Has crooked I gained or lost fans in the past few years?

[acgrundy]

So let me start off by saying I am 28, been listening to westcoast rap for years, and was very hardcore into it for awhile.  I bought the caught up ost right when it dropped, so I heard crooked I's first song when it first came out, (and didn't even know who he was) anyways there was a period of time, probably 99-04 where I was really big on him, tried getting any song I could, and really hoped for an album.

Fast forward to these days.  I didn't download a single hip hop weekly.  Barely listened to Boss Music Vol 2.  Barely heard any songs on the st valentines day massacre.  Saw the block obama mixtape up for free download yesterday and didn't even bother.

Now, the reason I am making this thread is because I have a lot of crooked I on my ipod, and I only listen to it on shuffle, and yesterday a song comes on, I didn't recognize it, and I looked what it was from, and it was from the st valentines day massacre.  I just thought, wow, this dude has skills to make good songs, but he just straight up lost my complete interest.

Now it seems crooked I keeps holding out for the record deal of all deals in order to drop his album.  I think that he thinks he is building up his fanbase, and waiting for the right deal, so he can push major units.  But I think he is actually losing more fans each day rather than gaining.  In 99-04 I would have bought his album w/o a doubt the day it dropped, and I made way less money than I do today.  Today, I wouldn't even care about downloading it.

Whats yall opinion?

[pootypooty]

I understand where you're coming from because my lil' bro put me onto the nigga in '99 and I used to get mixtapes with Crooked I all over them shits that my bro would compile. Anyway, to answer your question, it's hard to judge realistically. I mean I think the hip hop weekly thing got him some new listeners who had never heard of him before as well as people thinking he's brand new, when in fact he's been doing it for over a decade now. LOL! 

But yeah man, I feel your pain. Like I said, truthfully, how could we judge whether the nigga has lost or gained fans? In the end, he's not gonna sell a lot regardless because even the mainstream artists like Nelly, etc. are struggling to sell nowadays. I'd bet if  Crooked I album were to hit the shelves next week, it'd see maybe 5-10k? That's just a shot in the dark guess though.

On a last note, I don't know what he's waiting for exactly, but I just seen a video the other day of him talking about Wayne, Left Eye, Jay-Z and whatnot and the way he made it sound, he ain't in no hurry to release an album? He seems to be sitting on some cash that he either invested in? or that he's getting from side hustle's? It's hard to tell exactly, but he don't seem too concerned $$$ wise. Maybe he's afraid of flopping? Maybe he's afraid of not meeting fan expectations since they're probably expecting a CLASSIC right out the gate? It's anybody's guess what exactly is going on in the niggas head.

In the meantime though I continue to check for whatever he chooses to release, but it ain't as exciting as it used to be, so I agree with you there. Don't get it twisted though, the nigga can still rip the hell outta tracks.

BTW, that Block Obama is pretty tight. It's worth at least listening to on datpiff.

[~Lucien~]

Well... It's funny. Your story is exactly my story. I was there on day one when Crooked I came out but lost interest when he was signed to Tha Row. Crooked I is a good rapper. But he is no mainstream material (same with Sly Boogy, Canibus, Chino XL...) It's a shame. I don't care about mixtapes or free music. I only care about quality music. The day I check for new Crooked I music is when his first album drops. Until then... No Crooked I for me.

[real hiphop]

First Crooked i is one of the best ever to spit.  I know no album no album but material hes come out wit in last 2 years been great quality classic verse after classic verse. u cant hate on a guy that comes wit 52 weeks of str8 heat n 2 raw mixtapes  (bossacre n Block obama) also featuring n murdering mcs. that right there shouldnt lose any FANS n if it did then u dont know real hip hop. it should gain fans cause aint no other mc goin to that 4 free n also spittin lyrical shit he does.     

on another note only mc that could line 4 line fuck wit him is Chino xl  dude another beast never spit a wack verse ever wit 2 classic albums n his next 1 goin 2 be classic the songs that leaked already.

[EFFeX]

Crook has definitely gained fans over the past few years. I think he reached an all time high fan base with Hip Hop Weekly, but it's been a little slow since then. Hopefully he takes advantage of the deal he signed with INGrooves and releases music on a more regular basis now that Block Obama is out.

[Bch]

hes gained newer fans, and pissed off the original fans who demand and album but yet download and bump every song on the low

[yunstar]

I just never liked his music .... and neither has any record company .....

