2008 - year of the west?

[Blood$]

"All we can do is pray" - Jay-Z

yeah Jay ain't from the West but what he said on his new album I apply to the title of this thread 

[westside159]

ALBUMS im looking forward to !!!!  2008


1. MC Eiht - STILL DRIVEBY MUSIC

2. DR DRE - DETOX

3. SNOOP DOGG - EGO TRIPPIN

4. MACK 10 - SNOW WHITE - i think thats the name ?

5. E-40 - AMBASSADOR OF THE BAY

6. ICE CUBE - RAW FOOTAGE

7. BROTHA LYNCH HUNG - DINNER & A MOVIE

 

[Low Key]

Every new year seems to be the year of the west.

Summary of next year:

Dr. Dre: He'll release the album and then he'll go right back to producing R&B and Gwen Stefani tracks. Besides, all of the multi-platinum artists Dre has created since he left Death Row have been from areas other than the west. He isn't opening any doors for anyone. Game only got popular because of 50. Best believe that.

Ice Cube: He has other priorities these days than helping no name rappers get a buzz. The only people he is going to help out are the people who have been down with him for years, like WC.

Game: nuff said

Juice:...who?

Bishop Lamont: Read what I wrote about Dre.

Lil Eazy: Absolutely NO buzz outside of the west. And most people in Cali don't even like him.

Um who's next...

Young Maylay: I like his music, but how long does he need to make an album? He should have one dropped a week after GTA:SA hit stores. And that was when? 2004? HA!

Mistah F.A.B.: Getting fucked by label politics and will unfortunately never blow up.

Clyde Carson: Capitol seems stagnant after Sean Kingston got pulled from "Doin' Dat". Label politics might be getting to him too, but at least he has other successful business ventures to fall back on.

Crooked I: Oh wait...his album is coming out in 2015.

Snoop Dogg: The only real gauranteed hope the west has. Not like I'll be buying his album though.

The Fixxers: Has the potential to do big numbers but we'll see.

Then how come Bishop havent blown up and he signed wit Dre too?
50 helped dude in the sence that G-Unit had craaaaaazy buzz, but u cant
say Game didn't grind dude put out a whole lot of mixtapes and went to NY
and fucked with cats over there. There's the thing, he fucked wit niggas instead
of goin out dissin him which leads yo buzz gettin bigger in those areas and all the niggas he fuck with and their homies buys his shit and the sales goes up to the roof.

Sales are down now though and Game picked wrong singles for DA but it is what is. AND shiit if you think about it how many westcoast rappers actually supports Game? Apart from Snoop, WC, Omar, Eastwood, Xzibit, Jay Rock, DPG, Nate Dogg and shit like dat? Cuz on the other side you got niggas thats against him like Spider Loc and probably all of his homies and shit like dat cuz im sure he's been runnin around the streets talkin shit about him and other rappers, no support from Big Fase and em, and all the niggas thats been dissin him/takin shots. If you look at it more NY cats support Game. Nas, DMX, Dipset, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Styles P, Fat Joe, Fabolous, Diddy etc.

Even when it comes to producers.

The thing they dont get though is that when people diss other rappers u know u got some dumb ass wannabes who turn against that rapper cuz of that or whatever. Then the labels all around turn away and the west loses more interest which means more and more south, and less and less records deals on the west. Cuz if im a rapper and a spend all my time dissin the next one then ma homies probably aint gon buy his shit, then the the same rapper dont buy MY shit when its time for me to drop and thats how the cirlce goes. Plus the westcoast fans need to support more than just Game, Snoop, Cube.

You didn't read what I wrote about Dre. He doesn't help fellow west coasters blow up. He doesn't get down with the music the west puts out anymore. Bishop will just sit on Aftermath like Hittman, RBX, King Tee, etc.

