Hiphop is dead?

Well back in the day before turntables/stylus were built for scratching they taped pennies/nickels etc to the cartridge head shell to keep them weighted down :)
now you can practically pick half the LP up while its on the platter and your stylus wont jump plus it all comes down to having the "touch" when manipulating vinyl on a turntable.
 
Let's go back for a moment shall we?

Mid-70s when the DJ battles were in full swing, and guys were earning reps from Block parties. For those who were not in NYC and Philly, essentially, the "block" threw a party, and people grilled out, brought food, we opened the fire hydrants and had a great time. Generally, a couple of the teenaged boys would bring out record players, amps and some turntables. The best one got to keep playing, and the others were sent packing. This eventually formalized into DJ battles that became the stuff of legend.

WBLS and WKTU in NYC were putting on late night shows where these guys could get local tapes on the air, but there was still no commercial market and no one was getting signed. Some of the more affluent families from NYC were moving across the bridge to an area called Englewood, NJ. Where I grew up. In the neighboring town called Hackensack, the bowling alley was bought and a skating rink was put up. The owner of that rink would allow the new "rappers" from the Bronx and Brooklyn to come over and perform during skate intermissions. From this, a lot of their stuff got heard. An A&R person from a small record company started signing these kids onto her (Sylvia) on private label called Sugarhill records. At the time of Rapper Delight, Big Bank Hank was working in the pizza parlor on Palisades Ave right around the corner from Lincoln Middle School. As kids, we would go there after school and hang out. They had the first arcade game in town. (Incedentally, they were the first in town with a Pac Man game too) Hank was discovered there and was fortunate enough to drag his two friends along with him into the record deal.

There was a record store further up the street that began selling the 45s and 33s that the rap guys were producing and it became a cottage industry. Artists like the Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Superrhymes (Jimmy Spicer), the Fabulous 5, Fab 5 Freddy, and others were doing well and making things happen. WKTU began a show with Jellybean Benitez who played a lot of this stuff late in the nite, and WBLS got into the act as well and tried to keep pace. Together, with the local talent, they pushed this thing in a big way.

And thus, the movement was born. Out of the poverty, to the suburbs, onto the airwaves, and onto vinyl. It was a very exciting time. We knew things were huge when Ed Lover and Dr. Dre, got YO! MTV Raps on the air. What a groundbreaking show THAT was.
 
Last edited:
For Debonaire:

Jay-z
Eminem
Common
Kanye West
Oatkast


NONE of these guys are hip-hop. Jay-Z was closest, and started there. But the game evolved and so did he. Hip hop is not, and never was about money. And the south has not, nor likely will it ever be a part of the hip-hop culture. It has it's own unique and distinct culture. The closest I've heard to hip hop in the south was the stuff Arrested Development was doing on the Tennessee Album. Magnificent stuff. Want to understand hip hop, go dig up some early Public Enemy (It takes a Nation), some KRS-One, Kurtis Blow, or trace the discography of Tribe Called Quest.

Ya' heard? :)
 
I wouldn't say hip-hop, or rap for that matter, is dead. What I would say is that it's passé. Or slowly becoming so. The market is so saturated, and artists and songs have so little evolution differentiating one from the other that originality is measured in microsteps these days in both of these genres.

What popular music needs today is something dramatically new, fresh. Sort of like when rap first came along, or techno, or punk, or disco, or rock-and-roll for that matter.

Of course, this is just my opinion.
 
Postmaster said:
Yeah, Wild Style was great.

By the way, Rap is not an invention of the late 70s.
I got some - belive it or not - Glen Miller recordings of the mid 40s wher Glen and Tex Beneke rapping along.

Frank
Click to expand...

Would you believe I have some of the original Glen Miller Lp's also.
My dad's actually. Also still have some of the original Elvis, Fats Domino & Ink Spots discs that were made from bakelite and generally had 1 song per side.
Don't know what to do with them but sure can't throw them out.
 
That's pretty cool Perrone. I can visualize that pretty good the way you described it.
 
