Phillip Mlynar isn’t Australian, doesn’t roam a post-apocalyptic wasteland searching for fuel and may not even own a dog. But ask him the timeless question, ‘U mad, doggie?’ and he’ll reply, ‘Yes, I am.’ Fresh from his stint of yelling ‘Eff you and Your Heroes‘ like this was a listening session for the first Lench Mob tape, Phillip is back to vent his frustrations about the current state of the rap game.
10. Branding
“I like Nike but wait a minute/The neighborhood supports so put some money in it…” So proclaimed the great Chuck D. Sadly, these days his words sound like a relic from an altogether punchier era, such is the enthusiasm rappers show towards basically agreeing to rhyme for a free baseball cap that won’t really protect them against the global-warming era elements anyway. Corporate sponsorship of artists could have been a philanthropic solution to declining record sales. Instead, thanks to the myopic desperation of most rappers, it’s become nothing but a pass for large corporations to rejoice in a cost-cutting 99% decrease in their promotional budgets. Note to rappers: Aligning yourself with companies who don’t give a damn about hip-hop isn’t healthy for any aspect of the scene. And when you get too fat and old for them to care about giving you free jeans, that ol’ box of Newports and some Puma sweats is going to seem like the financial nest egg you never quite could attain.
9. The Non-Retirement Of Shawn Carter Vol. 3
It’s easy to criticize the recent edition of Uncle Shawn: He’s basically re-made the same album five times over since The Blueprint; he insists on trying to name drop hip bands like some out-of-touch uncle gesticulating “Yo!” while wearing a chunky-knit cardigan; creatively he’s given up the idea of progressing as a writer; and his recent hits sound peculiarly like Shirley Bassey numbers. More strikingly, it’s arguable that hip-hop would be in better creative shape if he’d held good on his promise to put down the mic.
Jay-Z‘s not just a rapper considered the GOAT by a whole generation – he also holds a gate-keeper position in the industry that few, if any, artists have ever attained. And it’s a position he seems intent on milking solely for his own pockets. Jay’s presidency at Def Jam could have been a cue to bring through a hungry new wave of rap talent – or an opportunity to give deserving acts like The Roots and Ghostface real financial promotional support – but instead he kinda kept all the kitty money for his own shenanigans. And while his Live Nation deal probably meant that he could finally add one of those fancy Viking stoves to his kitchen, that’s a whopping $150 million that’s never going to be invested in new talent. Throw in Jigga’s woeful record in talent spotting (see: overlooking Kanye for so long; putting on a stream of rubbish Roc-A-Fella oiks), and it’s a sad truth that while Jay-Z’s still at the top as both a recording artist and a man who does business (as I think he once so wittily quipped), it’s gonna be hard for a fresh batch of faces to scale to similar heights.
8. Public Image
Back in the era when signing to a major label was a common goal for hip-hop artists, a new rapper’s attempt to make a name for themselves was an earnest and simple thing. First, they’d likely co-star as a featured guest or on a posse cut with a more famous rapping friend. Then, if people warmed enough to their verse, they’d be given a shot with a solo single (often produced by a popular beatsmith of the day). Some showed and proved, others were Preacher Earl. But the nuts and bolts of the come-up process was largely done with dignity and behind closed doors.
Not any more. Now we’re exposed to the turgid sight of an upcoming rapper’s every excruciating industry move. It’s hard to drum up excitement for someone like B.o.B. when you’ve already been bombarded with umpteen YouTube videos and failed single attempts and viral video shots and shoe-horned collabos that are never going to work and a billion email blasts. And B.o.B’s one of the better new wave rappers. There’s come to prominence this horrid belief that it’s best to put it all out there in the hope that something somehow will stick – but most cases it only shows how false and calculated a rapper’s image is. How many changes has the perennially-not-gonna-blow Wiz Khalifa been though? I remember interviewing him back when he was making Kanye-esque music full of soul samples. Then he started being a techno-happy club kid. Then a T.I.-lite. If Yelawolf takes off he’ll probably discover some white trash roots next.
