I’ve been listening to Hip Hop for 15 years and got tired of most of the trends a long time ago. Bay Area Hip Hop was always refreshing, energetic and new, but for the first time I have to say I am incredibly bored with the genre the dominates this board.
I have not heard anything new or groundbreaking to really make me change my opinion. Bay Area music used to be bred with ingenuity, and that is no longer the case. There is too much copycating, too much laziness, and too much oversaturation. Once the whole “Hyphy” scene blew up, a bunch of new rappers jumped on the train, a bunch of old rappers changed their style, and now the amount of non-hyphy music seems to be almost ‘nill.
Maybe it is the fact the rappers throw bad shows: they don’t rehearse, their mics sound bad, 30 people are up on stage making noise, lots of intermissions and BS going on to take away from the music. Maybe it is Bay Area rappers willingness to flood the market with a bunchof average CDs instead of putting out good ones; of course in the short run they will eat off it, but in the long run mediocre albums kill an artists career. Maybe it’s the lack of originality, the lack of desire to experiment with new sounds, or trying to appeal to new audiences and not focusing on improving their own sound.
Muaybe it’s the fans. I hate to say it but if I see another dde in a 5XL shirt and oversized sunglasses saying “yadidimean” “yadidimsaying” like they are Keak Da Sneak or living in 2002 is gonna have to get their head cracked. Clearly, they have never gotten their ass kicked in the first place if they are 26 years old imitating their favorite rapper. There are so many fans out here obsessed with this Bay Area Hip Hop style they seem to be convinced they are pimps, drug dealers and balling artists even though they are freshman at SFSU or from Danville. The fans of this genre fall victim to the same conformity that plagues mainstream music: they follow the trend and forgot who they were to begin with. It almost made me ashamed to see all these suburban kids at San Diego State wearing huge t-shirts and stupid sunglasses and acting like dumbasses, because they stuck out in a bad way, and that is how a growing number of people down there think of “The Hyphy Movement.”
Maybe it’s the fact that “Back Packing” Hip Hop fans are a lot more loyal and truthful to their genre. That’s why backpack / freestyle rapping never dies. The style continues to evolve, the weak are outbattled or booed off the stage and won’t come back until they’ve stepped their game up. I have never seen anyone boo an artist off the stage at a Bay Area concert unless it was a backpacking event. That diludes the content of Bay Area music, and that, as fans, is your own fault.
It is May and I haven’t heard ONE good Bay Area Hip Hop album in 2007. I asked what is good to pick up in 2007 that was an album and not a mixtape or collaboration turned out in a few days, and most of the answers I got were mixtapes or collaborations turned out in a few days. The reason Bay Area Hip Hop hasn’t taken off is because the product just isn’t as good. Ghostface took the time to put out 2 albums in less than a year that are better then 99.5% of all Bay Area releases, and his sales show that. The same can be said about “Back Pack” rappers like Zion I, Murs, Living Legends and whatnot, who take time to fine tune their albums, put on GREAT shows, and are less concerned with getting a deal or making a quick buck than they are making good music. I would put money on it that Zion I, Grouch and Murs outsold every artist in the Bay Area COMBINED save E-40, Keak and maybe San Quinn.
Dare I say: Bay Area music becoming as redundant as the South? I do.
I’m going to crawl into a hole for a while and listen to some Jazz and Blues. I’m going to go pick up the new Modest Mouse. I’m going to Rock the Bells this summer to see Nas, Wu-Tang, Rage, and Murs…please come find me when I miss something.
An honest fan.
I have not heard anything new or groundbreaking to really make me change my opinion. Bay Area music used to be bred with ingenuity, and that is no longer the case. There is too much copycating, too much laziness, and too much oversaturation. Once the whole “Hyphy” scene blew up, a bunch of new rappers jumped on the train, a bunch of old rappers changed their style, and now the amount of non-hyphy music seems to be almost ‘nill.
Maybe it is the fact the rappers throw bad shows: they don’t rehearse, their mics sound bad, 30 people are up on stage making noise, lots of intermissions and BS going on to take away from the music. Maybe it is Bay Area rappers willingness to flood the market with a bunchof average CDs instead of putting out good ones; of course in the short run they will eat off it, but in the long run mediocre albums kill an artists career. Maybe it’s the lack of originality, the lack of desire to experiment with new sounds, or trying to appeal to new audiences and not focusing on improving their own sound.
Muaybe it’s the fans. I hate to say it but if I see another dde in a 5XL shirt and oversized sunglasses saying “yadidimean” “yadidimsaying” like they are Keak Da Sneak or living in 2002 is gonna have to get their head cracked. Clearly, they have never gotten their ass kicked in the first place if they are 26 years old imitating their favorite rapper. There are so many fans out here obsessed with this Bay Area Hip Hop style they seem to be convinced they are pimps, drug dealers and balling artists even though they are freshman at SFSU or from Danville. The fans of this genre fall victim to the same conformity that plagues mainstream music: they follow the trend and forgot who they were to begin with. It almost made me ashamed to see all these suburban kids at San Diego State wearing huge t-shirts and stupid sunglasses and acting like dumbasses, because they stuck out in a bad way, and that is how a growing number of people down there think of “The Hyphy Movement.”
Maybe it’s the fact that “Back Packing” Hip Hop fans are a lot more loyal and truthful to their genre. That’s why backpack / freestyle rapping never dies. The style continues to evolve, the weak are outbattled or booed off the stage and won’t come back until they’ve stepped their game up. I have never seen anyone boo an artist off the stage at a Bay Area concert unless it was a backpacking event. That diludes the content of Bay Area music, and that, as fans, is your own fault.
It is May and I haven’t heard ONE good Bay Area Hip Hop album in 2007. I asked what is good to pick up in 2007 that was an album and not a mixtape or collaboration turned out in a few days, and most of the answers I got were mixtapes or collaborations turned out in a few days. The reason Bay Area Hip Hop hasn’t taken off is because the product just isn’t as good. Ghostface took the time to put out 2 albums in less than a year that are better then 99.5% of all Bay Area releases, and his sales show that. The same can be said about “Back Pack” rappers like Zion I, Murs, Living Legends and whatnot, who take time to fine tune their albums, put on GREAT shows, and are less concerned with getting a deal or making a quick buck than they are making good music. I would put money on it that Zion I, Grouch and Murs outsold every artist in the Bay Area COMBINED save E-40, Keak and maybe San Quinn.
Dare I say: Bay Area music becoming as redundant as the South? I do.
I’m going to crawl into a hole for a while and listen to some Jazz and Blues. I’m going to go pick up the new Modest Mouse. I’m going to Rock the Bells this summer to see Nas, Wu-Tang, Rage, and Murs…please come find me when I miss something.
An honest fan.
