West Coast 2002.....

[Myrealname]

For a lot of people the west coast is no more like several years ago....during the g-funk magic period of warren g, dre snoop and death row.
The sales are the main problem ?
Dj Quik is going to be retiring after the greatest hits,and its one of saddest news of the year....warren g has been dropped from his new label after only 1 release.
It seems like theres no more interest about the west coast hip hop/rap scene....look at the music magazines and tv shows for example.
Plus.....Cypress hill ,one of the tightest west coast groups ever to me,are more hard rock than hip hop.....for the usual reason:nobody cares about west coast no more.
2 pac is dead,ice cube is an actor now (i wait 'til his new record on aftermath),dre is no more west coast like years ago....and snoop is ....snoop.
The new comers are tight but we will never see another tight "era" like it was for the g funk.
WHAT DO Y'ALL THINK about the future of the west ?

[Don Seer]

distribution.

I never ever saw Nate or Quiks albums on the shelves here.. I had to import that shit myself.

If the label doesnt distribute the album to stores how can they expect or moan about people not buying it when they fucking cant buy it in the first place.

either that or a store gets ONE copy... like when 2001 & streetz is a mutha came out on the same day. i saw it and 2001 on the shelves.. picked up 2001.... went back and the kurupt one was gone so I had to order it online.

promotion.

warren g had good distribution here, but the promotion wasnt that great...


both due to label confidence? or being signed to a smaller label?

[Myrealname]

Elektra records and Universal records are two big labels, the problem is that hey dont want to spend money on these artists.
What's up with cypress hill and their new music style ?
They dont give a fuck about west coast no more, its sad!

[=[Euthanasia]=]

What's up with cypress hill and their new music style ?
They dont give a fuck about west coast no more, its sad!

Just because they're rock influenced doesn't mean they're not westcoast anymore, neither does Dre working with artists from different coasts mean he's not westcoast anymore. They are still from and in the west, it's just they've switched their styles up over the years, ain't nothing wrong with that, there's still g-funk around, in Warren, and others. It's not all about sales anyways, people do care but alot of the time they don't know or get to hear about new releases, due mainly to distribution like 'Seer's pointed out. If Warren, Quik etc were pushed like Nelly, Ja Rule etc were they'd be just as successful, if not more. But hey, thats life, and the music industry will always be shady and fucked up.

[stu-22]

my local hmvs had a few copies of nate and quik each time ive been in but they try and sell them at 20quid or so, so who's gonna buy them apart from diehard fans who would anyway...you're not going to go spend 20quid on nates album just cos u heard 1 track on mtv if ure into westlife and robbie williams. the distribution and promotion for these westcoast artists stinks here in the uk

[Rud]

my local hmvs had a few copies of nate and quik each time ive been in but they try and sell them at 20quid or so, so who's gonna buy them apart from diehard fans who would anyway...you're not going to go spend 20quid on nates album just cos u heard 1 track on mtv if ure into westlife and robbie williams. the distribution and promotion for these westcoast artists stinks here in the uk

Word - I Got My Mate Into Quik And He Bought Under The Influence From The Only Place We Found It And That Was A HMV In Liverpool For.....£23 - Thats Fuckin Scandolous, We Asked Why So Much - She Said Shipping Costs...

Thats Bollocks - Cds In The US Are Like $15, Thats Just Over A Tenner. Bullshit That It Costs £13 For A Huge Company To Import CD's Over (Remember They'll Buy In Bulk) And Then Sell. Proves How Much High Street Stores Mark Up Imports!  :-/

[AFTERMATH_FAN]

The music business is full of chicken shit money hungry motherfuckers.Now in the case of quik and warren,they arent that marketable and people really aint feelin they music no more thats why the record companies didnt push them.

