Which One is (Seemingly) Coming Back The Most? Hip Hop or Alternative?

[Wildstyle K]

I have more to say on this... but I want to see what YOU have to say, FIRST! Before pointing anything out, I want to find out what people have seen and noticed so far, and what hypothesis people here are making based on those musical observations over the past two to three months.

Which do you see or feel is beginning to slowly come back the most?

Hip Hop?
Alternative?
Both?
None of the above?

I'll just say: I remember back in 2005... when I first began to make my "DMC (Dance Music Comeback) Theory" about how dance music was going to make a come back and predicted that things would eventually sound as they do now (although I never expected things would go this far) on CHR top 40 & rhythmic radio. Now, I'm seeing SOMETHING.... beginning to happen again with music... At first, I didn't want to say anything since there wasn't enough evidence to fully support my thoughts, but now I think it's "safe" for me to at least consider making another prediction.... and I'll just leave it at that.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

 

[XCountry285]

It better be Alternative. I'm sick of a the dancy-hip hop junk electro crap that's being played. It's got its place but there's no variety I feel in music anymore. I miss it from 2003-2009. Good times in music.

 

[Martin Mac]

I would like to say both. Don't feel like explaining why at the moment, just my prediction.

 

[justpassingthough]

I would like to say both. Don't feel like explaining why at the moment, just my prediction.

Neither. The correct answer is Polka. Why would you start a topic and that not explain yourself?

If I was forced to pick one, I would give the slight edge to hip hop right now, but coming out of the summer months is a bad time to make a judgment. In the doldrums of winter, I think we will get a more clear indication. I give to hip hop because some of the staples of the industry are releasing records- Jay Z and Kanye's joint CD, Lil Wayne gets released (officially) this weekend after the VMAs, Drake is dropping a new record in November, and Eminem's side project. Two of these five have current top 10s at CHR.

On the alt side, save for "Rolling in the Deep" and "Pumped Up Kicks" we will have to see if these new artists that are making moves at CHR have depth in their CDs to make an impact at the format. They are up against more established hip hop crossovers that are generating excitement within the hip hop community in the way that Adele, Foster the People, etc were generating excitement last fall and early this year.

I don't know that either will "win" out and I'm hoping that both show growth at the format, so CHR returns to more variety. Regardless, it does seem like there is some movement within the format to bring more depth and at least that's exciting for us dorks who like to pontificate on this stuff.

 

[Martin Mac]

I didn't start a topic. And I just wanted to share my opinion, I'm not here to explain why, and the poster didn't ask me to explain myself. Everything that you said is why I believe both are coming back. But it's just a prediction. I didn't feel like typing all of that.

 

[atlantaboy]

Neither one is coming back yet (CHR-speaking)

 

[MattHollidaye OnAir]

I say Alternative. Look at how high Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" charted (and look at the high rotation it's receiving on stations like KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and Channel 9-5-5 in Detroit). I feel this can open the door for other Rock/Alternative acts to make an impact on the charts and (maybe) top the CHR charts as well.

 

[Morpheux]

Part of PUK'S appeal is that it blends in with the more uptempo sounds on CHR currently.So it's not your typical alternative song. I do think music is shifting again towards less pop dance tracks.However,I think we will actually have some more true dance tracks break through on CHR.In fact,it has somewhat happened already with tracks from AfroJack/Evasoul, Alexandra Stan or the latest from Swedish House Mafia which is gaining plays. So yeah,the electro pop sound is fading but it's bridging the gap to the real deal. Many parts of the Midwest are just catching up to what's been happening the last few years when it comes to uptempo dance songs.Those who live on the either coasts are always ahead of the curve musically.

 

[Wildstyle K]

I don't think dance will die down anytime soon, but I do see... something else... in its beginning stages of surfacing (or shall I say resurfacing?). I remember back when I did the dance music prediction, there really wasn't any "real" dance per se on the radio, yet. It was more like people beginning to rap on uptempo breakbeats and booty bass style sounds, or pop artists singing on light-electro-pop beats (which eventually began to lead to house and real dance sounds). Despite the fact that something was indeed beginning to change, hip hop didn't necessarily begin to noticeably fade until about 2 1/2 years later... or 2 1/2 years after I made the DMC (Dance Music Comeback) Theory.

