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Hip-Hop...the new Dance sound?

Z

Zorn21

Here near Champaign, IL we just got ANOTHER hip-hop station come on the air, that's 3!!! for market 200+ (Hot 1055, 1079 Jamz, and now 935 the Beat) Jamz will probably become News/Talk soon according to rumors. The latter two which claim to play hip-hop have well over 50% of their music sounding much more like dance beats, not VIBE or Energy 98 style, but it sounds so much more like dance beats than the traditional sounding hip-hop beats of the past 15 years. I know this is nationwide. They can call it hip-hop but the evolution of the sound is so much more dance and yet the term is still hip-hop. So I guess today's hip-hop is a new kind of dance sound, right? I ain't complaining. I love it, embrace the sound and sort of expect to hear more dancy tunes on hip-hop stations in my future travels this summer. Will Indy and Cincinnati and Orlando prove true to this sound as well? I hope so. I feel like it's kind of a neo-early 90s rhythmic CHR era we are in right now. Never thought I'd enjoy the music my teenage daughter listens to but hey! I do. Are dance fans enjoying this morph in hip-hop or am I just out there?

Z
 
I'm really glad music labels are releasing non-rap versions of pop songs these days because they are really in demand, let hip hop be hip hop and other genres be other genres. Some U.S Dance music labels in the U.S. are in danger of being bypassed if they don't do the same...I'm just sayin..it is a widespread sentiment. I hear it day in and day out, but that's just me.
 
CASE IN POINT:

Above (New York board), you will see that it is reported that HOT 97 (the source of Hip-Hop revolution in the 90s) was playing GaGa's "Alejandro". I'm not saying that is a true or close to a dance hit but hip-hop is moving their sound to a more dancy arena and audience! Even the mega HOT 97!!!!

Z
 
It's a return to the blending of house and hip hop just like in the late 80's.Tracks like..

"I''ll House You"-Jungle Brothrers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb0CPYpOKT8&feature=related

Stomp-Kyze
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRXlLcDO6pc

...where the originators of this concept. Along with the likes of Mr Lee,Doug Lazy Fast Eddie, etc

Of course then groups like Technotronic and C&C Music Factory found mainstream success with this sound.

We're going back to the future. 8)

Hot 97 might one day come back to its original roots and play rhythmic dance music again.
 
You are dead on! That is exactly what it feels like and I find myself liking it almost, not quite, as much as I do listening to the Vibe or Energy. Finally, radio that doesn't bore you to death!

Z
 
Hot 97 is rhythmic. They once played "disturbia" and "don't stop the music". They probably use "I gotta feeling" in some night mix shows as well.
 
They might throw in a rhythmic track once in a while now because of the change in the music scene.

But I'm talking about taking back to the early days of Hot 97 where you could hear all the songs I posted above along with freestyle,and other dance sounds of the time in heavy rotation.
 
Let me clarify my last post in case of any confusion. I would like to see Hot 97 play all the current urban dance sounds that are out there now. Just like they did in the past. The Urban dance sound is the new sound of dance onto the mainstream.
 
Morpheux said:
Let me clarify my last post in case of any confusion. I would like to see Hot 97 play all the current urban dance sounds that are out there now. Just like they did in the past. The Urban dance sound is the new sound of dance onto the mainstream.
Click to expand...

It's too soon. They wouldn't be too successful right away if they chose to do that now, and there's no guarantee of recovering down the road even if later on people realize they were headed in the right direction with music to begin with. It's still too soon. There are so many people who are slow at noticing change or trends, and many of those people listening don't even realize the hip hop domination era has come to an end. As a matter of fact, I'm seeing people who are JUST NOW realizing that we've been going more towards dance lately! So no, I would not recommend Hot 97 try to drift too quickly because they will lose their hip hop fans very quick to other urban stations, while the mainstream rhythmic top 40 lovers will not be quick to think "hmmm maybe Hot 97 might be adding in some top 40 dance material so maybe I should go check". I'm sure as hip hop began to take over, Hot 97 didn't jump right in at the very very very first sign of things to come. They probably waited until they saw an official change that even the general public noticed and a time when they knew there'd be almost guaranteed acceptance before converting completely over to hip hop and removing all dance material. Unlike Power 106 in L.A., Hot 97 has a hip hop image and isn't known to sound as rhythmic as Power 106 in L.A., ...where hip hop lives. Also, Power 106 has no direct hip hop competition, in addition to being rather consistent with their rhythmic lean over time, so it's safer and easier for them to follow trends, as people are used to it. Hot 97 has a bunch of "followers" who will be pissed off if they "went soft" too quickly. They can add some rhythmic/urban dance stuff in slowly, but not at the rate we might be wishing for. They have competition all around them - everything from straight up urban to rhythmic top 40..etc. Hot 97 has an image to maintain, and it's that image I believe is playing a big part in keeping them up.

They should follow the trend, but not so fast that they leave the slow folks behind. I'm sure eventually they will. I believe there was (more than one) reason why they just happened to choose to switch back to rhythmic around the first sign of things to come....
 
We're definitely nowhere near taking over rhythmic stations with dance music. There just isn't enough dance hits out there. I was thinking somewhere in the next 3 years or so.The one major problem that dance has in the US is getting the music to $ell. That's something that has to change in order to justify radio play on any hit format station.
 
I still say more dance artists should collaborate with hip hop or pop artists and let them do a verse or two in the song. Notice how when Taio Cruz and Jay Sean crossed over into America with the type of songs they did it with, they had a rap verse added in to appeal more to" the American way. Nothing too much or dominating the song, but just a little something to let people see the "featuring....." and think "oh, well i guess that makes it cooler and more acceptable..". La Roux didn't even do anything.

