Hip Hop is dead b/c of the fans

[herpes]

1.  Back in the day no one cared about album sales.  No one cared about that shit, it was all about the music.  Now thats the most important aspect.

2.  Money, like back in the day no one cared how much money a rapper was making.  Yea sure now days rappers are making more then they did then, but who gives a fuck.  Being concerned over another mans bank roll is some shit the ladies are concerned over. 

3.  Bootlegging.... it has always been apart of hip hop, even more so then any other genre of music.  Fine i got no problem with that.  But if its an artist you really like or just great music in general.... SUPPORT THAT SHIT.  I know people that buy music they really dont like but buy it b/c everyone else is buying.  But the stuff they like a lot they bootleg.  But then bitch and complain that no one is givin props to the artist they really like

4.  Rap fans are fickle.... we bitch about how a artist isnt growing, but when they change there subject matter its... ooo he sold out, or he isnt being true to himself.  Or some other bull shit.  But if that rapper/group puts out the same music its, oooo hes not growing as a artist or growing with the times.  Sure there are exceptions to the rule like say NaS, but for the most part it holds true.

5.  No appreaciation for the old school and past pioneers.  Whats wrong with a rapper that has been in the game for years and still putting out good music.  Yea I know rap is young peoples music.  But thats what they said about rock and every other genre of music.  But yet you still here oldies rock on the radio, and selling our stadiums.  Yet the old school rappers and even cats that arent considered old school but have been in the game for a minute now get pushed to the side.  Rap can never grow if we dont appreaciate and embrace where it came from, instead of being ashamed of it.

6.  Up untill a few years, rap music was mostly music for guys.  When did we start liking music based on what women like ?  OOOO well it gets her ass shaking..... I DONT CARE WOULD U PLAY THAT SHIT IN UR CAR BY YOURSELF.... OR IN YOUR HEADPHONES.... HELL NO.... look i aint stupid im not goin go to a club an request them to play cormega, but at the same time once im out of that club i wont play any of the junk they play in my headphones.  But now us guys are like, that shit was hot even tho we hate most of the music that gets simple minded women (actual most are simpled minded) shakin there asses.

7.  Beef.... people forgot what battling on wax is about, and how important it is and was the game.  Too the people that dont like beef and what not... it has always beeen part of the game and has produced some of the greatest rap music ever.  And at the same time, rappers that beef over who has more money or who got robbed for there chain, that shit is a cancer.  Battling was never about that stupid shit, now I see cats going crazy over that shit.  Fuckouttahere

well im sure there is a lot more then that, but i dont feel like typing anymore.  4 days without a cig I had to rant and rave about something

[LyRiCaL_G]

the more hiphop is dead posts we get, the more alive it is.....nah on the real though, i feel alot of the shit your saying that post.....but honestly....i think hiphop is just coming full circle and the last strech is always the hardest....you can either fuck up or get back on track....that is something the big cats will have to step up and do and inspire the young generation of rappers so we can appreciate both veterans and new cats music....face it, old rappers do not want to let a new nigga take the mantle and alot of these new niggaz aint ready to take the mantle to step hiphop forward....hiphop is just in a lil phase...we will come through it...trust me, i feel like this summer and winter hiphop energy will rise for somereason...i think nas really got niggaz talking..........yo dawg read my post on mixtapes and shit....aint nobody replied,lol

[herpes]

the more hiphop is dead posts we get, the more alive it is.....nah on the real though, i feel alot of the shit your saying that post.....but honestly....i think hiphop is just coming full circle and the last strech is always the hardest....you can either fuck up or get back on track....that is something the big cats will have to step up and do and inspire the young generation of rappers so we can appreciate both veterans and new cats music....face it, old rappers do not want to let a new nigga take the mantle and alot of these new niggaz aint ready to take the mantle to step hiphop forward....hiphop is just in a lil phase...we will come through it...trust me, i feel like this summer and winter hiphop energy will rise for somereason...i think nas really got niggaz talking..........yo dawg read my post on mixtapes and shit....aint nobody replied,lol

yea I think we are heading for a change, b/c you are hearing more and more people talk about hip hop needing a change and its just not the internet talking about it anymore.

