of his album about his sexapades and add a song about how we should improve the community, and 50 Cent had nothing to do with this, Oprah didn't bring up his name at all, he should've kept his mouth shut, I don't think he was defending Ludacris, he just said something for attention again, he needs somebody to beef with for his next album, he has a serious attitude problem, that's why he's losing his fanbase with the G-Unit projects flopping on the charts and nobody seeing his movie... If you really love hip-hop you know that not every rapper is violent, there's a lot of positive rappers that don't get played on the radio, somebody with Oprah's power could help them get exposure, put a positive rapper on her show that's getting no exposure right now, hip-hop could be more powerful with more positive influences out there on television and the radio but you can't say that they're bringing the youth down, it's entertainment, kids might see violent movies too, parents have to raise their kids, I mean if we had more responsible mothers like 3cookies then there'd be less problems with our youth, something's wrong if an entertainer has to raise your child....

Well Will and Jeff could sort out the paperwork for how the album could get released after they record the music, the most important thing right now is getting the album done, and btw I'd really like to see Will and Jeff squash their beef with Ready Rock C but if that don't happen that's ok, maybe they could get Doug E. Fresh on the beatbox instead...

That'd be incredible if all that happened, 100% hip-hop from JJFP, no wack producers, nobody helping Will write his lyrics, no guest appearances, no industry bull****, that's what all of us want, Will, Jeff, 2 turntables and a mic in the studio, they should call Ready Rock C and get him on the beatbox too :kekeke:

Oprah Responds to Hip-Hop Criticism By Chris Richburg and Clarence Burke Jr. Date: 5/12/2006 06:15 PM Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is speaking out about the recent criticism she has received from the Hip-Hop community. In the past few weeks, rappers Ludacris and 50 Cent have openly condemned Winfrey, who appeared on Ed Lover's Power 105.1 radio show yesterday (May 11) to defend her side of the story. "I listen to some Hip-Hop. I've been accused of not liking Hip-Hop and that's just not true," she said. "I got a little 50 [Cent] in my iPod. I really do. I like 'In Da Club.' Have you heard the beat to 'In Da Club'? Love that, love Jay-Z, love Kanye, love Mary J. Mary J. is one of my friends." The backlash against Winfrey sparked last year after Ludacris appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote his co-starring role in the film Crash. While discussing the movie's racial subject matter with the other cast members, Winfrey interrogated Ludacris about his notoriously raunchy lyrics. The rapper addressed the incident in the May issue of GQ Magazine, stating that Winfrey edited his comments out of the show. He also revealed that he wasn't invited to appear on the show initially, and that he felt Winfrey's questioning was inappropriate considering the fact that he appeared on the show as an actor. "What I got was that by having rappers on her show, she feels like she is empowering in them. It was like being at someone's house who doesn't really want you there," Ludacris told GQ. "I don't see why Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, who I am huge fans of, it's OK for them to go on Oprah. They speak the same language as I do, but they do it through comedy, so I guess that's acceptable to her." Winfrey said she and Ludacris continued their conversation after the show, as she attempted to explain why she put the rapper in the hot seat. "I said 'Look Ludacris, you are so smart. You are one of the brilliant guys. I used to have the Klan on and the skinheads on and I looked out in the audience and I saw contact being made between the guys in the audience and the stage and they were like, 'Yeah get her, get her, get her, Bud,'" she said. "At that moment, I was doing nobody any good [by] putting those people on because I realized that that platform was being seen and heard by a lot of people who weren't as smart as I am. "My idea was, I want y'all to know that this is what's going on," Winfrey continued. "And I said to Ludacris, 'A lot of people who listen to your music aren't as smart as you are. So they take some of that stuff literally when you are just writing it for entertainment purposes.'" Ludacris isn't the only rapper who has claimed to be offended by Winfrey's actions, however. 50 Cent told the Associated Press that rappers are a rarity on her show. "I think she caters to older white women." 50 said, adding that "Oprah's audience is my audience's parents. So, I could care less about Oprah or her show. I'm actually better off having friction with her." While Winfrey expressed her love of Hip-Hop to Ed Lover, she also decried the misogyny prevalent in the music and stressed that there are many different aspects of Hip-Hop. The media mogul said she personally felt the worldwide impact of rap during an encounter with a security guard for African political leader Nelson Mandela. According to Winfrey, the guard greeted her group by saying "Hello n***as." Winfrey explained to Ed Lover that the guard thought it was the norm because they watched videos and listened to rap music. Lover later told Winfrey that he would never use the word 'b***h' again. Hip-Hop's power is undeniable, Winfrey acknowledged, as she noted the music's growing influence years ago, as well as the accompanying responsibility. "Years and years ago, Quincy Jones and I had this conversation about the evolution of Hip-Hop and what it really means to our culture," Winfrey said. "Hip-Hop is like jazz and gospel music, evolved from the people, a form of protest, a form of expression so you can't deny that, nor would I try. But I do believe there needs to be awareness of who we are, how we got here and what that means about staying here."