[Low Key]

I was just starting to listen to rap when I heard Crooked I on the 19th Street Compilation and that was when I was 12 years old. Now I'm 23. The fact that the guy has the number of fans he still does is proof he can spit. And I don't know what he does to pay the bills, but it must be going okay for him. I can't imagine he is making boatloads dropping mixtapes. I certainly haven't bought any. I don't buy mixtapes from anyone regardless though.

[love33]

So let me start off by saying I am 28, been listening to westcoast rap for years, and was very hardcore into it for awhile.  I bought the caught up ost right when it dropped, so I heard crooked I's first song when it first came out, (and didn't even know who he was) anyways there was a period of time, probably 99-04 where I was really big on him, tried getting any song I could, and really hoped for an album.

Fast forward to these days.  I didn't download a single hip hop weekly.  Barely listened to Boss Music Vol 2.  Barely heard any songs on the st valentines day massacre.  Saw the block obama mixtape up for free download yesterday and didn't even bother.

Now, the reason I am making this thread is because I have a lot of crooked I on my ipod, and I only listen to it on shuffle, and yesterday a song comes on, I didn't recognize it, and I looked what it was from, and it was from the st valentines day massacre.  I just thought, wow, this dude has skills to make good songs, but he just straight up lost my complete interest.

Now it seems crooked I keeps holding out for the record deal of all deals in order to drop his album.  I think that he thinks he is building up his fanbase, and waiting for the right deal, so he can push major units.  But I think he is actually losing more fans each day rather than gaining.  In 99-04 I would have bought his album w/o a doubt the day it dropped, and I made way less money than I do today.  Today, I wouldn't even care about downloading it.

Whats yall opinion?

I agree a lot of what you're saying.  I didn't download the mixtape either and I have zero interest in anything he puts out.  I've been a fan since he joined Death Row off of Daz's Death Row sublabel Dogg Pound records umbrella.  When he came out, he was behind Top Dogg and Tha Realest on Death Row and dropped tracks like "Nobody Understands Me," "Game For Sale," "Death Rizzo," etc.  And these tracks were almost like a little preview to show us what he was going to do when he got the real producers behind him.  That "Feels So Good" track he did with Snoop and Techniec was one of his best songs ever.  Then Death Row had Daz producing at the time before he left and he had previews for tracks like "Bang On Em," "Raw Dawgs," "Crook Show," "Middle Finger Musik" (Snoop Diss), "G'd Up and Bang'd Out" (prod. by Hutch), Gangsta Rap ft. Dogg Pound, etc.  That "So Damn Hood" dropped with Dru Hill and he was all over the radio out West and it was a great lead-off single which previewed big things to come and he had big Eastwood riding in the rearview (who is way tighter than Crooked I).  He supposeably recorded with Treach, Outlawz, Ja Rule, Too Short, Juvenile, Jadakiss, Relativez, the then-current Death Row inmates like Tha Realest ("Drunk Drivin In My Glasshouse," Top Dogg, Mac Shawn, VK, Doobie, Soopafly, Daz, Kurupt when he came back, etc.)  The album was supposed to have all these bangers like "Who Wants To Fuck Tonite" and "We Ballin" w/ Eastwood (which eventually appeared on Dysfunktional Family OST).

Then after all this hype a release date and then no album.  That was the most disappointing when "Say Hi To Tha Bad Guy" didn't drop.  He was talking how he was going to "save the Westcoast" and "Gangsta rap ain't dead, it didn't die, it took steroids to the head and became Crooked I."  He was talking about all this how it's his responsibility to save the coast and he's the one who's doing it not anyone else and I liked the way he stood his ground against Snoop.

Fast forward...he gets kicked off Death Row and there's a huge court battle.  Jay-Z offers him a deal on Roc-A-Fella Records and he turns it down, Irv Gotti offers him a deal with The Inc Records and he turns it down.  Jay-Z signs Rick Ross and aligns himself with Lil Wayne -- Ross and Wayne become two of the top 10 faces in the rap game.  Crooked I changes his flow, can't get over the whole Death Row situation and keeps mentioning it in interviews and songs.  His new flow is offbeat with the tracks and he drops subpar singles like "Cali Boys," "Boom Boom Clap," "N.W.A."  Meanwhile, The Game is the one who saves the westcoast and brings it back, and personally tells everyone "I saved the Westcoast, not anyone else, I brought the Westcoast back."  Meanwhile, Crooked I's music is getting bland, monotone, and played out...lots of recycled verses, dictionary type rhymes, etc.  I think basically fatigue was starting to kick in and the fact that all these people he let down by not walking the walk when he talked the talk.  Also, Snoop pushed him aside and since he called him a crumb off his table Snoop has told a lot of cats that are aligned with him not to fuck with him musically so he lost a lot of networking connections.  The dude's quality has fallen off badly and he has no buzz.  His latest effort was a song called "Dream Big" with Akon that was a complete bust and copy off The Game's idea that was a hit "Dreams."