Okay, so Game released tons of mixtapes. So what? Even cats in NY who release tons of mixtapes don't blow up. Look at Saigon. It was ALL because of 50. Now he's on his own and he's not selling half as much as he did. Singles have nothing to do with it. When someone picks up an album these days, 9 times out of 10 they have already heard the whole thing before the album even dropped. Good for Game he has support from other rappers, but at the end of the day, that obviously doesn't equal sales. And I'm not here to say Game sucks, even though I don't really like him too much, he just doesn't have that mass appeal. He got lucky and that is that.

I don't know why you wrote that last paragraph. You are just getting into semantics this point. I, as well as everyone else on this forum, support west coast music. We all wouldn't be here is we didn't. Rappers beefing is part of the culture. It should have no bearing on who's album I buy. If I like a rapper's music, I'll but the album. Anyone who buys albums strictly based on their favorite rapper's opinion is a fucking moron and should kill themselves. Only 12 year olds do that type of bullshit.

[Low Key]

what about ya boy or glasses? i think these dudes can do good...juice i think he can do something if he gets the right push...

Glasses Malone isn't anything special, but I forgot about Ya Boy. He might actually become a mainstream success. In fact, I don't think there is any doubt we'll be hearing some big things from him really soon.

[Cali_Raized]

i also thnk JAy Rock might be able to drop something nice...mainstream success probably not but i think he will put out a good album...

[messi19]

Every new year seems to be the year of the west.

Summary of next year:

Dr. Dre: He'll release the album and then he'll go right back to producing R&B and Gwen Stefani tracks. Besides, all of the multi-platinum artists Dre has created since he left Death Row have been from areas other than the west. He isn't opening any doors for anyone. Game only got popular because of 50. Best believe that.

Ice Cube: He has other priorities these days than helping no name rappers get a buzz. The only people he is going to help out are the people who have been down with him for years, like WC.

Game: nuff said

Juice:...who?

Bishop Lamont: Read what I wrote about Dre.

Lil Eazy: Absolutely NO buzz outside of the west. And most people in Cali don't even like him.

Um who's next...

Young Maylay: I like his music, but how long does he need to make an album? He should have one dropped a week after GTA:SA hit stores. And that was when? 2004? HA!

Mistah F.A.B.: Getting fucked by label politics and will unfortunately never blow up.

Clyde Carson: Capitol seems stagnant after Sean Kingston got pulled from "Doin' Dat". Label politics might be getting to him too, but at least he has other successful business ventures to fall back on.

Crooked I: Oh wait...his album is coming out in 2015.

Snoop Dogg: The only real gauranteed hope the west has. Not like I'll be buying his album though.

The Fixxers: Has the potential to do big numbers but we'll see.

Then how come Bishop havent blown up and he signed wit Dre too?
50 helped dude in the sence that G-Unit had craaaaaazy buzz, but u cant
say Game didn't grind dude put out a whole lot of mixtapes and went to NY
and fucked with cats over there. There's the thing, he fucked wit niggas instead
of goin out dissin him which leads yo buzz gettin bigger in those areas and all the niggas he fuck with and their homies buys his shit and the sales goes up to the roof.

Sales are down now though and Game picked wrong singles for DA but it is what is. AND shiit if you think about it how many westcoast rappers actually supports Game? Apart from Snoop, WC, Omar, Eastwood, Xzibit, Jay Rock, DPG, Nate Dogg and shit like dat? Cuz on the other side you got niggas thats against him like Spider Loc and probably all of his homies and shit like dat cuz im sure he's been runnin around the streets talkin shit about him and other rappers, no support from Big Fase and em, and all the niggas thats been dissin him/takin shots. If you look at it more NY cats support Game. Nas, DMX, Dipset, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Styles P, Fat Joe, Fabolous, Diddy etc.

Even when it comes to producers.

The thing they dont get though is that when people diss other rappers u know u got some dumb ass wannabes who turn against that rapper cuz of that or whatever. Then the labels all around turn away and the west loses more interest which means more and more south, and less and less records deals on the west. Cuz if im a rapper and a spend all my time dissin the next one then ma homies probably aint gon buy his shit, then the the same rapper dont buy MY shit when its time for me to drop and thats how the cirlce goes. Plus the westcoast fans need to support more than just Game, Snoop, Cube.

