MY LOVE 4 HIP-HOP

[JumpinJack AJ]

We've been talking about Hip-Hop music and culture 4 awhile and i just wanted 2 express where i'm comin' so people know why i view things certain ways.

I grew up on what waz on the radio...i just remember Michael Jackson being the only artist i really knew by name. Being around music at a really young age, i looked at it the way we all should look at it. Simply as music. It dosen't need 2 be labled as Hip-Hop, Rock, Jazz, R-N-B, Reggae, Club, Classical, etc...it's all music. Anyways, in the mid-80's, i waz exposed 2 Run-DMC, JJ+FP, and L.L. Cool J. While i considered it simply music...just as i would MJ, Madonna, George Michael, and so on...soemething about Hip-Hop just stood out. It just seemed as this fresh new thing that waz mine. There wazn't much of it existing and going on b4 i got in2 it.

By the late 80's...Hip-Hop waz pretty much all i listened 2. My cousin waz a few years older than me and he had all the M.C. Hammer, Tone Loc, JJ+FP, Digital Underground, DJ EZ-Rock + Rob Base, Heavy D + The Boyz stuff that i consider the golden age of music. I also had other older friends who had this stuff and i just lived off of their copies. It just seemed 2 me that there waz always something new, current, and amazing about Hip-Hop.

The end the 80's and early 90's is when i started actually buying alot of cassettes. Me and my friends would listen 2 this stuff in the basement, garage, front porch..whereever. While all the artists i listed above were what we listened 2 mostly...we also got in2 the less mainstream stuff (at least 4 people our age) like EPMD, AMG, Eric B. + Rakim. We also heard the Pubic Enemy and N.W.A. stuff that we had 2 hide from our parents. We used 2 rap and beatbox our favorite stuff and record it like we were trying 2 get record deals. I still have this tapes and videos of us doing this stuff.

It waz the mid-90's where things got yucky. Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" waz blowin' up. It's a dope album, but people only saw it for the "gangsta rap" quality of it which planted the seeds for tons of untalented people 2 get record deals where they could talk about a lifestyle they never lived. I kept my feet deep in the waters of true skool Hip-Hop but alot of my friends started listening 2 more of the "other" stuff. Don't get me wrong, there's always a time and a place 2 nod ya head to "Dre Day" and "What's My Name?"...but i waz getting upset about how many old skool cats weren't doing their thing (and breaking up) at this time. I got in 2 Dre, Snoop, Onyx, Da Lynch Mob, Ice Cube, and so on...but those people were real. I remembered catching myself rockin' flannel shirts, saggin' jeans and Nike's thinkin' 2 myself "it's either go with the flow or just do me"...so i got rid of that "thugged out" look of the mid-90's and got back in my bright and baggy stuff.

The sound of Hip-Hop right now waz thicker (which waz good) but it waz also darker (not always good). I waz annoyed that nearly every rap album coming out had an explict lyrics sticker. My parents didn't like finding those and i myself didn't like alot of cussing in the 1st place. I remember my one friend rating and raving about Biggie and i waz just like "what's the big deal about this guy"...he and most other new rappers at the time just didn't impress me. This is when i really got in2 R-N-B. I always loved R-N-B, but i waz relying on it now cuz Hip-Hop just wazn't doing it 4 me anymore in a big way. Noteable new artists who kept me happy for awhile were Ahmad and Skee-Lo. At this point, Heavy D + The Boyz, JJ+FP, and Kid 'N Play were simply done. M.C. Hammer released a dope album called V Inside Out which i listened 2 non-stop...but i saw nobody supporting it. I just had a feeling that my favorite style of music waz never gonna be the same. I used 2 say "rap sucks" all the time and my friends are just like "u just don't like it anymore" and i'm like "this is my favorite kinda music...but it sucks right now." Reguardless, me and my boys would still get 2gether and watch Yo! MTV Raps late in2 the nite on weekends.

The really akward era leading 2 the late 90's waz again mixed with good and bad. I remember watching Yo! MTV Raps and flipping the channels alot. De La Soul, Nas, Craig Mack, Digital Underground, Das EFX, The Fugees, Busta Rhymes, and A Tribe Called Quest were the only artists i waz really checkin' 4. The murders of 2pac and Biggie waz were things changed. It waz kinda like they died 2 save Hip-Hop 4 the moment which waz awful. People realized how far the fake lifestyles and trashtalking 2 could and how it would bleed in2 real life. Those murders changed alot for the industry, the artists, and the fans. I just remember who dark and confusing that time waz. However, that opened the door 4 a 2nd wind for a tired music.