7. Premature Rap Ejaculation
Having no knowledge of any music scene other than hip-hop that’s made by artists who reached their peak back in August of 1995, I have no idea how prolific guitar bands and classical pianists are, but I’d blindly bet that no other genre comes close to releasing ‘new’ music with the unfiltered gusto of hip-hop. Charles Hamilton‘s run of releasing seven or eight mixtapes over seven or eight months in the run-up to his supposed debut album now seems like a model of restraint compared to cats like Gorilla Zoe dropping a mixtape a day. The insane frequency of new music unfortunately means that its hype-life is next to zero: When Joell Ortiz put together his Covers The Classics tape it was the buzz of the blogs for about six hours. Then it all but disappeared. Before ‘leaking’ their latest barrage of non-stop music, hip-hop artists would do well to consider this: If you’re releasing more albums a year than Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis or Chas & Dave, then you’re very obviously not taking enough time to master your art.
6. Faith In Live Music Saving Rap
As they used to say: “Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!” As anyone who’s suffered through the horrors of a live rap gig can attest, there are only three NME-accredited hip-hop groups that can put on a good live show, and those are Public Enemy, The Roots and Michael Franti‘s Spearhead. Everyone else still sucks mega donkey dick live on stage.
5. Oh, Snap!
An album cover or a photograph of a rapper in a magazine used to help take you inside their world, add to their mystique, and ultimately enhance the listening experience. Think the Ultramagnetic MC’s in all their shiny-tracksuit glory standing around in the rubble of the Bronx, making them look like four space cats roaming across an undiscovered world. Think Redman alternately on the cover of The Source with tissue up his nose or buried neck deep in mud for Dare Iz A Darkside. Love ’em or mock ’em, even the Pen-N-Pixel covers caught the eye and made you wonder about the music contained inside. Now, instead, we have Google image search. It’s a quick and direct link to lots of rubbish, low-res pictures of rappers looking entirely ordinary. So, manna to the undiscerning blog aggregator kids. Handily, with web-publishing the norm and downloads replacing physical releases, it’s all but obliterated the idea of a label or artist commissioning a decent photo shoot. You’ve probably bought some amazing records in the past on the basis of the cover art alone. That ain’t gonna happen any more.
4. Em Pee Frees!!!
Talk about using it to drum up hype and get your name around, but there’s no doubt about it: free music is synonymous with worthless music. It usually holds no value, and with no investment from the listener it normally forms no lasting bond. (At this point I should insert an anecdote about buying a record from my local store and reading the liner notes on the bus on the way home. Which might be a bit of a cliched reminisce, but it’s a sure bet that any record you read on the bus home is one you still treasure.)
Frustratingly, giving away music for free is more and more becoming the norm – and in more and more inexplicable ways. Roc Marciano just dropped a very good record that obviously has a very niche market (er, largely people reading this website). But ahoy there! Now he’s going to ruin it by quickly following up an album he presumably wants people to buy with one that he’s giving out for free (Marcberg Reloaded)! All it’s likely to do is decrease his sales due to people downloading the presumably inferior songs that didn’t make the album cut and deciding it’s not worth paying for.
And there’s more! Increasingly, labels are starting to release an album in digital form first and physical form later – and not even in particularly lust-worthy packaging (see: the Diamond District CD debacle). This is pretty much penalizing those people left who still want to pay for their music and own something tangible. It’s like saying, “Hey, we know you used to hold us down but now we’d prefer to put something out there for the thrifty right-click hawks and then if we luck out and make enough money from those seven legit iTunes downloads we’ll let you buy it on vinyl.” Cheers.
(Stating The Bloody Obvious Note: The only people really using free music as an effective promotional tool, whether for their albums proper or live shows, are already established cats on majors like Jay-Z or Lil Wayne, the latter of whom most people seem to have handily forgot had a very successful ten-plus year career as a platinum-selling rapper with The Hot Boys before using a few mixtapes to help him achieve ubiquity.)
3. The “Support” Movement
There has never been a more self-pitying piece of hip-hop slang than the current trend of people asking you to “support” a rapper. You support a football team through their ups and downs because you have an emotional and visceral attachment to them. You support a family through thick and thin because it’s what you do. You shouldn’t, however, feel any pressure to “support” a rapper – and especially not one whose entire contribution to the artform is little more than one hastily cobbled-together mixtape attached to a badly-phrased promotional email (likely not BCC’d to boot). Supporting people without talent only helps to lower the threshold for the tolerance of wackness – which only results in inferior music. Unless rappers are suddenly able to claim charitable status from their local municipal office – and produce an authenticated certificate – then the sad pleas for “support” need to stop.