You didn't read what I wrote about Dre. He doesn't help fellow west coasters blow up. He doesn't get down with the music the west puts out anymore. Bishop will just sit on Aftermath like Hittman, RBX, King Tee, etc.

Okay, so Game released tons of mixtapes. So what? Even cats in NY who release tons of mixtapes don't blow up. Look at Saigon. It was ALL because of 50. Now he's on his own and he's not selling half as much as he did. Singles have nothing to do with it. When someone picks up an album these days, 9 times out of 10 they have already heard the whole thing before the album even dropped. Good for Game he has support from other rappers, but at the end of the day, that obviously doesn't equal sales. And I'm not here to say Game sucks, even though I don't really like him too much, he just doesn't have that mass appeal. He got lucky and that is that.

I don't know why you wrote that last paragraph. You are just getting into semantics this point. I, as well as everyone else on this forum, support west coast music. We all wouldn't be here is we didn't. Rappers beefing is part of the culture. It should have no bearing on who's album I buy. If I like a rapper's music, I'll but the album. Anyone who buys albums strictly based on their favorite rapper's opinion is a fucking moron and should kill themselves. Only 12 year olds do that type of bullshit.

Yeah homie thats what im sayin but we're in 07 now, and at this day and age this is what 95% of the kids
base their shit on. Now it's which rapper sold the most, which rapper is real, which rapper got more money, which
rapper got more swagger etc etc.

Yeah beef been apart of history BUT beef used to be for competition. Now people got "beef" that dont lead to
anything but talk and talk and people beefin over who's "real" or "fake" and shit like dat. Then people read and watch shit
they say on Youtube and whatever and then think everything they say just because that person said it is true and they start hatin the
other rapper, like personally and shit. If you ain't gonna
do shit but talk back and forth then you might as well just make up and do music together at least for the
sake of the coast.

DA was the most anticipated album of 06. The more anticipated = The more they download.
And dude fucked up by leakin the songs a week before. And you can't say that he dont have any
mass appeal. LMAO so how did he "get lucky"?

And how does he not have mass appeal?
Snoop didn't have the mass appea he has now back then cuz he choose to be more
mainstream and commercia after a while. And how can you not have any mass apeal if you've sold platinum+ and both yo albums and have 2 classic
singles, and 2 other hit songs (Dreams, One Blood).

You'll see, just watch when Game is about to drop how people will be waitin and anticipate the shit.

[Larrabee]

I would like to think '08 will be big for the West, but I doubt it will be considered as such.

2006 had major releases from Cube, E-40, Too Short, Game, Snoop, DPG and Xzibit, I don't know if that can be considered a big year for the West Coast. In terms of sales, no one's really doing huge numbers aside from the usual suspects.

[Low Key]

Yeah homie thats what im sayin but we're in 07 now, and at this day and age this is what 95% of the kids
base their shit on. Now it's which rapper sold the most, which rapper is real, which rapper got more money, which
rapper got more swagger etc etc.

Yeah beef been apart of history BUT beef used to be for competition. Now people got "beef" that dont lead to
anything but talk and talk and people beefin over who's "real" or "fake" and shit like dat. Then people read and watch shit
they say on Youtube and whatever and then think everything they say just because that person said it is true and they start hatin the
other rapper, like personally and shit. If you ain't gonna
do shit but talk back and forth then you might as well just make up and do music together at least for the
sake of the coast.

DA was the most anticipated album of 06. The more anticipated = The more they download.
And dude fucked up by leakin the songs a week before. And you can't say that he dont have any
mass appeal. LMAO so how did he "get lucky"?

And how does he not have mass appeal?
Snoop didn't have the mass appea he has now back then cuz he choose to be more
mainstream and commercia after a while. And how can you not have any mass apeal if you've sold platinum+ and both yo albums and have 2 classic
singles, and 2 other hit songs (Dreams, One Blood).

You'll see, just watch when Game is about to drop how people will be waitin and anticipate the shit.