I found out that the soundtrack and movie's coming out in August: OutKast Album, Film Penciled In For August May 12, 2006, 3:25 PM ET Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. After numerous delays, the OutKast film "Idlewild" is now slated to arrive Aug. 25 in U.S. theaters, three days after the release of its LaFace soundtrack. The first single from the album, "Mighty O," leaked online earlier this week. The cut features OutKast's take on Cab Calloway's famous scatting from "Minnie the Moocher." Andre 3000's verse finds him resisting easy categorization: "The damsels in distress but they a mess / They only like my armor and that I'm a performer/ They read one magazine and want to think they're getting warmer / They're only getting colder." Big Boi, meanwhile, reasserts his dominance over other rappers with lines like "Intended for anyone filling out this application / An estimate is needed for your underestimation / I'm firing on the spot, go back and check your calculations." Later, he threatens, "I'll hurt you like the president's approval rating by serving you're a** with words, fool." Written and directed by Bryan Barber, "Idlewild" is set in the 1930s around the music and business of running a speakeasy. While it will fit the film's context, Big Boi told Billboard.com last year not to expect period music. "It's hip-hop. It's OutKast. It is what we've been doing for years," he said. "Some songs have a little more piano or whatever, but the whole project was a natural progression from a double CD [OutKast's 2003 album "Speakerboxx/The Love Below"]. It was like, where do we go from here?" Recording artists Patti LaBelle, Macy Gray and Fishbone's Angelo Moore also appear in "Idlewild," along with actors Terrence Howard, Faizon Love, Ben Vereen and Cicely Tyson, among others.

So Turntable you mean that Will's on a major label and Jazzy ain't on a major label might have something to do with them not collabing much? I doubt that, you don't have to be on a certain label to work with somebody, Jazzy wouldn't be able to get Method Man on his album if he wasn't allowed to work with major label artists and Will also had producers on his albums that ain't on major labels either, you threw me off when you said mature but you really meant major, I see what you meant now, I don't think it'd be a problem for a JJFP album to come out even if they ain't on the same label, I mean look at R.Kelly and Jay-Z doing best of both worlds and they're both on different labels, both of their labels might sponsor it, so it'd be an Overbrook/Interscope/Touch Of Jazz/BBE release or something like that.... btw Tim thanks for the link man, it's great to see another mc representin' New Jersey, I'm gonna look more into Dave Ghetto...

Yeah "Lost and Found" was a great album to me too, I care more about dope lyrics than beats myself, I wish others thought like that though, the majority of the general public didn't pay attention to "Lost and Found" 'cause the beats weren't strong enough, they rather hear 50 Cent mumble wack lyrics over hot beats from Dr. Dre than give Will rapping lyrics with substance over average beats a chance, it's the fans that accept wackness that brings down the rap game but then again there was rappers outselling JJFP at the time too even with the great beats that JJFP had and those rappers ain't around now, you need more than catchy beats to have a long career but it wouldn't hurt for Will to have the best music to rap over, even if he don't wanna work with Jazzy all the time at least he should call quality producers to work with, having wack producers on his albums is like Will working with wack directors on all of films, it'd bring down his acting career, he deserves the best with his rap career too...

Jazzy immature? :1-eek: I don't think Jazzy's out of line for anything he said in there, he's just lookin' out for Will and wants to see him do the best, he knows how the record buisiness works, having great production is probably the most important thing to sell albums, now there are some people that don't mind what the beats sound like and just care about great lyrics but most people who buy albums are concerned with the music more than the lyrics, he has the right to say what he said there 'cause his beats are better than anything on Will's recent albums, now if he was making wack beats himself then I could see how he wouldn't have the right to say that, lol, now as a fan I wanna see Will get the full recognition he deserves and he won't get people to fully pay attention to him with the kind of beats on his last couple albums, there's should be no question to why he can't get the best production, what I mean about wack producers ruining Will's legacy is that they keep Will from getting higher record sales than what he could've had, with better production more people would've bought "Born To Reign" and "Lost and Found", I think that Will's respected more than most of the rappers that outsell him now but he's not as successful and there's no excuse for that, bottomline I think the main reason why black radio don't play Will's solo stuff 'cause the beats are weak, they played all JJFP singles on black radio, if Will wants to get on black radio again he should holla at Jazzy.... I'm tired of the wack rappers getting better beats than Will, let's be real without dope production would Bow Wow and 50 sell anything? The reason why there's so many sucker mcs on top 'cause producers waste their dope beats on them, that's their fault too, we need more real producers like Jazzy that only work with the most talented mcs, I wish Dr. Dre was like Jazzy and worked with better mcs than he does...

