As a musician who studies theory, I see little value in the music of most hip-hop songs. The lyrics can be interesting, no more so than reading some poetry. Unfortunately there is some psychological effect hip hop has on the majority of people that makes them enjoy it. In the same way that the simple melodies and structure of pop songs excites people, I think that the repetitive beats coupled with rhythmic rhymes excite people.
I don't think his hop having a big effect on American culture is a good thing lol. Not all of it is bad but typically it speaks about violence and drugs as if they're cool and women as if they're items... Some hip hop is good but some is just terrible.
You mean to tell me lyrics full of 'IN DA CLUB' and overuse of auto tune is considered Hip-Hop? Give me a break... Talk about the real state of Hip-Hop rather than just saying it isn't dead because of Jay-Z's presence...
Hip Hop is still alive..it's just underground..and it's purposely kept there by Major Labels because they know that Hip Hop has the ability to wake people up to the realities of their own lives and not the rich.
Hip hop is only in a re-creative state. Like any other form of music, once it gets close to extinction there are true fanatics that take it back to its core. It has been so overwhelmed with materialism and quick selling artist that people are missing the realism that it once represented. That's why there are artists now who push the boundaries and actually have good lyrics and skills and great story telling. rap/hip hop is in a renaissance stage.
@DG3744 I couldn't agree with you more my friend. Soulja "Pervert" Boy, Nelly "WHOA NELLY", Lil "Tiny" Wayne and others are making hip hop more worst than thought. But when you see them on MTV 's Cribs....They don't look the part....<I was banging my head on this too. Real players need to be back in the studio.
@BJSteigner Thoose ATL niggas!!! With the exception of a few! ( Out-Kast) ruined it!! DSem Franchise Boyz (Bitches), Young Joc, Gucci Mane, Rich Boy (just bought a cadillac, Alabama slammer) Theese guys are fucken garbage. Im sorry but jeezy can eat a dick too. The have substituted talent, lyricist, depth of meaning for a paycheck and a chain. There are a lot of Angels who are here so save it like Lupe Fiasco, Common, Nas just some who are trying to preserve what is left!
@BJSteigner Thoose ATL niggas!!! With the exception of a few! ( Out-Kast) ruined it!! DSem Franchise Boyz (Bitches), Young Joc, Gucci Mane, Rich Boy (just bought a cadillac, Alabama slammer) Theese guys are fucken garbage. Im sorry but jeezy can eat a dick too. The have substituted talent, lyricist, depth of meaning for a paycheck and a chain. There are a lot of Angels who are here so save it like Lupe Fiasco, Common, Nas just some who are trying to preserve what is left!
@DG3744 How about Nasir "Nas" Jones, LL Cool J (Now an actor), Redman, and I know Rakim wants to come back...What I mentioned are the real players of the game...Not today's shit where the poison is expanding
@DG3744 Outkast ruined it? ATliens? Aquemini? Andre 3000 is probably one of the best mc's of all time based off of his track record. What he does today is creative, innovatative and fresh, he's an ARTIST in the literal sense. Is Mos Def garbage now as well for not perpetuating the same boring sound? Or does he get a pass because he's from the eastcoast? I would have to agree with you on the rest of those you mentioned, but you grouped one of the only relavent groups from hip hop with trash :(
I don't trust any corporate leaders and that certainly includes Russell Simmons. I certainly don't look to him as a visionary I look towards the people's side of the fence because they determine what's around the corner. His life does not mimic a normal middle class and least of all an artists; He's a businessman pure and simple.
comedian danny bhoy said "a motel is like a hotel in the way that macdonald's is like a restaurant". i think that describes the way mainstream rap is like hip hop. people may be consuming it, but that doesn't mean it's the real thing or that it's good for them.
Exactly as I thought. Russell Simmons aint talking about the art form of Hip Hop but the music genre... Hip Hop as an art form is bigger than it ever was and I dont expect someone like Russell Simmons to know whats going on in the art form itsself...
True hip hop---social awareness, political activism in the form of art---is not dead, it has just been supressed and in it's place the WHITE execs have put up lil Wayne, gucci mane, and flocks flame
It's hard for me to mainstream say hip-hop is what it use to be, you pick up any artist that came on the scene after 04, chances are he is complete idiot, cannot rhyme, has no flow and no social awarness. its in the dumpsters and the guys selling dope out the back of they car you find the legacy of hip-hop, mainstream is just sound and fury, with no core to hold it together.
