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Why did hip-hop become crap?

DotCommunist said:
once the corporate white owned corps realised the fat to be made by selling protest and shit to white collar you.......oh everyone got in before me and done it more succinct.
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turing test said:
It was obviously whiteys fault. It all started with Vanilla Ice.
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Fictionist said:
Heard of Teddy Riley?
:rolleyes::cool:
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[sticking my head above the parapet here...]
I dont agree with any of the answers so far. Yes big business got involved and helped to foster a more commercial sound (for the clubs), but thats no ones 'fault' but the rappers. Also, lots of the big sell out labels were black owned and run (Bad Boy Records being a key culprit in the sell out) - no need to bring race into an issue of raw desire to make pop-money. And Tedd Riley, Timberland and Pharrel are all very talented producers - but making commercial club-rap, as opposed to hip hop.

But wait a sec, what about all the "real hip hop" heads - there is still lots of rap getting made that doesnt follow the club/rnb formula. There is still a underground hip hop scene for those who want it. The key problem is this: it's boring and it hasn't moved on.

Compare rap to the uk rave scene - both started came to the fore (strictly for the sake of this analogy) in 88. the uk rave scene changed every year, reinventing its sound 88-90 techno house 91-92 breakbeat house/hardcore 93 jungle-techno 94 jungle 95 intelligent and so on and so on - constant reinvention, that goes on to this day.

compare that to what (hasnt) happened to the hip hop formulas - barely changed in twenty years. Hip hop is crap cos its got boring. we've all heard it a hundred times already.

I cant take credit for this argument: I heard Kool Keith say it. He was railing against US producers who he says refuse to take any chances, and refuse to push boundaries. He sited DnB as the model of musical progress and innovation. I agree with that.

Go to a night of bare hip hop - that constant snare on the 2 and 4 will bore you to death. Britain has done more in innovating the possibilities of rap with grime than the US has.

No genre of music can just sit still for twenty years - jazz reinvents itself, pop reinvents itself, rock n roll ( :) ) reinvents itself - "real" hip hop has all but stayed the same. bar a few boundary pushers its just a tired scene...
 
ska invita said:
[sticking my head above the parapet here...]
But wait a sec, what about all the "real hip hop" heads - there is still lots of rap getting made that doesnt follow the club/rnb formula. There is still a underground hip hop scene for those who want it. The key problem is this: it's boring and it hasn't moved on.
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I don't feel it's boring. I just think it's probably dealing with what a lot of worthy acts from other genres are facing - powerlessness against the vastly superior resources of record labels, and a lot of competition. My gut feeling is that if it was promoted better it would wipe the floor with all the bubblegum crap that's been coming out recently.

ska invita said:
Go to a night of bare hip hop - that constant snare on the 2 and 4 will bore you to death. Britain has done more in innovating the possibilities of rap with grime than the US has.
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Criticizing the fact that a drumbeat is used a lot is like criticizing a string section for containing violins. The whole point is to keep it simple so the MC can do his stuff. If I want to hear crazy drum beats I'll go to a jungle or DnB night. Anyway this 'innovation' you speak of seems to have come at the expense of paying attention to lyrics and flow, and IMO has produced inferior sounding tracks.
 
Paulie Tandoori said:
...but maybe not 'bubblegum crap' or a 'token UK contingent' or that 'the aforementioned cunts have been sucking Satan's cock' perhaps?




.....haven't even had to stand up yet......
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A few diamonds in the rough does not excuse the sorry state of UK hiphop.

p.s. Sway is utter toilet
 
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