Well, I believe the same thing can be done with regular dance tracks as well, especially nowadays. Imagine Kim Sozzi or someone similar having a small rap or melodic rap verse done by Flo Rida, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, or one of the Black Eyed Peas or something. Who knows? I mean after all, it didn't work out too well for Bob Sinclair, it sort of worked out with Tiesto, but it worked wonders for David Guetta. So with that being said, it's worth a try and consideration. Besides, the Bob Sinclair thing in 2006 or so I think was tried a bit too early. That should've definitely been pushed back at the least, one year later.

Oh yeah - and couldn't some dance hits be passed or sold off as "pop" hits today? I'm not exactly sure who's in charge of the whole labeling system in the industry, but whatever Pitbull and even Cascada are doing seem to be working...
 
I'm also think it's b.s. that some FEMALE artists feel they need a rapper to make it mainstream...THAT is B.S. and it's just another issue of whats wrong with American society. What Dance music needs is a big-A** back bone. Let X artist sell-out to hip hop...as LONG as he is still making dance ONLY music for the rest of us! I KNOW for a fact that I'm not the only one that feels that way. That's all I have to say to everyone here...have a great summer.
 
mannyworks00 said:
I'm also think it's b.s. that some FEMALE artists feel they need a rapper to make it mainstream...THAT is B.S. and it's just another issue of whats wrong with American society. What Dance music needs is a big-A** back bone. Let X artist sell-out to hip hop...as LONG as he is still making dance ONLY music for the rest of us! I KNOW for a fact that I'm not the only one that feels that way. That's all I have to say to everyone here...have a great summer.
Click to expand...

I can understand/respect you not liking the blending of genres, but honestly, I don't understand discrediting artists who chose to do so. To me, blending genres, breaking musical rules, mixing and creating new sounds is what music is all about. I can guarantee that without musical experimentation, "pure" dance or its sub-genres wouldn't be in existence today. ;)
 
its basically what I already said in another thread. Top 40 is going back to its roots like it was 20 years ago. They didn't call it house, hip hop, freestyle, or rap. Its was of the above.....POP Music. I spin at private parties for younger and older crowds. They ask for hip hop, but their examples are LMFAO, Lady Gaga, Flo Rida, or Pitbull. The radio stations brand this stuff as hip hop, because that's the term this jaded generation knows. But let's not be naive. We all know Pop Music goes in cycles. In the mid 90's, it leaned Alternative for a bit, then it leaned Urban. Its just a matter of time....so soak it up.
 
Yes,soak it up indeed.Because if the music cycles repeat themselves (and they do) they'll be some backlash to all this uptempo music in the mainstream.
 
The actual uptempo trend may die off, but if this leads the way to the dance sound making a come back and managing to co-exist this time with whatever the next big thing is (the same way rock and other past sounds are still coexisting with today's sound, even after their generation of chart domination fame ended), then it cannot continue to be called pop forever - unless we will declare pop to define today's sound and make a new term for whatever popular sound follows. Notice that rock, light rock, hip hop, and disco hits that were once pop are still rock, light rock, hip hop, and disco. I'm not even sure what the term "pop" really means because not only could it be anything popular, but to some it also means a certain distinct sound. Notice how anything with that (past) Madonna or Britney Spears sound is still pop today, and anything with a sound similar to that or what Spice Girls or Nsync used to do is still called a pop sound, regardless of what sound is currently popular. They were still considered pop sounds, even when hip hop was the new pop! So what exactly is pop? A particular sound, or a popular hit? And would Jennifer Paige or Paula Abdul be considered pop and thrown in the same category as Lady Gaga - even though they are no longer popular today?

And out of all (blues, jazz, disco, trance, freestyle, house, all the subgenres of house, rock, all the subgenres of rock, hip hop, alternative, country, cumbia, reggae, all the subgenres of reggae...etc...) Why should today's new sound be the only thing that remains unclassifiable? As a matter of fact, much of it belongs with some of the genres I've already labeled there.. Really no new label is needed. Many of the terms have already been given, but some of them forgotten during the "hip hop takeover" of the 00's.

The general public will only do what everyone else is doing, so as long as no one else classifies a particular sound, then it will never be classified, even if they like that particular sound more than the rest of it.
 
THE BIG QUESTION

...And why does HOUSE, a sound with the exact same beat pattern itself, get the honor of having so many subgenres for every slightly different sound - WORLWIDE? Yet you play anything today that resembles electro-freestyle, rhythmic breaks, or booty bass, it now has to be thrown in the same category as Justin Bieber, Nickelback, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna..etc?

When I label my modern bass & breaks mixes, or even modern mainstream dance, I don't want people thinking "Justin Bieber, Shinedown, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry" etc - ESPECIALLY in their original forms! This is what calling everything "pop" will do...
 
WOW! I guess everyone was right about calling everything pop. I just discovered the following mix http://www.beezo.net/djs/djgregj/ and the dj who mixed it simply put "POP" where it said 'genre'! Good thing on the site I found it on he had the track listing for his Electro-HipHop & House mix because I surely would not have checked it out and thought "hmmm, maybe it is electronic" simply based purely on seeing "POP". I'm just wondering why it isn't the original versions of Nickelback, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Jay-Z? I guess this means for now on everything that says pop I'm going to have to explore it to find out exactly what kind of pop it is!

I do admit it is kind of poppy, but still nothing like a compilation of Britney, The Fray, Katy Perry, Rob Thomas, Jason DeRulo, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, or Ludacris,... which is what I would've expected! I had to sit through a lot of electronic stuff just to get to the more poppish and popular stuff in the end... but I'm not complaining though!
 
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