Now, I see the exact same beginning process starting to happen, but with a completely different style of music. Only difference is that what I see starting to come back now never actually really died as much as dance did. What I'm seeing now (that is very similar to how things were when dance began to come back) is the fact that pop & r&b artists (that were once former r&b and hip hop superstars before they went dance) are starting to use the sounds of the genre that I think is making a come back. On top of that, they seem to be successful at it, which I'm sure will only lead more people to start copying and imitating that style as time goes on. Also, in addition to this, it will all seem new again, due to the fact that the sound I'm talking about has been somewhat in a drought, so this will make people even more eager to develop a new generation style of the "mystery genre" that I think is starting to come back. I do see watered down versions of my mystery genre currently being made (the same way watered down dance songs started popping up before the real electro production sounds began to pop up). I just wonder, though; If this sound I'm speaking of does come back, will it be taken over by the already known and overplayed pop, r&b, and former hip hop superstars the same way dance was? Or will it (the sound I'm predicting to make a return to the mainstream) breed its own new artists? I also wonder; Will people who were popular from that genre 10-13 years ago begin to make a come back (the same way J-lo, Enrique Iglesias, Eminem, Britney Spears, and Dr Dre....etc. did in pop/dance) as the genre itself makes a come back? Oh, and will Timbaland, Red One, and other producers jump on this sound as well, like they did with dance?  ???

By the way, I see a lot of people talking about "Pumped up Kicks", but believe it or not, that is NOT the song that's giving me the deepest feelings towards making this early prediction that I'm making!  To me, that song is equivalent to when The Gorillaz successfully dropped "Feel Good Inc" in the middle of a time when hip hop was still dominating. Yes, change did begin to follow shortly after The Gorillaz released that track, but no one could actually see the change to come based on that track alone. I'm not even sure if I would consider "Pumped up Kicks" to be... well, hip hop or alternative!  ;D

Anyway, I guess we can give it two months and see if what I'm thinking actually continues to unfold. This doesn't mean I believe  it's over for dance, but.. just that trends will eventually change again, and that this could be an early sign of things to come. Who knows.. what seems to be making a come back might really not make a come back at all and quickly fade away like reggaeton did, leaving the current sound to continue dominating! Hmmm.... But then again, disco had its day back in the day and it seems like whats happening now is the "modern day disco". Well, what I see coming back also had its time, and that could come back to be the next big thing (in a modernized fashion, of course,) too!   

I'll just say that if this sound does come back, some people's dreams will come true, and even though I mention both hip hop and alternative, I only really think ONE is going to make a come back. The other will just continue to exist, but not do well enough to completely redominate the charts again, so soon. .. 

 

[Wildstyle K]

By the way, now that i think of it, maybe I mis-titled the subject of this thread because obviously there is one sound that is seemingly coming back the most, but... that's not the one I think is going to win in chr in the long term!!  ;D But I guess we'll just have to wait and see what really happens. I guess I could say that in other words, I see rhythmic and top 40 sounding different again in the somewhat near future (unless "every future rhythmic decides to be like the current KZON..")

I DROPPED SO MANY MAJOR HINTS HERE! You have to know by now what I'm hypothesizing!

 

[CHRles]

I DROPPED SO MANY MAJOR HINTS HERE! You have to know by now what I'm hypothesizing!

Mystery, sh-mystery. Why don't you spell it out for us then???
Most of us don't really enjoy reading long threads, especially when they seem to go nowhere.

 

[Morpheux]

***Uses Cryptic Secret Language Decoder Ring*** lol

Are you talking about Super Bass?

I can think about a few more but yeah....spill the beans. Let's put your theory to the fire.

 

[Wildstyle K]

It's more obvious than Hurricane Irene was fierce - I'm talking about alternative! Maybe it's too early for me to make this prediction, but then again, it took about 3 years before (most) people caught on to my dance music come back prediction.

