Off Topic · OT: Is hip-hop ending? (page 1)

Maybe it was the umpteenth coke-dealing anthem or soft-porn music video. Perhaps it was the preening antics that some call reminiscent of Stepin Fetchit.

The turning point is hard to pinpoint. But after 30 years of growing popularity, rap music is now struggling with an alarming sales decline and growing criticism from within about the culture's negative effect on society.

http://news.aol.com/entertainment/music/...

Check out this artical, but first check out a post of mine on my production forum..... I totally saw this coming. And i think its going to get worse soon unfortunately. Rap sales recently decreased more than 20%


http://www.qn5.com/forums/viewtopic.php?...

Now I don't mean completely cuz people like qn5 and others who do this for the art will always make hip hop music.... But is hip hop ending as a mainstream popular genre? Every genre of music in history pretty much has its height and then dies out when it starts to become oversaturated.... Or when a new genre comes along that is fresh and cool to the young generation..... I strongly believe hip hop is on its last leg, all its going to take is a half decent new genre of music to come along with a superstar or 2 to be its face(not raggaeton) lol.... Now hip hop will forever be used as inspiration and integrated into new genres just like rock soul and classical before it.... So you might have elements of hip hop living on in new genres but I think the days of rap as we know it are pretty much over.... The southern rap that is thriving now could actually be seperated as a new genre like how u have heavy metal and punk rock.... Its that different imo.... But my point is... Im getting a little worried like damn, are we going tobe able to do this for a living for much longer? Is a day coming soon where major labels stop signing hip hop acts? I fear it may be sooner han later just because the music is soooooo bad and so watered down, diluted and has absolutely no integrity left... All its going 2 take is something halway decent, not even great to take its place.... Just thoughts.. Im drunk btw

I posted that Aug 19, 2006

[Edited by - elite on 03-05-2007 05:09 AM]

It's not just hip hop. All the new music, nowadays, kinda sucks.

Music sales in general are down because of mp3s and the like. You'd have to take that into account before you could conclude that hip hop as a genre is declining.

i only listen to the old school stuff myself cuz i wouldn't wanna spend any money buying any of the new stuff coming out now... a lot of it is unoriginal & straight copy of other artists... plus, i'm sure all the file sharing on the internet is causing a drop off in album sales too... i don't buy that "negative image" theory, cuz Hip Hop has been linked to thuglife & gangs for the longest & never had any issues selling albums.

Posted by tomverve:

Music sales in general are down because of mp3s and the like. You'd have to take that into account before you could conclude that hip hop as a genre is declining.

Nah fam, MP3s and such have been around for years. That hit in sales has already beeen felt long ago - this is far more recent

Posted by Allanfan20:

It's not just hip hop. All the new music, nowadays, kinda sucks.

Agreed but hip-hop actually has a lot to do with that also, unfortunately.. But i wont get into it

i don't mean to be a hater but i think that southern crunk music is ruining it. it sounds the same and nothing really original has come out. nas and jay-z were little blips though i thought their product was diluted. i thought in the past year, hip hop has been garbage and i have been a fan back in the otiginal rapper's delight and the breaks days ( good songs i used to rollerskate too, by the way. just showing my age.) someone said it last year that hip hop has turned into a modern day minstrel show. i unfortunately have to agree with that statement. i have sirius radio and i do not listen to the modern station. i prefer the oldschool station or nba radio ( which is great by the way). the only song i like today ironically is the "where are they now" 80's and 90's all stars with rappers i grew up with rapping.

Posted by Elite:

Posted by tomverve:

Music sales in general are down because of mp3s and the like. You'd have to take that into account before you could conclude that hip hop as a genre is declining.

Nah fam, MP3s and such have been around for years. That hit in sales has already beeen felt long ago - this is far more recent

You sure about that? I haven't been following it terribly closely but I'm pretty sure that it's only relatively recently that CD sales have been taking major hits. Even if the hip hop sales decline is more recent, it could just be that the "mp3 effect" is catching up to where it has been for other genres, rather than reflecting a decline in actual interest in the music. It's hard to say. I would just take any conclusions based on actual sales with several grains of salt.