Well "Willenium" had quite a bit of credability in hip-hop circles and it sold 3 million albums, that's probably the biggest that Will's had credability in hip-hop since the JJFP days, sure "Big Willie Style" sold more but I think it was more 'cause of the catchy beats there, I don't the fans felt the lyrics on there as much as they did "Willenium", it was more of a complete album, "Lost and Found" had some credability but there was quite a bit of people turned off with the production and it only sold 1 million where it could've sold more than that if if had better beats, more people buy albums for beats than they do lyrics these days more than ever, that's why Kanye sells too, he doesn't have 1/3 of the lyrical talent that Will has but he makes dope beats, Will can't be more popular than rappers like 50 and Kanye with weak beats and what I am saying is that I want to see Will have as much success in rap as he does with acting, I don't like it how his acting career overshadowed his rapping career, he deserves another Grammy as well as an Oscar...

Speaking of remastering, I hope the JJFP albums get remastered one day, that's what I'm really looking forward to, I'm not getting this right away if there's no new/unreleased tracks but it's still a good timing to release this since there's probably a lot of kids that got introduced to FP as an mc with "Lost and Found" and this album would be a good album to help give them a history lesson of his career with Jazzy...

If there's only 14 tracks on there with no unreleased, I probably won't get it right away...

Well Kev to me that "Tell Me Why" beat is one of the best that Will's had recently which tells you how bad's it's been with Will's production and if people wanna say that beat or any beat's wack on Will's last 2 albums you can't really argue against them 'cause it's true, even "Here He Comes" which sounds like one of Jeff's worst beats is better than most of the beats Will's had in the last 6 years, the production has been killing Will's career, all the beats are wack compared to what Jeff could do, they might be ok for other producers' standards but not Jeff, he's a perfectionist, he wouldn't give anybody beats wack like that 'cause he puts time into what he does...

Hey I notice that the interview a lot longer than that, what's he saying in the rest of the interview?

Interscope sucks, they delayed releasing Pharrell's album release for almost a year, I've been waiting on this album for a while, Pharrell's mad talented...

KRS is also doing a collab album with Marley Marl and that's supposed to come out this summer, can't wait to hear the Blastmaster rip the mic again, he's one of the most consistant ever

It's obvious that Will has no chemistry with the other producers he works with 'cause he was recording "Lost and Found" for 3 years, I mean with Jazzy on the wheels and the boards he probably could've banged out the same quality album if not something even better in just a couple weeks and in the last few years with Jazzy he could've released a few dope albums instead of spending time on just one album and doing all of these movies, Will and Jazzy releasing one song together in 6 years is disturbing, I mean they're not beefing and they're both alive right? There should be no excuse, I thought they were "potnas" :paperbag:

Yeah I don't really think "Mirror Mirror" was that much of a standout track on "10", btw thanks for the link ash trey, I'm gonna check that out later...

Going to Def Jam would be the best for Will, it'd be like Nas going to Def Jam, Will basically has the same problem that Nas has had by having wack beats on his recent albums, but now with Nas going to Def Jam he's working with the best producers like Kanye and Just Blaze, the reason why Jay and LL have been so consistant over the years 'cause they don't choose to rap over wack beats but I think Nas and Will both have the problem and that's why their sales have been up and down a lil' bit more 'cause the production has been steller at times(ie"Illmatic"/"Stillmatic", "Code Red"/"Willenium") and inconsistant other times(ie "Street's Disciple"/"Lost and Found") and I think that if Will goes there he'd be in the position like Nas in finally having the top notch producers needed to fit with the top notch rhymes, if he's gonna have anybody else on the album produce for him besides Jazzy it should only be those on the level of Just Blaze or Kanye, no more no name sub par producers....

:word: If Will doesn't take time out to work with Jeff I don't think he should do anymore music 'cause working with wack producers is hurting his legacy