[WestCoasta]

6.  Up untill a few years, rap music was mostly music for guys.  When did we start liking music based on what women like ?  OOOO well it gets her ass shaking..... I DONT CARE WOULD U PLAY THAT SHIT IN UR CAR BY YOURSELF.... OR IN YOUR HEADPHONES.... HELL NO...

the lame motherfuckers who say that kinda shit

1) are virgins

2) have never been to a club

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Thomas is speaking the real. I was going to make a post somewhat similar tone.

[The Watcher]

+1

[WC Iz Active]

hip hop aint dead. stop the fuckin bitchin, just cause camel and nasir are old and finished it doesnt mean everyone is.  There is Dipset, Joe Budden, Cassidy, Ya Boy, Bishop, Yukmouth, etc  plenty of dope ass mc's,  quit the bitching

[Efrain]

It's dead because of corporate and artist greed dude, that's it. There has always been that element, the push to "sell out" to increase sales and revenue for the label and the artist but now with the dramatic decline in hip hop sales and music sales as a whole the labels are much more aggressive with formulas, classifications and what their willing to work with. In turn the rappers feel the pressure and fold. The internet was just the tipping point. The artists can't accept any loss of income so they'll sacrifice artistic integrity to keep their bottom line from fluctuating. That attitude has brought on a new culture all together with emphasis on fame, wealth and notoriety that’s frankly boring, redundant and uncreative.

Fans just aren’t interested. It’s evident now more than ever that to be a contemporary rapper it takes very little (if any) creativity, talent or innovation. The genre has experienced a hyperinflation of bland indistinguishable “artists” that’s driven the value of a “rapper” through the floor. They’re a dime a dozen. It’s the lack of any real substance that keeps the fans abandoning the music in droves which leads to even greater need to replace lost revenue which causes more pressure to “sell out” further diluting the music. 

The market will correct itself in time when eventually the value of a rapper is essentially worthless then labels will stop signing them. That will drive the quality of the music up and fans will eventually come back. But the fans just eat what their fed as far as the music is concerned (see MTV, radio, print media et al.). It’s the artists and the labels that are responsible for the “laffy taffy’s” and “hustler, not a rapper” mentality’s. The fans don’t (directly) dictate what they hear, they just decide what they’ll listen to.       

[Narrator]

Yes, hip-hop is dead because of the fans...specifically, the crackers.  It was all fine until the crackers came along with their small dicks thinking they'd become "real" cause they listen to 50 or Dipset or whoever's got the most street cred.  So, once again, we find that this is all whitey's fault.

6.  Up untill a few years, rap music was mostly music for guys.  When did we start liking music based on what women like ?  OOOO well it gets her ass shaking..... I DONT CARE WOULD U PLAY THAT SHIT IN UR CAR BY YOURSELF.... OR IN YOUR HEADPHONES.... HELL NO...

the lame motherfuckers who say that kinda shit

1) are virgins

2) have never been to a club

LOL, so true.  Anyone who thinks club music ain't for niggas as well as bitches obviously doesn't score much.

[Elevz]

It's dead because of corporate and artist greed dude, that's it. There has always been that element, the push to "sell out" to increase sales and revenue for the label and the artist but now with the dramatic decline in hip hop sales and music sales as a whole the labels are much more aggressive with formulas, classifications and what their willing to work with. In turn the rappers feel the pressure and fold. The internet was just the tipping point. The artists can't accept any loss of income so they'll sacrifice artistic integrity to keep their bottom line from fluctuating. That attitude has brought on a new culture all together with emphasis on fame, wealth and notoriety that’s frankly boring, redundant and uncreative.

My thoughts exactly. Does anyone remember De La Soul in 1993 ringing the alarm bells about the direction of the evolution of hip-hop? They weren't really taken seriously during hip-hop's commercial high, and now we're confronted with the outcome.