2. The Minajian Philosophy
On her own demerits, there’s nothing much wrong with Young Money rapstress Nicki Minaj. She’s a terrible rapper who spits worse than Lil Mama and makes music that’s perfect for 12-year-old girls to listen to. As such, she’s unlikely to register on the radar of anyone who’s interested to hear that Tribeca‘s still making music. So taking time to get annoyed at her is a waste of energy. Unfortunately, people won’t leave it at that – especially ‘cos there’s little that excites writers more than the novelty of a female rapper (a trait only pipped by the socio-eco-anthro-political potential of writing about a white rapper).
So as Ms Minaj gears up to release her album (early prediction shocker: It won’t be very good), we’re going to be swamped by a stream of articles and blog posts attempting to contextualize her. Because that’s what people like to do. Someone will run a profile calling her the sassy new face of a generation. Someone will analogize her to a real-life black Barbie doll; they might even attempt to pitch an urban re-make of Mannequin (another prediction: It also won’t be very good, but Lil Wayne will make a cameo). People will try and contextualize her whole Japanese Harajuku obsession, instead of making cheap jokes asking why she couldn’t just have gone and gotten a tattoo of some Kanji symbols that really translates as “Whore For Hire” like everyone else. Someone will pay a poncy stylist to make her look like a futuristic female assassin and slap her on the cover of a style magazine. Come Christmas, you’ll probably be able to buy The Minajian Theory in your local Urban Outfitters, next to those books full of photos of cats dressed up in hats. Enough already. Please.
1. Cheap-Ass Rap Fans
Yup, we can all pat ourselves on the back with this one. You don’t need to read any of these 3,000 word articles attempting to decipher the state of the music industry to settle on one sad truth: Without fans stumping up to pay for music, we’re pretty much sailing full-steam up shit creek. The easiest way of letting an artist know that you value their music is to buy it. But that’s clearly not happening any more. Speaking to DJ Spinna last year, he stated that back in ye glory indie rap days an artist would view 10,000 sales of a 12-inch single as the benchmark for a successful release. Now, he said, it was 1,000 CD sales. Which is a number so low it’s a wonder anyone bothers.
Accepted, often the labels and artists don’t seem to be helping themselves (i.e. not releasing vinyl versions of albums when aging vinyl collectors might be the one demographic left who’ll still stump up money for an album). But none of the much-ballyhooed alternative revenue streams seem to have effectively taken up the slack. And it’s telling that more and more of the dialogue in hip-hop these days is about ‘the industry’, whether it’s rappers moaning about their labels via Twitter or fans wittering about first-week sales. (Aside: Why do people who never buy music use first-week sales to judge the quality or success of an album?) If the commentary reflects the health of the scene, then we’re sadly teetering on the edge of a panic. But it’s one that could be quite easily solved by simply – ahem – manning up and paying a small amount for some music you like. A few years back, if everyone who clamored to claim they were a Clipse fan actually bought Hell Hath No Fury then the brothers Thornton would be multi-platinum. They’re not, ‘cos it’s a lot easier to just download the album than pay for it. But consider this: If you download all your music for free, you can’t then legitimately complain when your favorite rapper decides that it’s just not worth it any more.
The Clipse put on a great live show.
You forgot to add:
0.5 Old Dudes Bitching About the Current State of Hip-Hop
How long have we had to listen to crusty old bitches moan about the current state of hip-hop? If we were to believe sad old bastards like you, people would have stopped making hip-hop about 17 years ago. But guess what? Hip-hop is still being made, and if you’re willing to dig through all the shit, you can still find quality stuff being made. Sorry that it’s no longer spoon-fed to you by Ed Lover and Fat Dr. Dre.
Good article. Definatly thought provoking stuff! I havent been unable to get online in a while and it’s good to come back to unkut and get a good dose of informative and well thought out rap related jounalism. Props.
So on point. One of the best things ever on this website.
Great read,
Too true.
Somehow i have a feeling the people that should be reading this shit dont come here…
BANG ON!
