Waka Flocka LAME

[BJordan]

I've just found out that Wacka Flocka Flame is orginally from Jamaica Queens New York.

 

[J. Rob]

I'd like to add that since about late 08/early 09, there has been a huge wave in the underground hip hop scene of young talented rappers making a name for themselves through online mixtapes....

Some of them have bubbled over into the mainstream (Drake, Wiz Khalifa, J. Cole, B.o.B, Kid Cudi, Wale, Big Sean), but most of them have a grassroots/cult like following (Odd Future, Big KRIT, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Electronica, Yelawolf, Cyhi Da Prynce, Mac Miller, XV, Pac Div, Curren$y, Smoke DZA, Kid Ink, Dom Kennedy....the list goes on and on)


I think people focus to much on the mainstream...the underground is the most talented and diverse that it's been since the late 90s/early 00s. The difference is that back in those days, the talent was sinking and the garbage was rising...but nowadays, it seems like it's the other way around. People are getting tired of the dumbed-down, formulaic music that's been flooding the airwaves for the last decade (especially the last 7 or 8 years). The growing buzz of these "internet rappers", coupled with the declining sales of garbage rappers like Waka Flocka and Soulja Boy, shows me that more and more people are demanding a change in hip hop....but the industry (as usual) is out of touch and haven't realized that's not 2005 anymore.

 

[kilamanjero]

I'd like to add that since about late 08/early 09, there has been a huge wave in the underground hip hop scene of young talented rappers making a name for themselves through online mixtapes....

Some of them have bubbled over into the mainstream (Drake, Wiz Khalifa, J. Cole, B.o.B, Kid Cudi, Wale, Big Sean), but most of them have a grassroots/cult like following (Odd Future, Big KRIT, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Electronica, Yelawolf, Cyhi Da Prynce, Mac Miller, XV, Pac Div, Curren$y, Smoke DZA, Kid Ink, Dom Kennedy....the list goes on and on)


I think people focus to much on the mainstream...the underground is the most talented and diverse that it's been since the late 90s/early 00s. The difference is that back in those days, the talent was sinking and the garbage was rising...but nowadays, it seems like it's the other way around. People are getting tired of the dumbed-down, formulaic music that's been flooding the airwaves for the last decade (especially the last 7 or 8 years). The growing buzz of these "internet rappers", coupled with the declining sales of garbage rappers like Waka Flocka and Soulja Boy, shows me that more and more people are demanding a change in hip hop....but the industry (as usual) is out of touch and haven't realized that's not 2005 anymore.

I agree with the latter part in particular. I've heard a number of underground artists on a handful of urban stations and they've received some spins. Some of them are truly up-and-comers in the game.

 

[btone1035]

Hip-hop took a hit on the West Coast also. Although I'm from Cali, I can't stand the current West Coast songs right now. West Coast took a hit after the 90s, especially when Hyphy came around. That didn't last that long. Now, there are too many cupcaking songs in Cali, in addition to mainstream artists (New Boyz, Mindless Behavior) and even Snoop working with pop artists (Katy Perry). I'll stick with the classics in the near future.

 

[WBIMDJ]

Hip-hop took a hit on the West Coast also. Although I'm from Cali, I can't stand the current West Coast songs right now. West Coast took a hit after the 90s, especially when Hyphy came around. That didn't last that long. Now, there are too many cupcaking songs in Cali, in addition to mainstream artists (New Boyz, Mindless Behavior) and even Snoop working with pop artists (Katy Perry). I'll stick with the classics in the near future.

Definitely agree with you there, with 93.5 KDAY some sounding 100x more fresh than KPWR Power 106, and KDAY doesn't even play currents, just urban music from the 70's-mid 2000's.

 

[justpassingthough]

Hip-hop took a hit on the West Coast also. Although I'm from Cali, I can't stand the current West Coast songs right now. West Coast took a hit after the 90s, especially when Hyphy came around. That didn't last that long. Now, there are too many cupcaking songs in Cali, in addition to mainstream artists (New Boyz, Mindless Behavior) and even Snoop working with pop artists (Katy Perry). I'll stick with the classics in the near future.

While West Coast hip hop is a ghost of its former self, the West has also been on the forefront of adapting some of the dance/electro beats and mixing them with hip hop. Artists like Black Eyed Peas, Far East Movement, New Boyz and other Cali groups have really dragged electro into the forefront of both hip hop and top 40 music- and have essentially breathed new life into a dying format.

This is a very interesting conversation, in that previous popular styles of music, particularly rhythmic music (Motown, disco, funk, etc) all died rather quick deaths. Hip hop grew, thrived and evolved over the past 30 years, and if its successfully transitions itself again, by incorporating youthful elements and borrowing from electronic music, it will do what previous forms of rhythmic music were never capable of doing.

 

[Fastphilly]

The only thing mainstream Hip Hop has left to offer are "hooks". Besides generic, meaningless lyrics, I'd like to point out the lack of sampling that has been missing in recent years. Prior to the mid 2000's, sampling was a major part on songs and was a big reason of the success of many hit records. Since the cost of obtaining rights from both the label/publisher has risen over the years and is now in the range of $10K-$20K to obtain sampling rights, no producer is willing to drop that much coin on a unproven artist so many rappers are spitting that crunk crapp to a 808 drum machine. Add in the drugs, money, cars, and ho's with some wannabe gangster rockin' Ray Ban shades and gold ropes and you come up with the same 'ol played out Hip Pop.