The same way people were quick to ridicule and say "dance isn't coming back / that's not real dance", it will happen again with alternative, because the soft stuff wont be "good enough" for the fans who want the "real sound" to come back. As far as I can hear, there are quite a few songs out now that have an alternative lean or an alternative touch (as oppose to the typical electro sound). I cannot believe no one has pointed them out yet..... I guess some may even choose to call it pop-rock, but either way, the sound seems to be picking up a bit, even by artists who don't typically utilize that sound.

 

[atlantaboy]

As far as I can hear, there are quite a few songs out now that have an alternative lean or an alternative touch

The only alternative-leaning songs on the pop chart are Foster The People and Coldplay, unless I'm missing something (and both those songs are pretty much electro-pop friendly)

 

[justpassingthough]

As far as I can hear, there are quite a few songs out now that have an alternative lean or an alternative touch

The only alternative-leaning songs on the pop chart are Foster The People and Coldplay, unless I'm missing something (and both those songs are pretty much electro-pop friendly)

I haven't heard the rest of Coldplay's album, but they are usually on the lighter side of alternative. Foster the People- with both "Pumped Up Kicks" and "Helena Beat"- are greatly influenced by genres other than alternative. ("Helena Beat" is practically all electronic) So while it is technically alt rock, they don't sound like the vast majority of core alternative artists. As we've all talked about ad nauseum on these boards, there is a bubbling under of these new alt light bands like Mumford, Florence and the Machine, FTP, etc that will maybe gain traction at CHR, but right now there is somewhat limited exposure to a few bands with a few hits- and it will take more than that to dominate a genre like CHR.

That has always been the beauty and the curse of the alternative genre, though. Its rather encompassing sounds draw from the vast spectrum that swings between bands like MGMT and FTP to harder bands like Foo Fighters and Linkin Park. The alt chart on iTunes currently has a Kid Cudi song in the top 20 and Outkast scored with "Hey Ya"- so what exactly is alternative? Its almost more of a lifestyle than a specific genre of music.

 

[fmradio1]

The lighter, pop leaning alternative titles were always the ones that crossed over to CHR, even in the 90's. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the most notable exception. If there is going to be an alternative "movement" at CHR, it will have to be records like PUK that will lead the way. Plus, there has to be a huge story developing at alternative before records start crossing. Right now there are several groups (mentioned earlier in the thread) doing OK at the format right now, but most stations are still very 90's based, so these songs aren't runaway hits at Alternative either. If the format ever gets current based again, and the demos skew younger, CHR will start paying more attention.

 

[atlantaboy]

If the format ever gets current based again, and the demos skew younger, CHR will start paying more attention.

There are actually a growing number of Alternative stations spinning their powers between 60-70x per week - not everyone, but a lot more current-based stations than there were 5 or 10 years ago

 

[justpassingthough]

If the format ever gets current based again, and the demos skew younger, CHR will start paying more attention.

There are actually a growing number of Alternative stations spinning their powers between 60-70x per week - not everyone, but a lot more current-based stations than there were 5 or 10 years ago

This is completely anecdotal, but when KYSR signed on in 2008, they essentially sounded like a 90s alternative station with a few currents here and there. Now they are much more up on currents, so perhaps this alternative movement is actually starting to gain traction.

 

[CHRles]

I don't think Hip Hop went away. If anything, R&B crossovers have all but died in the last couple of years.
We had Jeremih's "Down On Me" and that's about it. The only R&B song currently making its way up the CHR/Pop charts is "Motivation" by Kelly Rowland, which is just outside the Top 20.
There's plenty of Rhythmic/Pop and Dance/Pop by the likes of Usher, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Jason Derulo, Pitbull, LMFAO, Black Eyed Peas, Dev, etc.

Hip Hop on the other hand is still very active on the CHR charts. There's a lot of big crossover Hip Hop smashes.
Nicky Minaj's "Super Bass", Bad Meets Evil "Lighters", Lil Wayne "How To Love" are all very big.
Other recent Hip Hop smashes include Lupe Fiasco and Wiz Khalifa records.

 

[atlantaboy]

Other recent Hip Hop smashes include Lupe Fiasco and Wiz Khalifa records.

What Wiz Khalifa records were "smashes"? One hit #17, and the other hit #15