Hey Perrone Commons first 2 albums are classics. Especially Ressurection a hip-hop gem no doubt. anything after that well i wasnt feeling. as far as those others on your list i never really listened to or could stand hearing them. Jay Z had his hip-hop moment when he was in Big Jaz's Hawaiian Sophie video :)
 
So seeing this topic has grown pretty large i will make a small list of artists and some of my faves worth checking out if anyone is interested.

Afrika Bambaataa and The Soulsonic Force
KRS-One / Boogie Down Productions
Schoolly D
Public Enemy
Ultramagnetic MC's
Brand Nubian
Jungle Brothers
De La Soul
A Tribe Called Quest
The Beastie Boys
RUN-DMC
UTFO
Whodini
Gangstarr
Jeru The Damaja
Organized Konfusion
O.C.
Main Source
Nas (first LP)
Big Daddy Kane
Eric B. & Rakim
Lord Finesse
EPMD
LL Cool J (especially first 4 LPs not so much his later albums)
KMD
Black Sheep
Kool G Rap
Biz Markie
Craig G
MC Shan
WU Tang (esp. 36 chambers)
just a few off the top of my head will add more later
 
'...just act retarded' haha. Unfortunately there's truth in that. I've seen a lot of wannabe gangstas up here over the years and never understood that. Seen some real ones I guess too. I'm glad hiphop was not about that.
 
Finished watching Wildstyle. The rap was certainly different than what's on the
airwaves today. Probably closer to it's origins. Beats were a lot funkier and
the rapping seemed to have more rhythm. Can't say I was ever into graffiti but I can appreciate the artistic side of it.

I would say I find the history and origins of the music & culture the most
interesting rather than where it is now.
 
Sorry if I'm beating this subject to death.

I've been checking out some Sugar Hill Gang on youtube since that's where it all started(from the point of getting airplay).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkOaw6-tfOE&feature=related
although that particular video sais it was recorded at the Apollo in 1990.

//This one is definatley 70's. Also shows disco is also occuring at the same time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-MEL84yXh0&feature=related


Definitely a fun upbeat atmosphere.

Now I'm wondering exactly when things started going to ****, if I can even say that.
I guess I'll start working my way through the history by listening to various bands as they progress through the years.
This may take awhile.
 
Last edited:
personally id say around 1995 things started to go to crap. 85-93 were like the golden years. thats cool you like the sugar hill gang but IMO they are kinda wack. they had some other good tracks besides rappers delight such as 8th wonder but really there were many before them it just so happened that they blew up after the stole lyrics from the cold crush bros. and recorded rappers delight. read this

http://capweb.capital.k12.de.us/pub/whms/jalascia/shg.htm
 
That's too bad about the controversy.

Just wondering, has anyone done a documentary following the history of hip hop & rap kind of like what's being talked about here? I mean a thorough type of thing from it's beginnings to now?

//Googling is turning up a few. Not sure yet how in depth they are.
//Found a 3 part european doc that talks to people about it a bit but...anyways...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfW0N0rFTMY

This one looks at the current state...
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1521518/story.jhtml

I'll shut up for a while now and look into it a little more.
 
Last edited:
I live hip hop I know my art form. Duo I know jay-z from brooklyn and eminem from detriot the point of them names to name our big artist. But the south is killing it, Nas roots are in mississippi, Kanye's are too. But real talk

T.i.
Luda
Lil wayne
Scarface
8ball mjg
Ugk
Outkast

I can name south artist for days.

Hip hop aint' dead it lives in the south.
 
I've had a listen to several songs by each of those names listed Debonaire.
I've been hearing Lil Wayne & Ludacris on the radio quite a bit lately.
The first 3 seemed to have a bit more of the older style.

I'm alright with all of those.
I think Glamorous by Fergie & Ludacris is pretty good. It seems a lot of people
disagree with me, haha. I still like it.

Scarface may take some getting used to.

Overall pretty good. I just like music.
.................

To keep things in prespective here's some of the styles that have passed me over the years.
I put Sugar Hill Gang in there as well although I'm not as familiar with them as
the others. That's a bunch of listening.
I think that most of the styles are represented. Miss any?

historyf.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top