Ok, before we answer ANY questions regarding hip hop, we need to distinguish between prophetic hip hop and constantinian hip hop. Once we hurdle this burden, then we can tackle the question, is hip hop dead? It's an ongoing debate that deserves attention. Why? Simply put, hip hop is the most universally accepted musical gerne listened to all across the board, from Los Angeles to Sydney. Yes, this is truth people. How do we tackle this phenomenon? All I can say is this. There is no easy solution.
NEWS FLASH !!! Any song that you hear on modern radio or television is probably a shitty,diluted, commercial version of the genre it's prentending to represent. True Hip Hop is not dead it has just returned to the underground where it started. Thats generally what happens to subcultures that manage to survive mainstream exploitation.Im not even a big hip hop fan. I just find it obnoxious when people exclaim a genre is dead based on the shit they're being force fed by corporate media.
like russel simons i like the womens.. this guy is a dick .. i intreviewed him a while back and dude was making fun of my tape recorder becuase it wasnt shiny and plastic.
I welcome the death of hip-hop, and blame Mr. Simmons for inflicting it on us all so many years ago. Just because it is a cultural phenomenon does not mean it is a good cultural phenomenon. Inspiring the youth in our country that the most important things in life are money, cars, ass, and drugs is hardly an area for boasting. The success of hip-hop is a strong indicator of a culture on a sharp decline, and I impatiently await its demise.
Wow. You wrote a lot. It was interesting to hear your view on the subject; however, I was not addressing the entire genre. I was discussing what gets the MOST play on the radio and on TV. The artists who are uplifting and inspiring unfortunately aren't as commercial as their detrimental counterparts.
I grew up in a overwhelmingly predominantly black suburban neighborhood and all I saw was regression. Of course their was a good number of us who would strive for the betterment of ourselves and community, however, the majority of my school mates didn't. Why is this? I personally blame commercial Hip Hop.
Can suburban white youth fall prey to this culture of degradation? Yes, but they have the advantage. When they see or listen to commercial rap their brain goes, "This is what/how black people dress/act/sound like." but the black youths brain goes, "this what I etc.,etc.,etc. That is why I hate commercial Hip Hop for impressionable children. Uplifting Hip Hop is great and is perfectly fine for adults.
I agree let the kids learn who they are first. They are following a culture instead of being individuals. I like hip hop, but it isn't for everyone and all ages.
I am sorry, but you just cannot ignore the detrimental effects that rap music is bringing into the black community. I saw it everyday growing up in the public school system.
When I hear lyrics advocating violence and selling drugs it hearts. I want my community to start going in the right direction, but I honestly do think that hip hop & the culture that's apart of it is bringing not only the impressionable folks that adhere to that crap, but blacks that r trying to do good 4 themselves to.
When I listen to the lyrics in most Hip Hop songs I hear nothing. Their is no substance, no value, no intellectually or philosophical constructed thought. What is art without meaning?
the deaths in the inner cities always existed. And It didn't get worse from rap. It got worse from crack which put alot of money and guns in the hands of young kids
mainstream hip hop IS dead as many other genre of music because people in this country have nothing more to say its all been said MANY times. This country has lost its great culture to mass production of meritocracy as the status quo. Dont believe me? Look at our government!
@zoticus1 Mainstream "hip hop" is crap..Same basslines, same message, different assholes. Back then hip hop was hip hop and the messages were far more positive than this. It's time to force the real players OUT OF RETIREMENT and get them back into the studio.
Hip hop IS dead. It died with tupac and biggie, and eminen/nas are the only artists out there who even sell hip hop albums. Everyone else is just a biter trying to maximize on recycled beats and rhymes.