“Somehow i have a feeling the people that should be reading this shit dont come here…”
haha too true.
Also add rappers doing live shows at 2am in the morning – some of us have jobs to go to you know! Give me a guaranteed 8pm stage time and I’ll be there more
1000 cds is too true. used to do that in real mixtapes but not any more. hard to make any money from sales.
I dont know, KRS been known to put on a pretty good live show every now & then.
“Fresh from his stint of yelling ‘Eff you and Your Heroes‘”<– lol, that's awesome!
If I were much younger and hadn't experienced hip-hop's growth as I have, I'd prolly say you were over-the-hill and hating it. But as sad as it is, everything you've written has its truth. This article reads as someone who's disappointed with where things have gone. A person who's just complaining doesn't state the issue's solution becuz, they only want to complain and not really do anything about it. Plus it would also reveal how much that person actually gave a f@ck.
If Common were to make "I Used to Love Her" in 2010… most hip-hop cats would say, "I'm sorry you feel that way."
What has changed is the demise of the radio monopoly. The local radio monopoly is a big part of what made hip hop great. You can trace the demise of radio and the quality of the music with the rise of the internet.
It is not a coincidence that both the radio monopoly and the quality of music declined in tandem when mp3s/internet emerged.
But the other side of all this is cultural. American culture is changing. The Supernegro archetypes and fantasies don’t hold the same appeal with today’s youth. I’m not saying the music is better, it isn’t. But I’d rather have crappy music and healthier people.
True indeed! Great article.
a few good points (When Joell Ortiz put together his Covers The Classics tape it was the buzz of the blogs for about six hours. Then it all but disappeared…word up) and some factoids.i’ve been on some good shows recently and still buyin albums affected by their artworks (f.e. wu massacre stimulus package or da marco polo
and rustee juxx joint).on vinyl that is.rap ain’t what it used to be.so what.i’m glad that i was able to experience the ‘golden era’.
12. Hip-Hop Tolerating Republican/Conservative/Corporate infiltration..
Since when did the anti-culture start doing guest appearances for such vile and loathsome characters as John McCain and Sarah Palin? Since when did the genre of true rebels like Chuck D and Kool Herc start signing on to hock everything from fast food to automobiles?
At first there was just the lil’ blithe influence, a commercial here, a promo there, then all hell broke loose and we got guys selling fuckin cigarettes and branding their own tobacco products…
What about your boy Prodigy, not a word about him! HE NEEDS TO HANG UP THE MIC! Jay just needs to show his heart.
And I have a feeling that next Kanye album is going to be stellar.
But at the end of the day, it is what it is, hip hop isn’t going to be the same, it’s not supposed to be the same anymore-things change and move forward whether you want them to or not. Scream ‘get money’ on enough songs through the years and eventually, rappers start getting money, it’s doing the same things it’s done to sports. It’s a business.
Appreciate your classic albums! I’m glad I grew up in the golden years of hip hop.
Great article. I disagree with a few minor points, but overall you’re spot-on.
“If Common were to make “I Used to Love Her” in 2010… most hip-hop cats would say, “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
exactly
13. not releasing albums on vinyl as standard. get out of here with paying for a download!!
“What has changed is the demise of the radio monopoly. The local radio monopoly is a big part of what made hip hop great. You can trace the demise of radio and the quality of the music with the rise of the internet.
It is not a coincidence that both the radio monopoly and the quality of music declined in tandem when mp3s/internet emerged.”
good point. never thought about it that way. Songs debuting on the big blogs never seem to have the same impact as that first time you caught them on the airwaves.
This is exactly how I feel about the state of hip hop and the sad thing about it all is there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
I wish Rap LPs would contain a code for the mp3s. I am tired of being stuck with the Vinyl and having to rip it myself…if I wanna stay completely legal, I’d have to buy the CD or stick with the tedious work of ripping my own vinyl. That shit sucks.
And what’s with the “Diamond District CD debacle”? I googled that, but had no luck. What happened with that? I bought the 2LP (nice gatefold cover).
I’m wondering, since nowadays there are practically the same amount of people making music as there are fans. If music is eventually going to be just something you make for yourself and enjoy, rather than buy.
