Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
RHH: How hip hop died, musical accompaniment by Common Sense (for that one cat, no one else look)..........?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C99iG4HoO1c
Hip Hop started in NY for those who didn't know. Anyway, once upon a time there lived broke black folk in the streets of NY who ain't have shyt to do but wrong. Then in like super ni99er comes a guy named Kool DJ Herc, which we all know. Back then there was know rap music, which it seems must of us forget at times, so he brought out his equipment and rocked out with some funk and soul shyt like this, inspiration to black people music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuR-kDVMoqE
As you can tell from the song this is nothing like music today, it's funky, fast. Back then dudes could get funky to this and dance. Mixing James Browns moves with that Wu Tang Kung Fu movie shyt gave way to B-Boys/break dancing (important fact, back then cats could dance). I'll skip other stuff because I'm tired of writing but. Before long MC came along from all that chant yelling with DJ shyt, graffiti was big etc. None of it had an official name but soon or later the term Hip Hop was used to describe this thriving culture. Another thing to remember rap music still doesn't exist as a genre. But after awhile of this singles get released Rappers Delight was big etc etc.
After awhile Rap is an official genre and Hip Hop plays a huge part in Rap. DJs are more important than MCs at this point keep that in mind. B-Boying and Graf don't play a big role in Rap, but MC and DJing do and is what puts the Hip Hop in Rap. Once rap starts to progress MC start to take top over DJs and DJs start taking on producing because it, to make it short, was in their best interests. Producers worked on the beats and got paid. They could still DJ on the side or apply DJ skill to tracks but they took on producing more. As time goes on things change. It was mostly live music in the 80s being spun by DJs on Rap cuts; by live I mean funky and B-Boy friendly to an extent. But as things progress production wise things get less and less B-Boy happy happy joy party it up and become hardcore, especially with Gangsta Rap to give things a boost.
By time the early 90s roll around B-Boying and Rap don't go hand in hand, DJing and Rap don't go hand in hand; it's all about the MC plus the producers somewhat too. The only element left keeping Hip Hop in Rap music is the MC with the DJing sort of turning to production. Now lets get to the dirt shall we. You might disagree here but now there was a guy named P. Diddy who had an artist by the name of Biggie Smalls. Biggie Smalls was a fierce MC. P. Diddy had business connects in the industry: Bad Boys. P. Diddy being a smart brother knows from being around the music biz that the fans want hits. Everybody actually, in the biz, knows that fans want the big singles; I'm talking the non-Hip Hop Heads obviously. Big is a real hard NY cat who wants to do his hood shyt that real raw hardcore Hip Hop MC skills shyt, but he also knows that his chance is Puffy and Puffy wants the singles for the mainstream. So big compromises and does the singles but also does the hood shyt. Juice, One More Chance Remix. etc, the rest hood shyt.
Fast forward now he starts doing his second shyt beef is big but I'm talking Hip Hop so I'll leave the beef out. Puffy still gets Big on the single shyt because he knows that is what the mainstream feeds on. Hypnotize, Mo Money Mo Problems etc. Now I can't say that Puffy is the only one out there on this shyt, but I'm saying he was the main influence. Ma$e, The LOX, all did those songs that had you like why are these talented cats doing these pu$$y a** tracks. To get back on topic a guy by the name of Jay-Z is creeping on the come up and he is just like Puffy same mind set. He is around Biggie Smalls does a track with him, peeps his style and what is appealing about him to the mainstream and steals it. Only thing is that he goes way farther with it. Big dies and around this time everyone is on that single mainstream shyt because that what appeals to fans.
Now Jay-Z is the only cat left to be the head of NY and he is on it the hardest. Down hill. Rappers follow the Jay-Z mainstream footsteps and are on the fake shyt instead of that real hardcore street shyt. Bingo. 2000s come and MCs are still alive no doubt even with the hot single funny shyt wearing ice rocking nonsense that Puffy and Jay are set on. But big bad boy internet is now bigger than ever, and illegal downloads come into play.
By the mid-2000s it gets so bad that albums sells are down. Now the make big single the rest hood tracks don't attract labels as well. It's all singles and because that can make the quick cash for ya. Mainstream feeds off singles and since record sells are 0 that is what label want. Who are the label heads that can really help keep things alive. Jay-Z, Puffy are good opinions. What do they do? Not support good artist that's for sure.
Now we are at the point were singles are cool for mainstream and record labels. What is hot in mainstream? drugs money sex a
damn I spelled no---- know
Now think back. What was keeping Hip Hop in Rap music, the MC. But now MCing isn't important and neither is raw hip hop production. All that is important is if its all singles, content related to sex and drugs, and music that is easy for people who can't dance to get down to. That kills the MCing in Rap music, therefore killing Hip Hop in Rap.