I agree - there's lots out there, it's just not mainstream. The truth is, generally good music of ANY genre is not mainstream as a rule - in order for it to be consumed en masse, it must fit the lowest common denominator.
hip hop sold out, it doesn't matter if it is still 'popular', its hollow, real hip hop died in the 90s, LL cool J, Iced Tea, Jay-z thats all mainstream garbage, seriously russell simmons you can't see that? none of its real, hip-hop is born from the streets from hardship, not from a millionaire's mansion, get a fucking life russell simmons, you are a tool
hehehe Russell Simmons commenting on how hip hop is and he makes money off the artists that are Killing IT WOW!
bulletshotfromgun 1 day ago
@bulletshotfromgun and downloading well Ill take free trash I buy Art dude
bulletshotfromgun 1 day ago
quantity isnt dead but quality is
TheIniquitous21 1 week ago
As a musician who studies theory, I see little value in the music of most hip-hop songs. The lyrics can be interesting, no more so than reading some poetry. Unfortunately there is some psychological effect hip hop has on the majority of people that makes them enjoy it. In the same way that the simple melodies and structure of pop songs excites people, I think that the repetitive beats coupled with rhythmic rhymes excite people.
correctionguy 1 week ago
I don't think his hop having a big effect on American culture is a good thing lol. Not all of it is bad but typically it speaks about violence and drugs as if they're cool and women as if they're items... Some hip hop is good but some is just terrible.
ASwiftHippie 2 weeks ago
You mean to tell me lyrics full of 'IN DA CLUB' and overuse of auto tune is considered Hip-Hop? Give me a break... Talk about the real state of Hip-Hop rather than just saying it isn't dead because of Jay-Z's presence...
duranarts 1 month ago
Hip Hop is still alive..it's just underground..and it's purposely kept there by Major Labels because they know that Hip Hop has the ability to wake people up to the realities of their own lives and not the rich.
gangstamind187 5 months ago
Hip hop is only in a re-creative state. Like any other form of music, once it gets close to extinction there are true fanatics that take it back to its core. It has been so overwhelmed with materialism and quick selling artist that people are missing the realism that it once represented. That's why there are artists now who push the boundaries and actually have good lyrics and skills and great story telling. rap/hip hop is in a renaissance stage.
dutchcast84 5 months ago
His sons are a part of the downfall of hip hop!!!! If its still alive its taken a turn for the wrost, with people like Wayne, Nelly and Soldier boy
DG3744 6 months ago
@DG3744 I couldn't agree with you more my friend. Soulja "Pervert" Boy, Nelly "WHOA NELLY", Lil "Tiny" Wayne and others are making hip hop more worst than thought. But when you see them on MTV 's Cribs....They don't look the part....<I was banging my head on this too. Real players need to be back in the studio.
BJSteigner 5 months ago
@BJSteigner Thoose ATL niggas!!! With the exception of a few! ( Out-Kast) ruined it!! DSem Franchise Boyz (Bitches), Young Joc, Gucci Mane, Rich Boy (just bought a cadillac, Alabama slammer) Theese guys are fucken garbage. Im sorry but jeezy can eat a dick too. The have substituted talent, lyricist, depth of meaning for a paycheck and a chain. There are a lot of Angels who are here so save it like Lupe Fiasco, Common, Nas just some who are trying to preserve what is left!
DG3744 5 months ago
@BJSteigner Thoose ATL niggas!!! With the exception of a few! ( Out-Kast) ruined it!! DSem Franchise Boyz (Bitches), Young Joc, Gucci Mane, Rich Boy (just bought a cadillac, Alabama slammer) Theese guys are fucken garbage. Im sorry but jeezy can eat a dick too. The have substituted talent, lyricist, depth of meaning for a paycheck and a chain. There are a lot of Angels who are here so save it like Lupe Fiasco, Common, Nas just some who are trying to preserve what is left!
DG3744 5 months ago
@DG3744 How about Nasir "Nas" Jones, LL Cool J (Now an actor), Redman, and I know Rakim wants to come back...What I mentioned are the real players of the game...Not today's shit where the poison is expanding
BJSteigner 5 months ago
@DG3744 Outkast ruined it? ATliens? Aquemini? Andre 3000 is probably one of the best mc's of all time based off of his track record. What he does today is creative, innovatative and fresh, he's an ARTIST in the literal sense. Is Mos Def garbage now as well for not perpetuating the same boring sound? Or does he get a pass because he's from the eastcoast? I would have to agree with you on the rest of those you mentioned, but you grouped one of the only relavent groups from hip hop with trash :(
leka1622 5 months ago
WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS RIGHT ARM!
