Appealing to the Mainstream

"The game used to make you sell ya soul. Now it gotta' come wit' a dance."

-  Joe Budden, 5th Gear on Mood Muzik 3

Something that has definitely changed over time, and I'd argue it was for the worse, is the style and content of the rap music that sells or gains popularity. It's incredible. I'm not exactly sure that many people realize the vast difference in talent and quality of what used to propel a rap artist to fame as opposed to what actually makes it happen now. There are many arguable reasons why this is so, and ofcourse we would be naive to believe that the industry wouldn't evolve over time. However, I'll immediately admit that in a lot of ways it is rather disappointing the direction it has taken.

This is not to say that the popular rappers these days don't put out music worth the listen, but there is a noticeable lack of soul, dedication, and value in the genre that moved a generation. I'd like to reemphasize that the soul is seemingly gone. 

This isn't a new comparison that I'm about to make, but a necessary one to make early on for the purpose I want this blog to hold. Now, does the below album cover look familiar to you?

 

 To be completely honest, I don't expect many people to know about it. This is completely from my experience and what I have been surrounded by. Nasir Jones, previously known as Nasty Nas, now just Nas, recorded this demo tape when he was 18 years old. His age is the least important factor, rather, the content of this demo tape is. The material on this tape will later be recorded onto Illmatic, which was his debut album in 1994. I don't care who you are, but in ANY real Hip Hop fans top 5 (or 10) albums of all time, Illmatic is undoubtedly a complete classic from Track 1 to Track 10. From "The Genesis" to "It Ain't Hard to Tell," Illmatic is an amazing album. (sidenote: I listen to most of it at least once a month, every month)

A lot of his material on Illmatic was on the Nasty Nas demo, rapped on different beats and different rhythm, but still in his legendary flow. 

Today, it almost offends me that what does become popular are songs with dances. Really? That's down right offensive if we notice the kind of work that was put out by passionate Hip Hop icons compared to "Crank that." It's sad, but the priorities in the Hip Hop industry have seriously shifted. Music generally categorized as "Hip Hop," is no longer the same. 

Luckily we still hear, sprinkled throughout the vast selection of music we have access to thanks to new technologies, music worth acknowledging in light of the Hip Hop movement that was so prominent in the past.

The (re)Birth of the (pseudo)Rap Group

Many are well aware or have at least heard that Hip Hop's latest rap group, Slaughterhouse, has signed with Shady Records, and with them Yelawolf as well. Personally, I was happy to hear this news considering my own affinity for Slaughterhouse specifically, as well as my adoration since my Middle School days for Eminem's lyrical dexterity and content ever.

Slaughterhouse includes:   
              Joe Budden from Jersey City, New Jersey
              Joell Ortiz from Brooklyn, New York
              Royce da 5'9" from Detroit, Michigan
              Crooked I from Long Beach, California

There's no argument that each of these four members is talented. What I came here to do is talk about Rap Groups, or lack thereof. Read through the list below and keep count in your head how many of these names you recognize:

• A Tribe Called Quest 
• De La Soul
• The Pharcyde
• Lords of the Underground
• Cypress Hill
• The Beastie Boys
• Ultramagnetic MC's
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Run DMC
• Digital Underground
• Jungle Brothers
• Souls of Mischief
• Arrested Development

It's almost sad to see that this fact seems to not exist anymore. All of the above named groups had a strong presence on the Hip Hop scene through the 80's and 90's. A few have even been celebrated on VH1's Hip Hop Honors in the past 5 or so years. So what's happened? Rappers seem to have grown into a self-obsessed culture, where the greater majority are more focused on their individual success or legacy. All of them working to lay claim to being the "Best Alive." A title that in this day is, arguably, already taken.

Hip Hop in one aspect used to be a team effort, as a lot of the aforementioned groups have engraved their names as a group in the history books with their individual rap names etched underneath. This isn't to say that rappers these days don't collaborate, but consistent work as a collective group hardly exists. Slaughterhouse is a special example, and even in their case the individual members carry on their personal careers first, releasing solo albums and second, as Slaughterhouse. The concept and popularity of a rap group may be dying out, if at all still alive.

As an avid listener to the "Old School" of Hip Hop, I worry that the genius work that can be born through collaborative work may not happen anymore. I wonder if today's industry is even conducive to this age old style.In most cases, they have enough timeless material out for me to enjoy even if it isn't.