He got lucky because he hooked up with the right people at the right time. And no, DA was not the most anticipated album of 06. Maybe on the west coast, but not nationwide. If more anticipation equals more downloading, then why did Kanye go platinum and 50 almost go platinum the first week? Why did T.I. do awesome numbers? If people like the album, they will buy it. And please don't bring up Game and classic in the same sentence again. Just because they were good singles does not mean they were classic. That term is so subjective these days. It takes time for a classic to emerge.

Game has appeal to people like you and me, but his strength is not in making radio hits. THAT is mass appeal. Game went platinum with his first album off the strength of 50 Cent. Then DA went platinum because of 50 again since they were beefing. You're Snoop comparison doesn't make sense. You're trying to compare apples and oranges. Gangsta rap was life 14 years ago when Doggystyle was released, and in reality, because gangsta rap was so popular, Snoop had WAY more appeal back in 93 than he does now.

But I want you to ask yourself something. Are you a man or a child? Fuck album sales. Only a child would care about album sales or all that other bullshit. If an album is good, then it is good. Devin The Dude's album was great and it only went gold, and he had Lil Wayne and Bun B on his first single, and Snoop and Andre 3000 on his second single. The only thing that really should matter is if the rapper is who he/she says they are. But that has nothing to with rapping. If a guy on the streets told me he did one thing for his career and I come to find out later he lied to me, I wouldn't talk to him again. It's shady.

On to the beef. Again, if someone takes what a rapper says to heart and stops listening to another rapper's music because of it, then they are obviously an immature child. It's in a rapper's nature to talk shit. Go ahead and have a good laugh if you find it funny, but fuck all that dumb shit and listen to the music you like.

[messi19]

Yeah homie thats what im sayin but we're in 07 now, and at this day and age this is what 95% of the kids
base their shit on. Now it's which rapper sold the most, which rapper is real, which rapper got more money, which
rapper got more swagger etc etc.

Yeah beef been apart of history BUT beef used to be for competition. Now people got "beef" that dont lead to
anything but talk and talk and people beefin over who's "real" or "fake" and shit like dat. Then people read and watch shit
they say on Youtube and whatever and then think everything they say just because that person said it is true and they start hatin the
other rapper, like personally and shit. If you ain't gonna
do shit but talk back and forth then you might as well just make up and do music together at least for the
sake of the coast.

DA was the most anticipated album of 06. The more anticipated = The more they download.
And dude fucked up by leakin the songs a week before. And you can't say that he dont have any
mass appeal. LMAO so how did he "get lucky"?

And how does he not have mass appeal?
Snoop didn't have the mass appea he has now back then cuz he choose to be more
mainstream and commercia after a while. And how can you not have any mass apeal if you've sold platinum+ and both yo albums and have 2 classic
singles, and 2 other hit songs (Dreams, One Blood).

You'll see, just watch when Game is about to drop how people will be waitin and anticipate the shit.

He got lucky because he hooked up with the right people at the right time. And no, DA was not the most anticipated album of 06. Maybe on the west coast, but not nationwide. If more anticipation equals more downloading, then why did Kanye go platinum and 50 almost go platinum the first week? Why did T.I. do awesome numbers? If people like the album, they will buy it. And please don't bring up Game and classic in the same sentence again. Just because they were good singles does not mean they were classic. That term is so subjective these days. It takes time for a classic to emerge.

Game has appeal to people like you and me, but his strength is not in making radio hits. THAT is mass appeal. Game went platinum with his first album off the strength of 50 Cent. Then DA went platinum because of 50 again since they were beefing. You're Snoop comparison doesn't make sense. You're trying to compare apples and oranges. Gangsta rap was life 14 years ago when Doggystyle was released, and in reality, because gangsta rap was so popular, Snoop had WAY more appeal back in 93 than he does now.

