Rap/Hip Hop sales declining
Shizelbs
Posts: 7,433
Here is what I thought was a pretty decent and well written article on how rap and hip hop is having a rough go of things lately.
Click for article.
Discuss all you want, but spare us the tired comments of how rap is not music.
Click for article.
Discuss all you want, but spare us the tired comments of how rap is not music.
Post edited by Shizelbs on
Comments
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I'm glad people are waking up."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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Great, it's all garbage anyway!Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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Maybe I'm getting old but I think this Hip Hop stuff is completely void of talent.When I was a teen the music we listened to was rich with talented musicians,like Led Zep,RUSH ,VanHalen etc.Testing
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Thanks for the comments. Although you did not literally word for word say that rap is not music, I was more hoping for a discussion about the article. Read my last sentence in the original post. :rolleyes:
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OOOPS! sorry, my bad,my apologies. I missed that line.Testing
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GV#27 wrote:Maybe I'm getting old but I think this Hip Hop stuff is completely void of talent.When I was a teen the music we listened to was rich with talented musicians,like Led Zep,RUSH ,VanHalen etc.
I've found that a lot of younger people today are really into Lep Zep, The Who, The Doors etc etc....all bands that were there before they were even born.
I don't care much for rap, but I do like some of Eminem's stuff....good beat and some very thought-provoking lyrics. I have one Eminem cd and I'll probably buy another.
Rap in general is getting old and repetitive and people are getting tired of it, hence the decline in sales. It's a good sign that something else is just around the corner.
JoeAmplifiers: 1-SAE Mark IV, 4-SAE 2400, 1-SAE 2500, 2-SAE 2600, 1-Buttkicker BKA 1000N w/2-tactile transducers. Sources: Sony BDP CX7000es, Sony CX300/CX400/CX450/CX455, SAE 8000 tuner, Akai 4000D R2R, Technics 1100A TT, Epson 8500UB with Carada 100". Speakers:Polk SDA SRS, 3.1TL, FXi5, FXi3, 2-SVS 20-29, Yamaha, SVS center sub. Power:2-Monster HTS3500, Furman M-8D & RR16 Plus. 2-SAE 4000 X-overs, SAE 5000a noise reduction, MSB Link DAC III, MSB Powerbase, Behringer 2496, Monarchy DIP 24/96. -
Rap has been popular for a surprisingly long time and I guess most types of music eventually lose popularity.ie Grundge in the early 90's ,and Hair metal in the 80's were huge, then went into a swift decline.joeparaski wrote:
Rap in general is getting old and repetitive and people are getting tired of it, hence the decline in sales. It's a good sign that something else is just around the corner.
JoeTesting
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I think the problem with rap is that currently too many of the musicians are afraid or unwilling to try something new and daring. I suspect this has to do with both the record companies and the musicians charged with the duties of producing the albums.
I'm not quite sure why rap and hip hop has found itself in a position that does not embrace originality and new musical themes like other genres do. I believe its just following a trend common with all popular music of late. If I had to wager a bet as to why, it would likely be due to the less than altruistic motives of the musicians. ie, Get Rich or Die Tryin. -
started the conversation and ended it in the same post.Shizelbs wrote:but spare us the tired comments of how rap is not music.Never kick a fresh **** on a hot day.
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C.r.e.a.m.
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I would think rap is declining because the whole point of it was to be edgy and outside of the normal boundaries of what popular culture considers music. Now it's no longer a form of rebellion, because no matter how "bad" you are it still reaches mainstream, so it defeats the original purpose.
Or, I could just go with the easy thing and say everyone w ho listens to it is a) dead from gang violence or b) too poor to afford to buy it.If you will it, dude, it is no dream. -
....:D *hands over mouth*Shizelbs wrote:Rap/Hip Hop sales declining
IMO ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Demiurge wrote:C.r.e.a.m.
A classic song all in itself. One of my favorites.
Hip Hop is getting silly, who the hell wants to the do the chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side. Its all getting silly to me.Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!
Home Theater Pics in the Showcase :cool:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=73580 -
Simple, the shock value has declined and more and more people are starting to see the effects of what they promote – glorification of drugs, violence and the exploitation of women.
If you have time, do a search on a real student of today's hip\hop culture...
PACMAN JONES -
The thing that scares me is whats next? :eek: Every generations music seems to get a little worse lately. REGARDS SNOWWell, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all
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The problem comes from the music industry as a whole these days, all the execs are looking for is the same cookie-cutter groups that have made them money in the past.
Case In Point: A few years back the video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, hit the shelves throughout it you would hear snippets of this song, had beautiful lyrics and a gorgeous melody... then when you finished the game the song in it's entirety played through. I saved my game right before the last fight and killed that bugger a couple dozen times through the next weeks just to hear that song. At the end of the credits it listed the band 'Poets of the Fall' I tracked them down online and turns out they're a Finnish rock group that hadn't pressed an album at that time... so I kept an eye on them waiting for their CD, finally 'Signs of Life' came out followed recently by 'Carnival of Rust'. Every song on those CD's is incredible, the fact that they get no air time and to the best of my knowledge have no USA record contract is baffling... They're new, original, moving music and deep lyrics, and almost every new group i've heard lately is CRAP compared to them...