Basically a lot of bad career moves (not signing with Jay-Z and burning bridges in the industry), tripping over the past (he never got over the whole Death Row situation), his quality as an artist slipping (mental fatigue kicked in, dirt singles like 'cali boyz' and 'boom boom clap' and no record deal equals less effort into the tracks and getting played out, also no big producers), and watch The Game wear the shoes he wanted to wear (The Game comes along in 2003 and saves the entire Westcoast by moving big units and backing up his talk).

Basically, everything bad that shouldn't have happened that could have happened basically did happen.  As a result, I've totally lost any interest and like the OG poster, I may download a track once in a while but I'm not searching around the net or holding my breath for him to drop any album or I don't care about even a mixtape.  And those weekly rap freestyles were basically a joke saying that he has no producers and can't get a record deal.  Why do I want to hear him over some other rapper's beats all the time? Get your own beats man.

I hope that he learns from his mistakes and if he somehow fortunately gets a knock on the door from a major again like Jay-Z and Irv Gotti once did, that he makes the right move by signing with them.

[real hiphop]

I just never liked his music .... and neither has any record company .....

I just dont know how u  dont like crooked i. man is lyrical beast wordplay metaphors hes deep poetic.  give one bad verse from him cause i havent heard one yet.    who do you actually listen 2

[Jimmy H.]

Meanwhile, The Game is the one who saves the westcoast and brings it back, and personally tells everyone "I saved the Westcoast, not anyone else, I brought the Westcoast back."

This question keeps being asked but an answer never seems to come out of it. How can you say Game brought the West back when it isn't back? He pushed platinum and he's from Compton and reps the West and that's cool but how does that equal him bringing the West back? One artist doesn't make a whole region. There was a brief spark of momentum with Game and Snoop doing traditional West Coast albums following the success of Documentary but then both went and did their own thing on their albums after that. Since the Documentary dropped, who from the West has become a household name besides Game? Who has been signed to a blockbuster deal? Closest I can think of Glasses Malone and Bishop and their future is still uncertain.

[Episcop Cruel Cvrle]

Crooked gained lotta fans trough the years for sure, its because of songs like Boom Boom Clap and Dream Big, people are seeing that he is capable of being more then just BEST LYRICIST or BEST BATTLE RAPPER on the west. Its just shame that dude doesnt get a chance to release his debut, i think the problem is that he doesnt have right people around him who will manage him and push him, he has few good men that are tryng hard but he gonna need more then that if he wants to release his album.

[Flava In Ya Ear]

Both.

Crooked I gained hella fans with the HHW shit but after that no album. So people stop waiting on him cuz he about 30 years old, been around since the mid/late 90s and still no album out
so its like, "why should i even care?"

Dude needs to realize that he wont sell 200,000 and shit like that. Thats not happenin, especially in this era.

Maybe he's waiting on this era to die down but imo i think he a lil bit to old for that, OR he might be on Detox and figures he'll blow up that way and after that get better deals or something like that. I unno what the nigga thinkin.

I mean if G-Unit as a group sold 96,000 in their first week, Game, Jeezy and Nas sold 200,000+ in their theres no way Crooked I will sell more.

[hellrazor86]

Both.

Crooked I gained hella fans with the HHW shit but after that no album. So people stop waiting on him cuz he about 30 years old, been around since the mid/late 90s and still no album out
so its like, "why should i even care?"

Dude needs to realize that he wont sell 200,000 and shit like that. Thats not happenin, especially in this era.

Maybe he's waiting on this era to die down but imo i think he a lil bit to old for that, OR he might be on Detox and figures he'll blow up that way and after that get better deals or something like that. I unno what the nigga thinkin.

I mean if G-Unit as a group sold 96,000 in their first week, Game, Jeezy and Nas sold 200,000+ in their theres no way Crooked I will sell more.

+1

[BANGADOSHISH!!]

GAINED