But I want you to ask yourself something. Are you a man or a child? Fuck album sales. Only a child would care about album sales or all that other bullshit. If an album is good, then it is good. Devin The Dude's album was great and it only went gold, and he had Lil Wayne and Bun B on his first single, and Snoop and Andre 3000 on his second single. The only thing that really should matter is if the rapper is who he/she says they are. But that has nothing to with rapping. If a guy on the streets told me he did one thing for his career and I come to find out later he lied to me, I wouldn't talk to him again. It's shady.

On to the beef. Again, if someone takes what a rapper says to heart and stops listening to another rapper's music because of it, then they are obviously an immature child. It's in a rapper's nature to talk shit. Go ahead and have a good laugh if you find it funny, but fuck all that dumb shit and listen to the music you like.

Wow you must be outta yo mind, the only reason Kanye and 50 sold that much is becuz of their "battle".
50 had 6 videos and singles and didn't generate interest but still got play all over tv and radio. Don't you realize that
people want 50 to lose? People wanna see that nigga fail so because of that im sure all his haters bought extra more albums just to see
that happen cuz he said he would leave if Kanye outsold him, but after the whole thing changed his mind cuz that was just a marketin scheme
from Universals side cuz they probably got lots of money from the shit.

LMAO so DA went platinum cuz of the beef with 50 Cent?
Wouldn't you say then that 50 sold because of the beef with Ja Rule when "Get rich or die tryin'" was about to drop?
Or the beef with Game, Jadakiss, Fat Joe and all them other niggas when it was "The Massacre"'s turn?
And Kanye now on "Curtis"? But really at the poin when DA was about to drop thats when the beef was dyin down. The beef was on point when 50 was about to drop Massacre. And DA was the most anticipated. Well at least
in the top 3 thats for sure with Nas and Jay bein there too. U're makin out to be like
Game aint one of the "big dogs" in the rap game. DA was anticipated as fuck, and one thing i noticed u sayin..

You said that T.I. did AWESOME nr's, well okay how come he only sold like 100.000 - (or minus) compared to Game?

And you said that "he hooked up with the right people at the right down". Well isn't that how it goes for almost every artist?
Cuz he's def got talent so him hookin up with the right people was lucky i guess, but it's not like he wouldn't blow up if he didn't.
It's like that shit is irrelevant. It's like didn't 50 have luck when he got the "In Da Club" beat instead of D-12 and happened to beef with the
right person, Ja Rule?

You're right his strenght isn't in makin hit songs, but still he's gone platinum 2 times and has a loyal fanbase. And I don't think he's actually reachin out to do tracks for the radio, it's more like if i have a record that might blow up on the records then i'll release it as a single, if not im not caterin down to the radio, even if he does A LIL. What about Dreams and One Blood? Those tracks didn't feature 50.

2 classic singles and 2 hitsongs on 2 released albums is good as hell.


But check this out homie. I dont wanna compare him to 50 all the time but i mean i just take him as an example. You cant say that the radio dont have anything to do with this also. When 50 released the "I Get Money" video the shit went straight to BET Hip-Hop Awards nominations even though the shit was cheap as fuck. T.I. got nominated for best lyricist, best album of the year even though people thought it sucked, and basically 7 other nominations. What im sayin is, you mean to tell me that BET isn't dickridin the same artists over and over again? T.I.'s has had 2 big singles in "What You Know About That", "Why You Wanna" and argubly "Big Shit Poppin" yet he got 9 nominations. How come Luda's album got nominated for "Album of the year" even though he released it last year and people also didn't feel that album that much. Game's album had great reviews and got good feed back from people and still he didn't get nominated? Were there even any westcoast acts there besides E-40 and Ras?


Media outlets dickrides the same artist over and over again. You can't tell me its ALOT harder for a westcoast act to get a single smashin, cuz they always overlookin the west. NOBODY felt "Amusment Park", but how many plays did it get? If it wasn't 50 the amount of plays that songs would be considered a hit. If Bishop Lamont came with that "Can't tell me nothin" track i can promise you that they wouldn't play it that much.