MarqLouieIVI 6 months ago
hip hop dies and came back as a whore.
trigzgal 6 months ago
THIS GUY IS ARMLESS!!! AAAA!!!
hitmobi 1 year ago
Russell excuse me Hustle Simmons is a liar look at that silly smile on his face! F...k outta here. That is a strange dude Im tellin you lol!
daddyejai 1 year ago
I don't trust any corporate leaders and that certainly includes Russell Simmons. I certainly don't look to him as a visionary I look towards the people's side of the fence because they determine what's around the corner. His life does not mimic a normal middle class and least of all an artists; He's a businessman pure and simple.
scout6686 1 year ago
comedian danny bhoy said "a motel is like a hotel in the way that macdonald's is like a restaurant". i think that describes the way mainstream rap is like hip hop. people may be consuming it, but that doesn't mean it's the real thing or that it's good for them.
neomp5 1 year ago
Exactly as I thought. Russell Simmons aint talking about the art form of Hip Hop but the music genre... Hip Hop as an art form is bigger than it ever was and I dont expect someone like Russell Simmons to know whats going on in the art form itsself...
MrBassicx 1 year ago
True hip hop---social awareness, political activism in the form of art---is not dead, it has just been supressed and in it's place the WHITE execs have put up lil Wayne, gucci mane, and flocks flame
yendorification 1 year ago
It's not dead, it just started sucking!
ManofManyPasswords 1 year ago
It's hard for me to mainstream say hip-hop is what it use to be, you pick up any artist that came on the scene after 04, chances are he is complete idiot, cannot rhyme, has no flow and no social awarness. its in the dumpsters and the guys selling dope out the back of they car you find the legacy of hip-hop, mainstream is just sound and fury, with no core to hold it together.
bummer2000 1 year ago
In a perfect world there would be no hip hop...but then again, this is not a perfect world.
MrAssbaron 1 year ago
@MrAssbaron In a perfect world, there would be no people. Because people aren't perfect.
DammitJamesX 1 year ago
Comment removed
DammitJamesX 1 year ago
Ok, before we answer ANY questions regarding hip hop, we need to distinguish between prophetic hip hop and constantinian hip hop. Once we hurdle this burden, then we can tackle the question, is hip hop dead? It's an ongoing debate that deserves attention. Why? Simply put, hip hop is the most universally accepted musical gerne listened to all across the board, from Los Angeles to Sydney. Yes, this is truth people. How do we tackle this phenomenon? All I can say is this. There is no easy solution.
drumma4lyfe06 1 year ago
NEWS FLASH !!! Any song that you hear on modern radio or television is probably a shitty,diluted, commercial version of the genre it's prentending to represent. True Hip Hop is not dead it has just returned to the underground where it started. Thats generally what happens to subcultures that manage to survive mainstream exploitation.Im not even a big hip hop fan. I just find it obnoxious when people exclaim a genre is dead based on the shit they're being force fed by corporate media.
kevrighteous 1 year ago
@kevrighteous excellent points
scorpionJB 1 year ago
like russel simons i like the womens.. this guy is a dick .. i intreviewed him a while back and dude was making fun of my tape recorder becuase it wasnt shiny and plastic.
fighterdude83 1 year ago
I welcome the death of hip-hop, and blame Mr. Simmons for inflicting it on us all so many years ago. Just because it is a cultural phenomenon does not mean it is a good cultural phenomenon. Inspiring the youth in our country that the most important things in life are money, cars, ass, and drugs is hardly an area for boasting. The success of hip-hop is a strong indicator of a culture on a sharp decline, and I impatiently await its demise.
spd13062 1 year ago
This image is way too blown out.
thesilvernymph 2 years ago
Wow. You wrote a lot. It was interesting to hear your view on the subject; however, I was not addressing the entire genre. I was discussing what gets the MOST play on the radio and on TV. The artists who are uplifting and inspiring unfortunately aren't as commercial as their detrimental counterparts.
GGLebo23 2 years ago
I grew up in a overwhelmingly predominantly black suburban neighborhood and all I saw was regression. Of course their was a good number of us who would strive for the betterment of ourselves and community, however, the majority of my school mates didn't. Why is this? I personally blame commercial Hip Hop.