I see things going that way in the very long term. If you like a certain type of music, just make it and listen to it on your Ipod/iPhone. Heck, those products do have software to make your own music on already.
I’d have to say i agree with parts of your article, however, i didn’t even download it but joe scudda put out an album for free, but you had to give up your email address so i wasn’t gonna go that route, and when marco polo dropped the newport authority mixtape, that shit was more fire than the full retail release, jay needs to retire for sure, there are definitely too many weak mixtapes though, and there are still some great live hip hop shows regardless of what NME says, you just gotta make sure you skip the jiggy television rap dudes with 80 hypemen, weed/drink carriers on stage all rappin at the same time, makes for a terrible show, and for the vinyl section of your article, i don’t even buy releases unless they are on vinyl these days, however, i did cop that sean p kimbo price on cd at fat beats since i couldn’t wait for it to hit the internets and found out it was not gonna be on vinyl, and actually i’ve heard vinyl sales are up in comparison to cd sales, probably not in comparison to digital sales however
@ Jose Blanco – I think the balance of fans and artists will begin to weigh more on one of the 2 sides. Since there are more fans who are becoming artists, it’s inevitable that this will happen. I also think, the only things that people will pay for is merch and the live performance. Even in this day artists are still not willing to supply those for free. In further, the overload of new music will increase the pace of free downloads. The hours in a day are still the same, which means less time to listen to it all. Everyone’s music will be fighting for an ear-space, no matter if it’s sold or given away for free.
He said Micheal Franti & Spearhead are hip hop??? In the same breath as P.E. & The Roots. Get the fuck outta here…
14. Kevinnottingham reviews
Good stuff.
co sign Dee.
What the fuck is a Michael Franti’s Spearhead?
You’re kidding right? Never thought I would see that tree hugging, bare footed, tofu eating, wannabe che guverra, no showering ma’ fukka hippie being referred to in Unkut.
The rest of the write up, I aint go no issues.
Carry on.
Great piece! Cohesive, informed, concerned and damn funny. Id buy the book! And Michael Franti is hiphop everyday, anyone whos thinks otherwise is delusional. Ever heard Television the drug of the nation? And yeah mp3s below 320 kpbs is killing ALL music, it simply cant hold no weight.
micheal who’s harpoon? wha….?
lol at this cat, Nordy. Anytime you have a dude venting his spleen about the way things have declined since the heyday of the artform, they gotta be “old”, and they gotta be “bitchin”. Stay with those blinders on, sporto. Rap is older than the 7 years you’ve been listening to it. I, for one have been checking hip-hop music since before the end of the real old-school, and I am by no means “old”.
nice job robbie. another reasonn why this is the only rap blog I check on the daily.
15 – America’s patronizing view on international hip-hop. In countries where sales never mattered to begin with, where the lyrics have always had to stay relevant and rebellious and the beats are unique and fresh to their own cultures, hip hop is STILL as important as it was to them (us) as it was 15 years ago.
sadly i agree with pretty much all of that. rap is fucked!!
i’d also add hype about rubbish rappers to the list too – the ones you see on some of those other blogs….
Hello guys.
Here is the deal. Nobody is going to buy music unless they’re forced to anymore. The game has changed and artists have to find new models if they want to survive.
But that’s what makes good music: the struggle. It is precisely the collapse of the previous system that we all needed in order to have better music. Because with so many choices, you’re gonna have to stand out if you want to make a mark.
Feel me?
16. rappers on twitter – the fuck outta here!!
im pretty sure its “the neighborhoods POOR, so put some money in it.”
I bought Serum’s new album, partly because of the album cover:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e190/s3rum/Fin_Cover-1.jpg
That is a nice picture of 50 Cent.
Never thought I would see that tree hugging, bare footed, tofu eating, wannabe che guverra, no showering ma’ fukka hippie being referred to in Unkut.
I’m not saying Michael Franti is the shit, but this comment is funny in and of itself. I mean all these characteristics that you’ve listed to create a caricature depicting the apotheosis of “not hip hop” are anti-establishment behaviors.
…So, then what is hip hop? Sex, drugs, violence, and jewelry? Shameless corporate whoring and minstrel-ism revisited? I mean, you read Unkut, so you can’t really be that far gone. I assume your response was something of a reflex, but it is those reactions that are the most telling… of how polluted the culture is.
