lol... so is the direction hip-hop music videos are heading in now.... lol. This is like soft-core p*rn right here. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/koUkTRHxKI4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Probably just hasn't been yanked yet. Anyway, this has been in hop hop for a while now......Nelly with Tip Drill, 2Pac with How Do U Want It, 2 Live Crew with everything and many more. Anybody else remember BET After Dark?
^^ Sad how you people only get to know the dumbed down and obscene rap that's palyed on BET and on radio. You get the wrong image of that genre and dismiss all the great lyricists that actually have a positive message. "Rap is so dumb" is just an insult from people without knowledge of the variety of artists and facettes of hip hop.
I'm not denying there are good artists out there. As a whole, however, rap has totally jumped the shark as an art form. There's a reason why folks "get the wrong image" - it's the image rap has advertised itself. ****, you can apply the pity-party you wrote above for virtually any form of cultural degradation. "Sad how you people only get to know the dumbed down and obscene p*rn that's played on DVDs and cable p*rn channels. You get the wrong image of that genre and dismiss all the great p*rn stars that actually have a positive message."
^^ Your last part was great, have to give you that. But like I said, you only get to see the hyped up commercial artists, not the whole spectrum. It's like going through the first minutes of a book or movie and then judging it without even knowing how the complete package is.
Which begs the question....why are these artists hyped and not the "great lyricists that actually have a positive message"? Not really. Rap has been around for quite a while. The downward spiral has been going on for some time now.
1. Cause we live in times where money goes over everything. As CEO, would you sign and advert guys like Tyga or Wiz Khalifa, who attract millions of viewers all over the world, or would you spend your money on the deep lyricist who's mixtapes have 1/10th of the following compared to the other guys? You know the RnB artist Taio Cruz? His first album was real RnB, deep and emotional songs. Didn't sell ****. Now he gets a major deal, wears a leather jacket, shades, gets surrounded by hot dancers and makes party songs. WINNING FORMULA, sells millions of units. That's how the business is going and you can't blame the labels or artists. 2. Yes the overall level is going down the hill, but there are dozens of gems that show that rap can still be relevant with a message. 2011 was one of the best years in this decade, album-wise. Don't judge a book by it's cover man. Sort out all the mainstream trash and you'll see that rap still has it's great sides and developments.
True. Absolutely not true. This is what is advertised and what is hyped. It's a conscious decision to make trash and appeal to the absolutely lowest common denominator. It's why rap is stereotyped as vulgar and crude - and it's a self-chosen path. No pity here. Fair enough, but I'm too old to bother.
Well It's sad that talented rap artists sell out and go after the money 90% of the time. Wiz Kalifa went that direction. J-Cole went there too. Your genre insults itself but people need to get paid right? Lambo's don't buy themselves.