GGLebo23 2 years ago
Can suburban white youth fall prey to this culture of degradation? Yes, but they have the advantage. When they see or listen to commercial rap their brain goes, "This is what/how black people dress/act/sound like." but the black youths brain goes, "this what I etc.,etc.,etc. That is why I hate commercial Hip Hop for impressionable children. Uplifting Hip Hop is great and is perfectly fine for adults.
GGLebo23 2 years ago
I agree let the kids learn who they are first. They are following a culture instead of being individuals. I like hip hop, but it isn't for everyone and all ages.
snoopygodog 2 years ago
Blame parents too.
snoopygodog 2 years ago
I am sorry, but you just cannot ignore the detrimental effects that rap music is bringing into the black community. I saw it everyday growing up in the public school system.
When I hear lyrics advocating violence and selling drugs it hearts. I want my community to start going in the right direction, but I honestly do think that hip hop & the culture that's apart of it is bringing not only the impressionable folks that adhere to that crap, but blacks that r trying to do good 4 themselves to.
GGLebo23 2 years ago
When I listen to the lyrics in most Hip Hop songs I hear nothing. Their is no substance, no value, no intellectually or philosophical constructed thought. What is art without meaning?
GGLebo23 2 years ago
Perhaps when "Hip Hop" is finally dead, there will be far fewer dead within America's inner cities
Chuichupachichi 2 years ago
the deaths in the inner cities always existed. And It didn't get worse from rap. It got worse from crack which put alot of money and guns in the hands of young kids
YTwatcher38 2 years ago
Why would you believe someone who's income is dependent on how he answers?
jasonqlwilliams 2 years ago
INSPIRED HIP HOP = BEFORE 1985
SUPERMANfromMETROPOL 2 years ago
mainstream hip hop IS dead as many other genre of music because people in this country have nothing more to say its all been said MANY times. This country has lost its great culture to mass production of meritocracy as the status quo. Dont believe me? Look at our government!
zoticus1 2 years ago 8
@zoticus1 Mainstream "hip hop" is crap..Same basslines, same message, different assholes. Back then hip hop was hip hop and the messages were far more positive than this. It's time to force the real players OUT OF RETIREMENT and get them back into the studio.
BJSteigner 5 months ago
@zoticus1
Wow.
Totally incorrect. (your first sentence)
The second IS very correct. Great Job.
xlerosx 2 weeks ago
Comment removed
creten69 2 years ago
no.
NwZ2 2 years ago
Hip hop made the president? Sorry I cannot agree with that...
PunkCheerleaderBetch 2 years ago 2
Hip hop IS dead. It died with tupac and biggie, and eminen/nas are the only artists out there who even sell hip hop albums. Everyone else is just a biter trying to maximize on recycled beats and rhymes.
boburanus69 2 years ago
nope.
Mos Def
K'naan
Immortal Technique.
There are plenty out there.
thewarrior195 2 years ago
I agree - there's lots out there, it's just not mainstream. The truth is, generally good music of ANY genre is not mainstream as a rule - in order for it to be consumed en masse, it must fit the lowest common denominator.
kdbrown777 2 years ago 5
truth...
ax1om 2 years ago
Hip-hop will never die. Only shift to different paradigms.
vooooom 2 years ago
That's a nice way to put it.
milloselmejor 2 years ago
dis nigga pissed cause he a has-been yo
NathanBForrest1776 2 years ago
hip hop sold out, it doesn't matter if it is still 'popular', its hollow, real hip hop died in the 90s, LL cool J, Iced Tea, Jay-z thats all mainstream garbage, seriously russell simmons you can't see that? none of its real, hip-hop is born from the streets from hardship, not from a millionaire's mansion, get a fucking life russell simmons, you are a tool
popeaustini 2 years ago 3
Iced Tea
patienceking 2 years ago
exactly
popeaustini 2 years ago
Jay-z's not real??
You kidding me?
Ever hear his track "Meet the parents"???
zzz got me sleeping here.
NwZ2 2 years ago
A little too much emphasis on American culture and old school hip-hop, i'd say.
But then again, he is old.
Q9R42 2 years ago