Unnessasary use of rappers in songs.

[Dkampy]

IMO perhaps the most annoying trend in contemporary hit radio is the use of rappers which is not needed for the song. With rap music on the decline...why do so many artists feel the need to have a paid for hire rapper...when in most cases I don't find it nessasary. For example I think Enrique Iglesias needed Pitbull for "I Like It"...since someone current was needed to help since he has been out of the limelight for so long...but I beieve now that he is established again "Tonight" would have been just as big of a hit without Ludacris.

I don't mind if it is inherit to the song as in Katy Perry's "California Girls" featuring Snoop Dogg...since he is a Califronia rapper...but I don't get the need for Kanye West on "E.T."...she did not need Kanye's help...CHR will be all over anything Katy releases right now which is not the case for kanye. She only used Kanye just as she was releasing the song..."E.T." was originally recorded minus Kanye.

Anyone else annoyed by this now common practice?

 

[acesup]

I wouldn't be playing the Kanye version of E.T. He adds nothing to it.

 

[Starbucks]

It seems like CHR (This has been going on for awhile) and it's getting worse, where every artist that's currently on the chart is being featured on each other's record. Even David Guetta with his name as the primary recording artist....it's still Akon, Rhianna, Ke$ha or the same ole rappers on there. It seems like it's a way to keep them at work or extend thir recording careers because it's these days just to keep rapping solo.
These artists are starting to be over exposed. It's like they all share and live in the same recording studio with each other, eat at the same dinner table, going on vacation together. It's starting to sound like the record companies are cutting down to a shorter playlist artist roster. And getting out the most mileage they can out of their signees. And releasing too many tracks off their CD's which seem to cross expose the other same artist who have current singles out as well. Katy Perry , Rhianna, ( There songs don't quite get to peak at their highest position before their releasing another track off their CD.)
This can cause burnout. There's always been collaborations, but not like it has been the last few years.

 

[lovejamminoldies]

The rap in "I Like It" is definitely good for this song. Pitbull is one of the best artists to include on a song right now. He definitely adds energy to any song. As far as "Tonight" goes, Luda's rap is one of the best I've heard from him in awhile. Maybe the song would be big without him, but his rap just makes the song even more catchy. "Tonight, i'm gonna do everything that I want wit chu" - the women love it! I didn't really like Snoop in Cali Gurls, but a lot of people felt that he made the song. Added "E.T." this week, haven't heard the Kanye version though.

 

[bchristi]

IMO perhaps the most annoying trend in contemporary hit radio is the use of rappers which is not needed for the song. With rap music on the decline...why do so many artists feel the need to have a paid for hire rapper...when in most cases I don't find it nessasary. For example I think Enrique Iglesias needed Pitbull for "I Like It"...since someone current was needed to help since he has been out of the limelight for so long...but I beieve now that he is established again "Tonight" would have been just as big of a hit without Ludacris.

I don't mind if it is inherit to the song as in Katy Perry's "California Girls" featuring Snoop Dogg...since he is a Califronia rapper...but I don't get the need for Kanye West on "E.T."...she did not need Kanye's help...CHR will be all over anything Katy releases right now which is not the case for kanye. She only used Kanye just as she was releasing the song..."E.T." was originally recorded minus Kanye.

Anyone else annoyed by this now common practice?

The reason is we are still in a slow transition away from the hip-hop era. Hip-hop isn't completely dead yet, and having a rap verse in an eletropop song is selling the genre to an audience that would not have been open to it without the rap. For most of the 2000s, electropop was something that was for the most part embraced by the gay community but rejected in the mainstream. The fusion of electropop and hip-hop has been very successful at changing that.