With people sick of the negativity, it seemed like clock work that the old skool waz coming back AND the mainstream artists of the time were actually commerical artists rather than successful gritty Hip-Hop artists. Of course this introduced us 2 BAD commercial artists. In the late-80's and early-90's, the commercial artists who got mainstream love were good artists who deserved success. This late-90's era introduced success 2 not-so-talented artists. This is where Puffy, Mase, Master P, etc were getting lots of airplay and success. But that's all 2 the goodie cuz the old skool and true-skool of Hip-Hop kept things going thru' the end of the 90's...Fresh Prince, L.L. Cool J, MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa, EPMD, A Tribe Called Quest, Slick Rick, Young MC, Heavy D, Naughty By Nature, and Queen Latifah all dropped new albums in a matter of years.

Now we are in the 2000's and i'm so disappointed with the music again. It's worse than the mid/late 90's. Fresh Prince MC Lyte, and L.L. Cool J are still doing their thing and Queen Latifah + Heavy D are all on their way with new albums. But the only artists out currently that can keep my attention right now are Black Eyed Peas, OutKast, Twista, + Kanye West. Otherwise, i simply don't like Rap. Nelly, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Chingy Lil' Flip and most of Eminem's and Jay-Z's stuff is just trash 2 me. I don't understand how people can like this stuff the way they do.

The lack of good Hip-Hop and Rap has totally driven me in2 the arms of other music. My R-N-B collection is almost twice the size of my Hip-Hop collection. My Reggae collection is also growing faster than it has in the past 10 years. I'm not the kinda person 2 limit myself 2 one thing...so i'll like anything that i think is good and i've totally started digging old Motown stuff and a few Top 40 rock acts like Evanescence. I just hope that something happens 2 save Hip-Hop music. It sucks 2 have only 3 or 4 CDs come out each year from your favorite kinda music.

Fans are neglected, young kids are listening 2 poison...it's time for real emcees 2 take a stand and take their music back from these wack, immature, phoney, greedy fools on the charts now. Let us remember what a real emcee is about...writing dope lyrics, being original, having heart, knowing how 2 perform, and actually knowing how 2 ride the beat.

[bigted]

[quote=JumpinJack AJ,Jun 7 2004, 11:52 PM]The lack of good Hip-Hop and Rap has totally driven me in2 the arms of other music...
.... I just hope that something happens 2 save Hip-Hop music. It sucks 2 have only 3 or 4 CDs come out each year from your favorite kinda music.[/quote]
I like listening to a lot of R&B and Reggae now, but you can see that the reggae artists are startin' to do the same trash that the rappers are doing now! I like listening to ol' school music period, whether it's '80s-'90s hip-hop, or '70s-'80s R&B, or '70s-'90s Reggae. If I had a rough day at work, I like to put on something releaxing to listen to like Boyz II Men or Stevie Wonder rather than something that's too hard and edgy, but sometimes when I'm real mad I'll put on some 2Pac or Dr. Dre, and when I feel good I'll listen to JJFP and LL Cool J, I like music that has some emotion in it, if you listen to a lot that's out now, it doesn't make you feel anything, the youth is gonna hear it and be all confused about what real music is, you're right man music is music, right now it seems that the music has no soul in it, 'cause the people that make the music are souless people only worried about themselves. A lot of the songs that I write express the various moods of my life and I don't see any rapper currently doing that, we don' really know about them, who they really are and that is pitiful 'cause m.c's used to tell stories with their music but they don't do that anymore.

[mfuqua23]

Yes, it does seem like we convert 2 other music. But 2 me, even R&B is startin 2 slip. It's not as emotional as it use 2 be. And fun 2. SWV is one I can think of right now. They're suppose 2 come back out. (I think the end of 2004 or soemthin like that)

What about Outkast? They seem 2 be doin pretty good. But it seems like it's 2 much. Almost corny. Well, maybe not. But it's some thin line between the two. (bein cool and bein corny)

We as honest fans, haven't been doin our part. I think we should.

[Hero1]

yeah ive started to listen to a lot of jazz..cause theres hardly any good rap albums comin out... ive also continued my search for some overlooked classic albums from the 90s..i found one the other day.. poor righteous teachers 1996 album..awesome!! it has tracks with the fugees, krs 1 and dj premiere :music: :music: :thumb:

[JumpinJack AJ]

Ahhhh!! I've wanted that album since it came out. I havn't seen it in stores 4 a long time. I remember the video that put out 2 promote that album....it waz dope. I just remember it being out around the time that The Fugees, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Nas were out saving Hip-Hop from the dying gangsta rap at the time.

