Yeah right on man.

I once heard from a few elders that great music and new genres come from times of recession. So here’s to the world and its future and to the music of the people that will be its soundtrack.

New site layout look sick byw.

Peace

Mech

The times are changing, in a sense, but we always seem to be saying that. The change may be more manifest than principle. Radio stations have been playing the same stuff repeatedly for as long as I can remember — remember how many times you heard Ice Ice Baby as a kid?.
I don’t think the developing issue with hip hop is the change in structure of the industry — it has always been crap –, but I think you hit the nail on the head when you mention that what is being settled for is dangerous for the art. The fringe genres of ‘gangster rap’ and bling bling flows were perfectly acceptable until this widespread development of an almost mob mentality within the pop community came about [the amount of this mentality is the problem, as it is obviously not new to hip hop -- I refuse to join in on the hero-worship of Pac and BIG because of their promotion of such mentality, which ultimately led to their deaths]. The fact that record companies are working extremely hard to promote this form is disturbing. What is equally disturbing is the fact that they continue to promote it because the public loves it (I’m tired of just blaming the labels). We know violence and sex sell, but that doesn’t mean we should continue buying them.
On a broader note, communities need to really take care of themselves, which has been obvious since the dawn of man. There are so many childish ‘beefs’ out there right now between newborn ’swag’ kings, it is ridiculous. The childlike egos of these “men” is disturbing, and says something about the social environments surrounding them — talk about insecurities!. The public and the bigger labels that sell such ideas to the public are partly to blame here.
Hip hop has always had to fight against some sort of backlash, whether it be internal or external, and I believe it will survive its current evolution. I believe that we are still within the first generation of hip hop being truly acceptable within the mainstream — middle-class suburbanites now slap hip hop tunes like they invented the sh*t –, and it is still in the process of defining itself within that mainstream. If the final initial- definition is anything like the current pop manifestation, then the underground will probably see a huge revival — as long as it can avoid being too ‘pop’ and relying on a small number of artists to carry the weight, as it sometimes has. The underground always seems to fester and reappear.
By the way, have you noticed how ‘old’ hip hop is getting? The shelf life for some artists has become quite long, and the pop scene has allowed for reinvention — see Lil Wayne, etc. My problem with that is that you have to hear the same people for 5 or more years at a time, with little supplement. Nothing wrong with being a lifelong fan, but let’s see some variety! There are great underground artists still around, but even the underground seemed to develop a ‘pop’ scene. I’m glad my boy josh is kicking knowledge on artists that deserve some recognition, and this is the stuff that will revive the scene. It’s just a cycle…

hey don’t sleep on eydea, Aesop Rock, or Tonedeff. Check those artists out they are not listed but are extremely talented. Listen to “Here for you” and “Soundtrack of a Romance” by eyedea off his album, The Many Faces of Oliver Hart. Do that asap cause you are in for a treat. There is also this brand new way undergrond artist laying raw vocals over an 8track and doing it old school startin his indie label who will emerge soon. He’s a must hear you can check him out at http://www.myspace.com/whizdumb. His last verse on crushed I mindblowing. He raps with one other guy by the name of Prep Logic who reminds me of a more conscious eminem. I really enjoy looking through this site please keep it going. Good commentary too leave more of it visiters.

Check out my music at http://www.myspace.com/chanese2 if u like what u hear call me 3016937134