 

[atlantaboy]

I think in many cases it's been used to make older artists look more "current", especially Enrique and Jennifer Lopez (I guess I'm talking about Pitbull specifically lol)

In terms of Katy Perry, I think it's helped her get solid airplay on Rhythmic stations, and definitely helps her on stations like KAMP (whatever you want to call that category)

 

[Wildstyle K]

I still somewhat remember the days when traces of rock n roll was still in new generation hip hop as rock was dying (like hip hop is now). I also remember when the 80's pop and dance sound was still lingering around through the earlier hip hop productions. Now, I think the thing that will linger from the hip hop generation will not be the production sound, but the style of singing instead. The sound itself has certainly gone off into a new direction while some artists try to "keep their old singing style on the new production sound".

 

[2Son]

It seems like CHR (This has been going on for awhile) and it's getting worse, where every artist that's currently on the chart is being featured on each other's record. Even David Guetta with his name as the primary recording artist....it's still Akon, Rhianna, Ke$ha or the same ole rappers on there. It seems like it's a way to keep them at work or extend thir recording careers because it's these days just to keep rapping solo.
These artists are starting to be over exposed. It's like they all share and live in the same recording studio with each other, eat at the same dinner table, going on vacation together. It's starting to sound like the record companies are cutting down to a shorter playlist artist roster. And getting out the most mileage they can out of their signees. And releasing too many tracks off their CD's which seem to cross expose the other same artist who have current singles out as well. Katy Perry , Rhianna, ( There songs don't quite get to peak at their highest position before their releasing another track off their CD.)
This can cause burnout. There's always been collaborations, but not like it has been the last few years.

This.

 

[Starbucks]

What's your point?

 

[2Son]

What's your point?

I completely agree with everything you said.

 

[justpassingthough]

IMO perhaps the most annoying trend in contemporary hit radio is the use of rappers which is not needed for the song. With rap music on the decline...why do so many artists feel the need to have a paid for hire rapper...when in most cases I don't find it nessasary. For example I think Enrique Iglesias needed Pitbull for "I Like It"...since someone current was needed to help since he has been out of the limelight for so long...but I beieve now that he is established again "Tonight" would have been just as big of a hit without Ludacris.

I don't mind if it is inherit to the song as in Katy Perry's "California Girls" featuring Snoop Dogg...since he is a Califronia rapper...but I don't get the need for Kanye West on "E.T."...she did not need Kanye's help...CHR will be all over anything Katy releases right now which is not the case for kanye. She only used Kanye just as she was releasing the song..."E.T." was originally recorded minus Kanye.

Anyone else annoyed by this now common practice?

The reason is we are still in a slow transition away from the hip-hop era. Hip-hop isn't completely dead yet, and having a rap verse in an eletropop song is selling the genre to an audience that would not have been open to it without the rap. For most of the 2000s, electropop was something that was for the most part embraced by the gay community but rejected in the mainstream. The fusion of electropop and hip-hop has been very successful at changing that.

Agreed. As electropop becomes the norm and starts to overtake hip hop as the in vogue form of popular music, its necessary to provide a transition. If you want to blame anyone, blame the Black Eyed Peas for foisting David Guetta and electro beats to an American mainstream culture that had largely rejected electronic music for the past 30 years, even while it was big in the rest of the world.

 

[lovejamminoldies]

Two good points made here:

1. I agree with the comment of making older artists sound more current. When you put Enrique or J. Lo on a track, there's no saying it won't be big but when you add someone who's hot right now, it makes the hit so much more powerful. As far as Katy Perry and Snoop goes... well Snoop has California history, it made sense... it was her first single in forever and when you see, Katy Perry and Snoop made a song? Listeners: Let me go listen to that! Stations: We have to jump on this!

2. Yes, the earlier post about blaming the BEP is correct. They really started this whole "dance on CHR" movement. That's why they're constantly bragging about "running the charts" and having "big mega radio smashes". They focus on making hits. And it's making them A LOT of money. JT did this before with Timbaland on his FutureSex/LoveSounds album. The whole album almost was full of hit songs. Stations started playing singles that weren't even released because it was so hot. This actually would be a good time for JT and Timbo to come back.

Honestly, the artist running everything right now is Katy Perry.

- California Gurls
- Teenage Dream
- Firework
- E.T.

4 hits so far... who's going to take it this yr? Gaga? Britney? Ke$ha?