At some point in your childhood, I can only assume you defended hip hop to a disapproving adult by saying it was political, it was social commentary about lifestyles created by, in opposition to, and reflective of the world society has created.
So, when we’re you lying, then or now?
Good post.
The biggest point for me was about people not buying music anymore. I’m guilty of that like many others, but there have only been a handful of lps in the last 5 years I actually liked enough to purchase. So I purchased them.
The other point was the thing about artists having peaked in 1995. I can’t believe the amount of artists I liked and respected who have been dropping sub-par material in the last decade, like they just have no quality control anymore. Probably too much yes-men surrounding them.
Sub par flows and wack beats seem abundant these days.
As people mentioned in the comments the death of radio definitely has something to do with it.
I think once MC’s started making money & going platinum is when it all went down hill. Then it was all about the assembly line way of making music. The struggle dissapears & then all people focus on is $$$. The artistic value diminshes and then all the gimmics take over the craft. From queens to hoes, hooptie to whips & kings to pimps. The Black man keeps eating the slave food america gives them and then trys to give it to the rest of us. I don’t want it. The downfall now is that there is too many opinions and not enough talent or supporters. This is how all music trends die/evolve. When Rock dudes started looking like woman it died out. Stick to the basics and you can’t go wrong.
think your confusing social/political struggle with not making any money struggle?
Hey Robbie! I was having the exact conversation with DJ Frenzie and other dudes last week bout Digital DJing.. I said i would rarely part with a record (loan or otherwise) but i am happy to give away my ENTIRE MP3 hard drives b/c i have zero attachment to them.. Thanks for still speaking the truth!!! Bless Up, Josie
Man, you tell it like it T-I-is. Everything you write in this article is on point. Plus, why do blogs keep boosting up Nicki Manaj? She can’t rap to save her life…Nobody will remember her in 5 years anyway.
On Point… mos def; a futile effort…mos def Shit is sad Yo but I really think it’s about a cleansing HipHop and Punk came from the same womb Punk flexed and got rid of that fake shit a long time ago. Face facts HipHop been in it’s ‘Hair Metal’ era and we are now ‘Witness’ (no Lebron) to the Decline of the Eastern Civilization (somebody better get on this documentary quick!) Once it’s over artists/artistry will remain. until then sit back w/the popping corn and watch these faux-ass kids/adults acting like kids and all their slave masters ether themselves!! Just keep your children in check; my daughter is twelve and she can talk MC Lyte and Jean Grae… and the other day we actually had conversation where she talked about how the Justin Beiber cat came out of nowhere and she couldn’t figure out why he was on SNL?!? I told her Brit Spears happened the same way and he most likely will end up the same way, real talk. (her eyes are open to this shit and I love it!) My boy being my hardheadass boy thinks about nothing but baseball and the fucking world been trying say that was dead! Fuck’em!
I agree with everything that you said! That is why I love UNKUT.com
Can we add jap rap to the list?
ON POINT! KEEP DOIN YOUR THING ROBBIE
Unkut keeps on winning.
At the end of the day.. music has become free, it’s not fuckin’ rap alone. You think it’s rap-specific because of all the mixtape mumbo jumbo, but that’s just rappers and rap fans having short attention spans. Technology has progressed to the point where music will never be the same again. You’re never going to buy an album for 20 bucks at Sam Goody again.
I like my broke ass rappers anyway, RA The Rugged Man’s new releases are way better than anything Jay-Z puts out and that’s fact. Rappers are forced to actually try now. I’m not mad at that. This is a rap website, so obviously you guys are going to do the “C’moooon guys, BUY CD’S AGAIN!!!” thing, but I’m not buying it. It’s the cycle of things, get the fuck over it. Rap better and I MIGHT save some fucking megabytes for you on my harddrive, shitty MC’s.
Amen. U makin me want to buy a record right now! Also, parallel between the hype of Minaj and a white rapper=priceless, but that then means that Jean Grae needs to blow and when is that gonna happen? Especially when rappers like her and Lupe talk’n bout retiring. But your article clearly rationalizes the move. Other than buy, what can we do to save our music and the glimmers of art left to salvage?