But, think god there is an underground were the essence of MCing still lives in Rap music, but for the most part think about it, how many people you know into underground? how many people you know care about real Hip Hop? how many people you know care about MCing.
Not many. So I don't know about you but to me barley breathing is dead. Though I would like to think Hip Hop is strong and well, I just get discouraged when people come up to me and say "You hear that new Gucci Mane he da truth".
Like I said I'm not saying Hip Hop is dead, but I mean really besides on Y!A and other places on the internet and maybe the occasional concert, where does it exist? I can't hang out in the dining hall or rec center and go up to cats and be like, "Yo I can't believe J Dilla's birthday is coming up this mouth and the date of his death RIP, he's the greatest producer no doubt, sorry Prem and Pete" because they would respond, "Who the f*ck is J Dilla, Prem, and Pete" Also can't say, "did you get that new Strong Arm Steady it was fire but I bet it ain't gonna mess with that Mic Tyson when it hit, Sean P is the man." Because they'd say, Sean P, Mic Tyson, Strong who???
damn there is the rest.
10 Answers
- kN0!ZeLv 61 decade agoFavorite Answer
^^^
completely agree with what Craftsman said, for the first time I think.
The whole "hip-hop is dead" theory or discussion has too many contradictions because of Hip-Hop's timeline, and the many trends it's gone through.
Newer sub-genres that emerged at the time they did (like gangsta rap) are/were viewed as a negative thing by some, but viewed as essential progress towards a young, popular genre by others.
Mainstream music, or music with no subject matter, is viewed as the main problem with hip-hop today by some, but essentially Hip-Hop was mainstream music (or party music) since the jump.
Going platinum used to be the epitome of a rapper's career in the 90's.
Now, anyone can make a hit single and do it in half the time other rappers did, and get the same praise for it.
Knowing all these things, I find it tough for any hip-hop fan to pick a side on these types of discussions.
That's why I hate the "Hip-Hop Is Dead" phrase and hate it when respected artists like Common and KRS-One incorporate those messages into their music, by calling their music "real".
Source(s): @ Crafstman : yea I know you're anti-mainstream.... I agree with what u said, but the rest of the stuff I wrote was MY opinion pretty much... . And btw, the only reason I hate on cats like Common and KRS-One is because they try so hard to promote their music as being "real", and yet Common is pretty much a mainstream whore now (listen to his last album) and KRS-One is trying to stay relevant by doing things like calling Wayne "the greatest rapper alive". WTF. I know its music industry business but if you're gonna do stuff like that, don't come out the next day glorifying how Hip-Hop's going downhill and how you're still trying to keep it "real". Either shut up or keep making good music. That's how I see it. - Anonymous1 decade ago
Ok, the first half of this essay is irrelevant. But in a nutshell, you're basically saying Puffy killed Hip Hop, right? Puffy manipulated Biggie's music, Jay stole Biggie's style, and when Big died, it opened up an opportunity for Jay make his move. And with no other opinion, emcees were forced to switch up their styles because that's what was appealing to the mainstream.
Some of your question didn't post so I don't know what else you would have said, but you still didn't explain why Hip Hop is dead. The flaw in you summary is that you say "singles" were what was popular at the time, which is true to some extent, but the difference is, the mainstream music back then was still lyrical, and usually still had a message. Hell, even Jay-Z's music up to the black album is considered "real" Hip Hop. Not to mention when Biggie died, Puffy fell off the face of the earth, which shows there was something about Big in particular that was appealing to the fans. If it was really that simple, Mase, or someone else on Bad Boy Records would have been the next big sensation.
With that said, explain to me how songs(or hot singles that appealed to the mainstream) like Big Poppa, Dead Presidents II, If I Ruled the World, Nas Is Like etc. evolved into Lil Jon & The Eastside Boys, The Ying Yang Twins, etc. Also, Eminem was popular as sh*t in the mid 2000's because fans loved "how real and deep" his songs were. His style was not even remotely close to the stuff that's being put on the radio today.
In my opinion, the is no explanation as to why Rap is the way that it is now. Somewhere along the Hip Hop timeline there's a grey area where it suddenly became ok to make ignorant club songs containing three to four words per bar. I would also like to add that Hip Hop isn't dead. Like I said in another question, I hate the term/phrase "dead" or "is "dying" because there's still plenty of good Rap music out there if that's what you're really after.
