Kanye West in Time Magazine

[Frenetic]

The whole article is pretty long.. can be read here: Article

The part with JJFP (ain't nothing special):

"In the '80s, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, A Tribe Called Quest and LL Cool J successfully wove suburban perspectives into rebellious music, but when gangsta rap arrived, nuance was smothered by a blanket of extreme poses. Tupac Shakur, once a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts, died with thug life tattooed across his torso. On The College Dropout, West found a way to bridge the divide without self-destruction. His follow-up, Late Registration, arrives Aug. 30 and continues to mix race and class with beats and melodies. It is widely expected to be the biggest-selling record of the year—1.6 million copies will be shipped to stores for its first week of release."

[mfuqua23]

Suburban perspectives??? Is that really the right term to use?

They're only shipping 1.6 million copies? I'm assuming that's enuff to beat out the competition.

[bigted]

I doubt it'll sell 1.6 million in the 1st week, that's wishful thinking unless this turns out to do "Big Willie Style" numbers and outsells G Unit, "College Dropout" only sold 2 million altogether, well I won't be one of those buying this album right away, maybe a few months from now I'll buy it. I don't like it when they call JJFP and LL Cool J suburban rappers just 'cause their music ain't explicit, I thought Kanye referrenced JJFP himself in the interview when I looked at the topic, I guess you're doing anything to get us JJFP fans to buy his album. :lolsign:

Edited August 22, 2005 by bigted

[JumpinJack AJ]

Yeah, it's kinda annoying when they try 2 label then something like that. But at the same time, JJ+FP and LL did come from the suburbs. So did alot of rappers who try 2 act like they didn't. Kanye himself didn't come from a super ghetto upbringing.

Off topic, i waz watching that long interview Kanye did with MTV. He would say something that i agreed with, then he'd go and same something stupid that makes me not even wanna give the rest of his album a listen. Kanye just dosen't know when 2 shut up. Most of the hype is all in his head. People feel him, but not as much as he thinks. He's thinks he's on some 2Pac type mess like all eyez are on him...but they aren't. After hearing "Diamonds" and "Gold Digger," i can't even keep my ears on him.

[bigted]

Well FP said in "The Real Deal" interview on the JJFP.com homepage that he knew drugdealers and there was killings in West Philly and I think LL wrote about the drama in Farmers, Boulevard in his book, they grew up with that but they didn't put that in their music so people think they lived in the suburbs just 'cause they don't talk 'bout the 'hood life much in their music, they just don't live that now so they don't talk 'bout it now, some rappers stress too much of their 'hood past and don't talk about how they're living now.

[Frenetic]

Bigted//

Nah.. I was in a hurry and just wrote that JJFP was mentioned in the article =)

AJ// Atleast you feel something for him don't you.. whether it's hate, love or something inbetween.. he provokes... And it's cool with that kind of people.

[JumpinJack AJ]

Bigted, JJ+FP and LL are straight from the suburbs. I have articles that talk about JJ+FP middle class West Philly upbringing. I actually drove thru' alot of West Philly when i saw them in Feb 2002. I'm from the suburbs 2. I don't think it takes any credibility away from any artists where they come from...unless they pretend 2 be from a place they aren't, which i the case in a lot of chart topping rappers. I live in the suburbs and i consider it a blessing. My home away from home is very 'hood. I learned ALOT there but i waz always happy knowing i could go back home whenever i needed 2 get away from that enviornment. Some of my closest friends were drug dealers and i even used 2 be cool with people who had commited murder or attempted it.

When i used 2 write and rap alot, hardly any of it had 2 do with that dark kinda stuff. MC Hammer came out of straight poverty, but he never made the kinda music 2 make u feel like crap. When u live that kinda lifestyle, u don't wanna talk about it. That's why there's alot of rappers trying 2 be "street" and they just take all of their stories out of the newspaper and movies.

Bottom line, i think it's wack 2 label somebody "suburban." That dosen't say what someone has been thru' or what kinda person they are. JJ+FP and LL make some of the best music in the world....so anybody who lables them that and dosen't make music half as good as their's has no reason 2 open their mouth.

[bigted]

:iagree: Like Rakim says "It Ain't Where Ya From, It's Where Ya At", hip-hop is universal, I'm living in a surburban community myself so I don't really talk 'hood stories in what I rap about since that ain't my life, I used to live in an urban area until I was like 9 years old and I consider it a blessing to be in the suburbs now too, it's a lil' nicer area to grow up at, I like to talk about now more than then but there's always drama everywhere so JJFP and LL probably did live in the suburbs when those things did happen but they don't emphasise about it in all their songs, a lot of commercial rappers would probably just talk about what happened until they were 9 rather than now.