[Jome]

The West got some talent fo sho..
And the veterans should be doing it for some years.
This is how I see it:

Retiring:
DJ Quik - He should be a good producer for some years still..
Maybe he'll even improve when he doesn't have to think about rapping, and learns from Dre

Veterans
Dr.Dre - Can carry the West as producer for years to come. Detox will change the game, OMG too.
Snoop Dogg - Should be good for another 2-3 albums.. Keyword: Dogghouse
Eminem - Yea, he's midwest, but he got his roots planted in the West. Will be a headliner for years to come, both as rapper & producer.
Xzibit - 4 albums deep, now considered a veteran. Will be among the 5 biggest names on the WestCoast for years.
Nate Dogg - New solo album, new 213-album, and the hook-master in 100s of songs. Ain't no stopping his shine.
Cypress Hill - Still doing their thing, but is it soon over?
Ice Cube - With a album produced by Dr.Dre, he can't go wrong. Will come back with a bang.
Warren G - Will gradually find his place as a producer for Dre & Snoop and the new cats, with limited mic-time. And will be a big part of..
213 - New album, will be dope for sure.
N.W.A - Dre, Ren, Cube & Snoop - Is it possible to go wrong?

New talent
Roscoe - New exciting talent, can be big. Will he be bigger than his bro though?
Butch Cassidy - A sureshot. Can & will maybe be as big as Nate Dogg. Kills every cameo he's on. His solo career is unclear though, even if he will be a "hook-master".
Knoc-Turn'al - Unique voice & flow, and dopeness on hooks.
Lyrical gifted, but will he waste it on weed & hoes-tracks?
Crooked I - Lyrical superkid, but will he make it big?
A talent for sure.
Slip Capone - Talented, and with a really dope flow.
If Knoc makes it big, he got a even better chance..
Time Bomb - Also a big talent, with a dope ass flow.
L.A.C. got lotsa talents..
Eastwood - Not sure about him, but he's pretty aight.
E White - Talented for sure, + he got Snoop behind him.

Outsiders
Ras Kass - He oughta blow up, he damn sure got the gift.
Will "Goldyn Child" be the big break?
Golden State Project - You really can't miss with Ras Kass, Xzibit & Saafir on the same team.. but saleswise  :-/ Who knows..
Liks - Knows how to make good music, but is the motivation still there? And will Xzibit help them to stardom now that Tash has dissed him?
Daz - Will he hang the mic up soon? Will be a CEO & producer for a long time though..
King Tee - What now?
Soopafly - Seems fresher than ever, should be bigger..

Producers
Dr.Dre
Warren G
Mel-Man
Eminem
DJ Quik
Fred Wreck
Meech Wells
Jelly Roll
Battlecat
Quaze

I'm sure I forgot somebody, but the West seems promising to me..

[Lil Suge Knight]

The West got some talent fo sho..
And the veterans should be doing it for some years.
This is how I see it:

Retiring:
DJ Quik - He should be a good producer for some years still..
Maybe he'll even improve when he doesn't have to think about rapping, and learns from Dre

Veterans
Dr.Dre - Can carry the West as producer for years to come. Detox will change the game, OMG too.
Snoop Dogg - Should be good for another 2-3 albums.. Keyword: Dogghouse
Eminem - Yea, he's midwest, but he got his roots planted in the West. Will be a headliner for years to come, both as rapper & producer.
Xzibit - 4 albums deep, now considered a veteran. Will be among the 5 biggest names on the WestCoast for years.
Nate Dogg - New solo album, new 213-album, and the hook-master in 100s of songs. Ain't no stopping his shine.
Cypress Hill - Still doing their thing, but is it soon over?
Ice Cube - With a album produced by Dr.Dre, he can't go wrong. Will come back with a bang.
Warren G - Will gradually find his place as a producer for Dre & Snoop and the new cats, with limited mic-time. And will be a big part of..
213 - New album, will be dope for sure.
N.W.A - Dre, Ren, Cube & Snoop - Is it possible to go wrong?

New talent
Roscoe - New exciting talent, can be big. Will he be bigger than his bro though?
Butch Cassidy - A sureshot. Can & will maybe be as big as Nate Dogg. Kills every cameo he's on. His solo career is unclear though, even if he will be a "hook-master".
Knoc-Turn'al - Unique voice & flow, and dopeness on hooks.
Lyrical gifted, but will he waste it on weed & hoes-tracks?
Crooked I - Lyrical superkid, but will he make it big?
A talent for sure.
Slip Capone - Talented, and with a really dope flow.
If Knoc makes it big, he got a even better chance..
Time Bomb - Also a big talent, with a dope ass flow.
L.A.C. got lotsa talents..
Eastwood - Not sure about him, but he's pretty aight.
E White - Talented for sure, + he got Snoop behind him.