- CraftsmanLv 41 decade ago
First of all, when exactly in all of this did hip hop die? Was it when the elements stopped being as important and the music was the only important element which was being run by labels? Because if so then hip hop was dead all throughout the 90's which everyone here loves so much. Was it when hip hop's subject matter stopped being about street shyt? Funny considering that hip hop in the early 80's wasn't hardcore at all and was about partying, sex, and money. Was it when the music in the mainstream stopped being good? I mean all the good rappers are underground now, so it must be dead right? I'm not defending the mainstream, but if hip hop is only alive based on what's on TV then it was "dead" in the 70's when the whole culture was underground and no one had put out a record yet. The same thing with sales. If hip hop sells no records is it dead? Cause no one was buying hip hop records in the 70's and not even that many people were buying them in the 80's either. It seems to me that as long as people are downloading the music and listening to it, then it's still alive. And if Puffy killed hip hop in 1997 then I guess Moment of Truth, 2001, Train of Thought and all of the great albums that came out after that weren't hip hop. Sorry man, but I can't buy that. Hip Hop isn't defined by the mainstream. MTV and the radio can play all the Puffy's and Lil Wayne's and T-Pain's they want, but as long as there's real cats in the underground spittin', scratchin', writing, breaking, and doing hip hop right, it'll never die. Also I think it's ironic that Common is b*tching about hip hop being dead in 1994 which most of you think was the best year for all of hip hop.
@KNOIZE: Whoa, don't get it twisted. I'm not standing up for the mainstream. The mainstream right now does suck. KRS-One and Common are real hip hop and the sh*t on the radio now isn't. I'm just saying that hip hop isn't dead because there's still real hip hop coming out in the underground and the reason the stuff on the radio is bad isn't because it's party music, or because it has no substance.
Edit: Well, I don't think KRS was serious when he said that, but that's true about Common. Whatever, either way we can agree that hip hop isn't dead.
- Anonymous5 years ago
1. 5/10 2. I'm real big on jazz and soul samples, but I listen to pretty much any kind of sound. 3. I try to be well rounded, but I always go back to the 90's. 4. Hip hop as a culture? Graffiti and Break dancing. Hip Hop as music? 80s. 5. There are rappers that basically treat hip hop as a job instead of a form of art: Get money, and nothing more. And because this is so prevalent in the mainstream, it gets other emcees in hip hop bad looks. But gangster hip hop as a whole? Not at all.
- How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- 1 decade ago
Thanks dude
edit:
I had to bounce shortly after I read this, but yeah I agree with a lot of what you say especially the part about singles. I've mentioned that many times before on here as apart of the reason why hip-hop is dying. But it's more due to illegal downloading. Back from '94-'01, I'm sure, at least 5 hip-hop albums would go platinum and dozens would go gold. In 2009, only two hip-hop albums went platinum (Relapse & BP3). I wonder why (sarcasm)? The single sales are the money makers for labels now because it's a ringtone/digital market for music. Sell 100,000 ringtones at $1.99 and sell another 100,000 songs at $.99 on iTunes plus it's all digital, which means zero cost for packaging and shipping. That's $280,000 to be divided up.
Point is, singles were always suppose to be catchy and hip-hop wasn't mainstream in 90's like it is today. It's more accepted by more people than ever before, creating a large market of those that only like the song because it's popular, not because of it's quality. Why care about your craft and being lyrical if the only thing that sells now are catchy hooks, simple bars, and pop beats? Because cash rules everything around me, get the money, dollar dollar bill! If Liquid Swords or Illmatic dropped today, both would never reach platinum status. They'd just be known as dope underground albums to download for free off some blog. Real talk!
Anyway, while I was with friends. We were playing cards, smoking, and listening to hip-hop, some Dilla played on my friend's iPod and he mentioned it's Jay Dee month. That is a rare moment because honestly I only met one other person in real life up to that point that knew who Dilla was, but he's a true head like myself. People who actually know hip-hop are rare like Mr. Clean with hair, ha.
Last things I want to say are...Hip-hop started as, is, and always will be an underground movement. Hip-hop never died. The new "hip-hop" on the radio, most the time, isn't hip-hop, more or less, it's a pop rap song. Because Clear Channel or whatever control the radio. Hip-hop, as well as punk rock and heavy metal, should rarely be heard on a Top 40 station. Speaking about the radio, Arizona's #1 new hip-hop station, Power 98.3, became Arizona's #1 new hits station a few years back. They play Lady Gaga on the same station that used to play 2Pac. Damn! Times have changed.
Peace!
Source(s): "Hov is a living legend and I'll tell you why. Everybody wanna be Hov and Hov still alive." - Anonymous1 decade ago
Clap... Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap Clap clap (continues for several more hours)