And LOL i dont even care for record sales and i never did. But records sales leads to more and more interest which means record labels lay more and more eyes on the west cuz they figure that maybe it could get them some money, which then leads to more record deals to westcoast acts and more play from on the radio/tv.
 

[SP0RTY]

The main question is: when do we consider a year to be "the year of the West"?
I'll be more than glad when all those West Coast artists get to release their albums. That alone for me will be "the year of the West", because we all know that it's really not that evident anymore for West Coast artists to drop albums.
When those albums do very decent in terms of record sales, even better. But in all honesty, I could give a fuck about album sales, because let's face it: if the West wants to sell records, they'll have to water down the quality of their music, and that is not something we want, do we?

I'd much rather see them releasing albums on indies (and thus making albums the way the artist wants it to sound like) rather than trying to aim for the big bucks and signing with a major (which will inevitably result in less quality).

I've been saying it for years and years: West Coast rappers should stop dreaming of blowing up in today's rap game. Stop thinking big! Go with an indie, and try to build up a buzz from there on out. Let the major labels come to you, don't step to the majors yourself. Word to LuLu from BYI Entertainment (check out the interview he did with Dubcnn if you haven't already. The man talks wisdom.)

well put

[messi19]

The main question is: when do we consider a year to be "the year of the West"?
I'll be more than glad when all those West Coast artists get to release their albums. That alone for me will be "the year of the West", because we all know that it's really not that evident anymore for West Coast artists to drop albums.
When those albums do very decent in terms of record sales, even better. But in all honesty, I could give a fuck about album sales, because let's face it: if the West wants to sell records, they'll have to water down the quality of their music, and that is not something we want, do we?

I'd much rather see them releasing albums on indies (and thus making albums the way the artist wants it to sound like) rather than trying to aim for the big bucks and signing with a major (which will inevitably result in less quality).

I've been saying it for years and years: West Coast rappers should stop dreaming of blowing up in today's rap game. Stop thinking big! Go with an indie, and try to build up a buzz from there on out. Let the major labels come to you, don't step to the majors yourself. Word to LuLu from BYI Entertainment (check out the interview he did with Dubcnn if you haven't already. The man talks wisdom.)

well put

[wcsoldier]

I agree with Crafty : drop quality albums and stop thinking about being a superstar.. if you're not an established rapper or push by one (even with that you can still flop hard) your only chance to blow up is to make an ringtone type of single(still you'll be a one hit wonder) .. I don't want that ... I hope Omar Cruz and Bishop will release albums , I can't wait for Game and Cube too ..  but stop being obssessed with sales and being on the stoplights ... 

[messi19]

but stop being obssessed with sales and being on the stoplights ... 

SMH at u throwin rocks at my throne...naah j/p but people been brainwashed by 50's yappin bout sales thats why.
I agree with u though.

[Meho]

Messi19 just a couple things I disagree with:

- you said "if Game's beef with 50 helped him sales wise, then 50's beef with Ja, Jada, Nas... helped him". You can't really say that. 50 has huge sales based on his hit singles; wether it's In Da Club, 21 Questions, PIMP, Disco Inferno, Candy Shop, Lil Bit, Outta Control, AYO, I Get Money. Those were all top 10 singles, many of them being nb.1. On the other hand Game's singles on DA, didn't even break top 40 I think.

- you said something about being more popular= more downloaded. That's true but the same goes for your T.I.'s, 50's, Jay's, Kanye's Em's and they still do big numbers. And that thing about Game leaking tracks a week before release date, lol, everybody does that, mostly it's 2 weeks before the release date.

- the main point of Low Key was that Dre didn't do shit with Game, untill 50 put him under his wing and got him to grind like crazy. That is true, nobody can deny that. Even Game didn't. I disagree with Low Key about the rest, how Game was just lucky and how he doen't deserve the spot... I used to think the same untill he started killing all the mixtapes and guest features and stepped his game up a lil bit on DA (still, too much name dropping). But you can't deny that 50 is basically the reason, we even hear Game right now.

[don_dadda]

west coast is poppin off. i still think game is the best thing from cali since pac.