Recently i've been just getting random stuff....i stocked up on old Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson CD singles last month. I just got Monica's 2002 album All Eyez On Me which waz re-worked 2 become After The Storm. Since it's summertime, i've been checking out some reggae. I also got the new Motown 1's CD filled with remastered Motown classics (most of them from the 60's..which i've fallen in love with over the past year).

[Guest lambertj3]

Just a question aj how do equate people like master p or 50 having no heart do you knowthem personally ? they do have skills, i am not saying violence is everything but i think they are the product of their environment. P.S JUST STATING MY OPINION.

[JumpinJack AJ]

I'm not saying they don't have heart...but they certainly don't have it in their music...which makes it one dementional crap 2 me. I like artists that i can get 2 know thru' their music...not artists that i'll never truely know thru' their music. Violence and stuff may be part of their enviornment, but that's not all they have been exposed 2...so why don't they spice up their music and talk about something else once in awhile. All great musician are multi-faced...why don't they find their 1st face and build from there.

[mfuqua23]

[quote=JumpinJack AJ,Jun 11 2004, 07:18 AM]I like artists that i can get 2 know thru' their music...not artists that i'll never truely know thru' their music. Violence and stuff may be part of their enviornment, but that's not all they have been exposed 2...so why don't they spice up their music and talk about something else once in awhile. All great musician are multi-faced...why don't they find their 1st face and build from there.[/quote]
U'd love me as an atrtist then. Somethin' gonna change. We just need the right type of new artist, doesn't give up on the fans of hip hop. :music:

[WildWildWillennium]

[quote=JumpinJack AJ,Jun 8 2004, 12:52 AM]The lack of good Hip-Hop and Rap has totally driven me in2 the arms of other music.[/quote]
I've appreciated R-N-B and reggae in the last few years more than ever cuz of all the poor Hip-Hop out now. I find myself listening 2 mid-90's and ol' skool music now 2 cover up 4 what's out today. Something's gotta change... :poke:

[JumpinJack AJ]

[quote=mfuqua23,Jun 11 2004, 06:20 PM]Somethin' gonna change. We just need the right type of new artist, doesn't give up on the fans of hip hop. :music:[/quote]
There are plenty of true skool emcees out there, it's just that they aren't getting signed by lables that can promote them properly (or promote them at all). It's never been a problem with having good artists out there, it's just been a problem of who gets a record deal, who gets promoted, and so on. It seems that the business side of the music business only wants 2 support the bad and neglect the good.

[Guest lambertj3]

kanye west is be promoted right and i love his music

[bigted]

[quote=JumpinJack AJ,Jun 11 2004, 11:12 PM]It's never been a problem with having good artists out there, it's just been a problem of who gets a record deal, who gets promoted, and so on. It seems that the business side of the music business only wants 2 support the bad and neglect the good.[/quote]
I know a few m.c.'s at the 'Jersey Shore that rap true flows but they're on an underground label, so it seems that nobody knows about them outside of my local area.

[JumpinJack AJ]

Forgive me for bumping up this (almost) 4 year old post. But with the tension around the Hip-Hop vs. Rap topics, i just had 2 take it 2 the top.

[VIsqo]

that was deep AJ ive never seen this post before... thx for bringing that up. Ive always liked other music other than hip hop. Salsa for example, but that is lowering down too, because lately everybody in here have been listenning to reggaeton. Anyways, hip hop always have had and will have an special place in my heart. As with everything, theres some good rappers, and some bad rappers. I have songs I like from bad rappers, and there are songs I dislike from good ones, but hip hop is all about the fans actually. And the artists give the people what they ask for, exceptions some cases in which they just bring what they want and they feel to do. My love for hip hop will always be the same as I have my old cds, classics, and new songs from some artists that i like. thats why hip hop is always gonna be alive as long as theres people who love it like i do.

[TopDawg14]

It's not just rap that's in a state of dysfunction. R&B is in the same state because it basically mirrors what the rappers are doing. There are only select R&B and hip-hop artists that I look for now. For me, I began looking toward other genres of music when I entered college. It's only intensified as rap and R&B have continued to decline. I find myself looking for more jazz, rock & pop these days then I do rap and R&B. That being said, I still love hip-hop and '07 was a banner year for "real" hip-hop.

I just think that music(or more so the industry) in general is in a state of chaos. I've been saying this and I will continue to say this - artists need to leave these labels and go independent. In today's age with the internet, digital music, MySpace, YouTube and other outlets, there is no need for a label. Today's music industry is archaic. It is no longer needed and it must be destroyed to truly give control of the music back to the artists and their fans.