Outsiders
Ras Kass - He oughta blow up, he damn sure got the gift.
Will "Goldyn Child" be the big break?
Golden State Project - You really can't miss with Ras Kass, Xzibit & Saafir on the same team.. but saleswise  :-/ Who knows..
Liks - Knows how to make good music, but is the motivation still there? And will Xzibit help them to stardom now that Tash has dissed him?
Daz - Will he hang the mic up soon? Will be a CEO & producer for a long time though..
King Tee - What now?
Soopafly - Seems fresher than ever, should be bigger..

Producers
Dr.Dre
Warren G
Mel-Man
Eminem
DJ Quik
Fred Wreck
Meech Wells
Jelly Roll
Battlecat
Quaze

I'm sure I forgot somebody, but the West seems promising to me..

2 PAC.....HE ALWAYS SELLS

[bez]

looks strong to me.  

Just Dre, nate, Em, and Snoop are enough for me right now.

[budsmokeronly]

I just kind of glanced through this thread, and you know what sucks is no one mentioned anybody from the bay area or sacramento.  There is mad talent in both the bay and sactown.  Very few people on this board ever talk about those rappers.  And yes I do feel that good westcoast rap is dying.  Why?  I am not sure.  Radio stations rarely play westcoast rap.  I listened to power 106 all summer long and a majority of the songs came from outside the westcoast.  And the westcoast songs they did play were 80% of the time the same songs, such as addictive, trouble, money owners, automatic, connected for life.  I never heard Daz just keep it, or anything from warren or nates latest albums.  Never heard bay area or sac town artists with the exception of E-40's automatic.  And if an LA radio station ain't playin this shit, you can be damn sure the rest of the world ain't.  It all comes down to money.  A majority of the rap fans are little fuckin groupies, that buy shit that is constantly on the radio and mtv ex. eminem, ja rule, nelly, jay-Z.  They buy that shit because it is popular, and maybe they think it helps them be popular by buying it.  Then we got a certain amount of people on this board who bootleg these westcoast albums.  I mean the people who post on this board are probably the biggest westcoast rap fans in the world, and if you guys ain't buyin this shit, then it ain't gonna have sales.  What I think needs to happen is Dre and Snoop need to get together and put a project together.  They are the biggest stars on the WC, I don't give a shit what anyone says, Dre and Snoop are the biggest stars here.  They may not be the best but they are the most popular.  They need to get a project together that is strictly WC.  No eminem, no neptunes, no Jay Z, all westcoast.  Suge Knight needs to clean up his stupid fuckin act and end all this ridiculous beef.  They all need to work together.  There is tons of talent on the WC but people just ain't recognizing it.  Suge Knight, Dre, and Snoop can very much help this situation.  Too bad I don't think this will ever happen though.

[AxleF]

both due to label confidence

I think that the West is in a very transitional state and its going to be very important for artists to think outside of the norm.. and you can see it happening with artist like Knocc and Xzibit taking chances.. (different styles I.E. "Muzik".. And "Spank Me")

Point is.. the industry has no confidence in the same ole formula.  Its gonna take a big artist and a hot new style to bring back the West.  Right now the East has the public eye..

Ax

[blur2000celica]

It would be great if Suge and everybody else got along, then everyone can make some tight ass music again, but we all know that probably wont happen.  I wish that some of these west coast rappers would use less east coast artist on there albums and stick with the artist we got here.  I gotta say that they bay area is the tightest on west as of now.

[AxleF]

I gotta say that they bay area is the tightest on west as of now.

Can you sayyyy.. B-Legit?  wwooooo  

Ax

[Lil Suge Knight]

Yeah Suge/Tha Row need to stop beefing with ex inmates and other west cats, and just get together and mash all these other coasts.