Posted by tomverve:

Posted by Elite:

Posted by tomverve:

Music sales in general are down because of mp3s and the like. You'd have to take that into account before you could conclude that hip hop as a genre is declining.

Nah fam, MP3s and such have been around for years. That hit in sales has already beeen felt long ago - this is far more recent

You sure about that? I haven't been following it terribly closely but I'm pretty sure that it's only relatively recently that CD sales have been taking major hits. Even if the hip hop sales decline is more recent, it could just be that the "mp3 effect" is catching up to where it has been for other genres, rather than reflecting a decline in actual interest in the music. It's hard to say. I would just take any conclusions based on actual sales with several grains of salt.

The hit on CD sales was artificially inflated anyway. When CD's first came out -- many people started to back up their old collections with CD's. So if you had it on tape, now you want to buy the CD. Once everyone caught up to their collections -- the sales took a hit. And that is part of what made it look like sales declined so dramatically.

PS: Buy my CD.

The music industry has to take a serious look at the way it chooses bands to promote. Promoting bands solely on image, whether hip-hop or rock or pop, is bound to leave dissatisfied customers.

It's awful simply put.

You can't exploit hood lifestyle by taking people from those hoods bragging about what they are not and now what they got, displaying it to suburbian kids and ghetto poverty stricken youths and think it will last forever.

Rap officially died when 2-Pac died. Jay-Z did a good job letting that wick burn to the end but the flame was dying a long time ago.

One of the more ridiculous things I've seen on Youtube from a Hip-Hop video being distibuted on the streets is the Rap Battle between 2 dudes in New York in what looked like some kind of Rec Center hallway battle. It was a very long battle about a bunch of nothing, with one guy in particular constantly grabbing at his waist for his Tical/Heater while he's rapping talking about don't make him use it Yada Yada. The other guy got tired of him grabbing there while defacating on him and Five A Clubed him upside his head. I've seen most of the footage and as the guy got Clocked, falling back, he reaches for his Heater but was struggling to pull it out almost in a scared kind of way. This is a small footage of the battle and you can see other scenes possibly longer on the other links


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOYPUjOQVeQ[/youtube]



I was thinking to myself

If you are so hard(your rap battle said so) how come you didn't know how to react in that situation without struggling and looking like a scared little one?



I'm comforted by the fact he didn't actually use it because violence under no circumstance, (particularly from Rap) is definitely not needed but come on what is Rap about these days?......Fake Beefs, Wannabes, Ghost Writers behind the scenes of non EMCEES, HOES, CARS, STACKS etc etc etc etc.

[Edited by - TrueBlue on 03-05-2007 12:03 PM]

Hip-Hop is at a creative crossroads. Someone needs to come in and shake up the sound- create something new.

after you watch that video watch this:

^ LOL!

Oh man Elite.. that is hilarious!

Rap has always sucked and it rightfully has a bad image.

Posted by Elite:

Posted by Allanfan20:

It's not just hip hop. All the new music, nowadays, kinda sucks.

Agreed but hip-hop actually has a lot to do with that also, unfortunately.. But i wont get into it

Yea unfortunately hip hop is really dying. I 've been listening to rap for years, but the quality of rap lacks the substance it once did in the mid 90's. But Elite aren't you a producer? Is this situation affecting your bread?

Nas said it. Hip Hop is dead.

I am not considering Hip-Hop and Rap as music styles.
It's more as a culture and I don't think both can became classics like Rhythm Blues, Rock, or even Country
The musical component as well as lyrics is pretty simplistic and this styles mostly rely on energy and visual effects
Disco and Techno died at a time too.
The things that stand the test of time are for you mind and imagination not for you legs or you pe...is. Sorry...

Posted by nyk4ever:

Nas said it. Hip Hop is dead.

He really hasn't been that good himself lately. Even the rappers that have talent are living off of name and past album success.