I think it's generally wrong to blame the fans. It's a sociological issue, but to simplify things: the fans are simply lower class people. They don't have the power to change anything, they don't influence anything... They are the ones being influenced.
Surely, you can blame the fans for anticipating 'weaker' music, but don't forget the reason why they anticipate. They were molded that way.
It's a vicious circle of the labels and the media molding the fans, making the fans demand 'weaker' music, thus influencing the labels to put that out.

Hip-Hop is dead? Just the other day I was watching a show on tv, where they brought up a legendary comedian as a guest. He basically stated, cabaret is dead. Listening to him speak on the way things have changed artistically, I could do nothing but agree with him. But with him claiming cabaret is dead, and with Nas claiming hip-hop is dead, that's something to make you think... And to me, there's only one conclusion: culture is dead. The people are braindead. We've all become brainless lower class puppets, no matter how much our wealth is seemingly increasing. We're done.

Culture is dead, and that only leads me to one conclusion:

Life is dead.

[herpes]

6.  Up untill a few years, rap music was mostly music for guys.  When did we start liking music based on what women like ?  OOOO well it gets her ass shaking..... I DONT CARE WOULD U PLAY THAT SHIT IN UR CAR BY YOURSELF.... OR IN YOUR HEADPHONES.... HELL NO...

the lame motherfuckers who say that kinda shit

1) are virgins

2) have never been to a club

went to a club last week.... and you can honestly say you listen to joints like chicken noodle soup and this is why im hot by yourself, fuckouttahere

[herpes]

hip hop aint dead. stop the fuckin bitchin, just cause camel and nasir are old and finished it doesnt mean everyone is.  There is Dipset, Joe Budden, Cassidy, Ya Boy, Bishop, Yukmouth, etc  plenty of dope ass mc's,  quit the bitching

wow if thats best list you could come up with, there isnt much hope.

[MIAMI4LIFE]

hiphop will never die it is a culture, it's a way of life, the music is just one aspect of it, and it goes through cycles, right now pop rap is dominating but it was in '97 and DMX came in '98 and took it back to the streets from the Puffy era

[Elevz]

hiphop will never die it is a culture, it's a way of life, the music is just one aspect of it, and it goes through cycles

Cycles? Maybe so, but don't forget things change over time. The world has changed, and as much as we need hiphop there's not a chance for it to come back under the current circumstances. Just explain to me, how is the cycle going to bring it back this time around? As I said,

We've all become brainless lower class puppets, no matter how much our wealth is seemingly increasing. We're done.

Culture is dead, and that only leads me to one conclusion:

Life is dead.

[Trauma-san]

Culture is dead, and that only leads me to one conclusion:

Life is dead.

Man you're trippin.  Wait, i'm white.... you're tripping, dude.

hiphop as you know it may be dead, but not as a 14 year old knows it.

Same with Cabaret.  Life changes.  If you don't change with it, yeah, you're right, your life is dead.  I'm the first one to be up on here bitching about how the old ways were better but you gotta be able to look at a new way of doing things, even if it's blatantly obvious to you it's fucked up, and see some good in it. 

Classic hiphop was great but it also had some bullshit involved in it that's not as deep in the newer hiphop.  Artists are making more money off their music now as well, that's a good thing. 

Also you've got to realize that you're only talking about mainstream.  There's plenty of underground artists who are every bit as talented as past artists.

Another thing that always gets me is, you say hiphop is dead but yet all the great hiphop that was made years ago is still here, most of it is still relevant, and you can listen to any of it any day of the week.  De La Soul made that album in '93 but I was listening to part of it yesterday, personally.   So hiphop's not really dead, it's as strong as ever, just not really much new happening on a 'great' level. 

Also, bootlegging is a huge, serious problem that really cannot be fixed easily and hiphop will continue to have overly commercial aspects until something gets done that will appease bootleggers.  Personally I don't pay for shit most of the time, just a few artists I really like.  I bought Snoop's last cd, that was the only hiphop cd I paid for in the past year or so.