Check out their sound here http://www.myspace.com/poetsofthefall and buy the CD's they're worth it (and this is coming from a guy who steals most of his from the internet...)MacLeod: I guess youre lucky Polk has such lax hiring standards.
Josh: Damn skippy! -
Wow Thanks for that link Joelsbass these guys are good.Testing
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Having been a DJ in clubs for over 5 years now, I've had to endure countless hours of RAP/Hip Hop music. I will say there are a few catchy tunes out there, but the bulk of it is simply lifeless garabage from a musical perspective.
A heavy thumping bass beat, back music ripped off from some classic song of yester-year and lyrics about HOs, Drugs, My Peeps, My Boyz, My Homis, My Dawgs, My Ni**as, how much money "dey gots" and how hard they had it on the streets.
Old news folks! You can only tell the same story so many times.
I personally can't understand what they are saying in 99% of the other lyrics. If it wasn't for someone occasionally telling me what they are saying, I wouldn't have a clue.
Look how all the major music awards shows have gone down the toilet. When was the last one any of you have watched? I used to watch the Grammys a long time ago. Now, it's meaningless!
Oh yeah, the quality of the recordings suck!
JohnNo excuses! -
Joelsbass wrote:Check out their sound here http://www.myspace.com/poetsofthefall and buy the CD's they're worth it (and this is coming from a guy who steals most of his from the internet...)
WOW, very nice! I have to check these guys out. Would be nice to see them get a big label contract, but I suspect like alot of groups, they'll get corrupted and destroyed by the label itself.
"Lets see, we'll compress the hell out of your music to make it louder. Then you guys need to start adding racier lyrics to your music."
Flush the toilet!
I will check these guys out though. The Myspace tune "Lift" caught my attention right off. Good tune!
JohnNo excuses! -
The title track of their new CD 'Carnival of Rust' is probably my favorite right now. Definitely worth the buy, but if you're not committed off of what their page has their cd's are pretty easy to find off of the major torrent sites. Honestly, i steal most of my music cause most bands these days only have a song or two on an album worth having. Gotta support the good artists though!
Also... www.poetsofthefall.comMacLeod: I guess youre lucky Polk has such lax hiring standards.
Josh: Damn skippy! -
Rap used to be actually alright music way back in like the late 80's to early-to-mid 90's then after like around 2000 it went way down hill. Now all you see is "Yo,yo,yo like at my bling bling and all my hoes". The crap is so ridiculous.
What the hell does that even mean?Gotta catch me ridin dirtyDon't forget to look at My Home Theater
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To ride dirty is to drive around in a stolen car.
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Shizelbs wrote:To ride dirty is to drive around in a stolen car.
hahahah, i like how "matter of fact" you defined the term...
My favorite current hip hop lyric:
"You got beef?!? I got vegetables. So if you really want it, you can leave with a full stomach."
Jason2-Channel - So far...
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One thing that I should probably make clear is that rap extends far, far beyond what is played on the radio. That is more than likely what most of you are only exposed to. So, I have to understand that your comments come from those experiences, but at the same time, you need to realize that there is a lot of rap out there that will never make it to the radio. Not because its even worse, but it doesn't qualify as 'popular' or what people expect from rap. And, there is some really good stuff out there.
For those of you that contend rap music is all the same and only replays the same tired message, I encourage you to listen to some other artists. The ones that I think of when it comes to those that dignify rap as an art and music are groups like The Roots, Dilated Peoples, Mos Def, Black Star, Deltron/Del tha Funkee Homosapien, and particularly Jurassic 5. Those groups can be very musical, extremely creative with their form of art, amazing with their use of words to tell a story and are genuine musicians. Same genre as 50 cent, but at the other end of the spectrum. -
Rap/Hip Hop sales declining
I should care, because???
They put some hip/hop group on the stage as the warm up band for The Who last year. Three babbles later, 30,000 people booed them off the stage. PRICELESS!!!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Because I heard you were cutting an album soon under the guise of...
Masta F1 and Da Bad **** Polk BoyzNo excuses! -
Perhaps, Rap might be the last bastion of innovavtive popular music. Im not a fan but it was something new and Different.... Art is dead and pop music is dying!
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Has anyone actually read the article I linked to, or do you naysayers just need to come in and bad mouth a type of music you have very little exposure to and in general have nothing contributive to say?
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Interesting article....often a topic of those early fortyish (like myself) around during the early days of hip hop when the lyrics and mixing of music was very creative (would still never replace a good band - but thats my era, 70's)...It was all about partying and dancing.
Then comes the era of gansta rap which takes it in a whole different direction. Oddly enough this is when it takes off in the mainstrain (not trying to start a racial thing here) because more of the majority begins to embrace it (buying) and send it up the charts. Lets face it, no matter how bad anyone wants to say it is, society loved the **** and it aint just your hoods
. Not enough buying power there to control the charts.
The declining sales may be a sign that the music execs have finally pushed it over the top and eyes are opening saying thats enough.
It would be interesting to see if some of the creative ones, like Common and the The Roots , creative "lyricist" (sp?) manage during the decline as they have been able to maintain against the negative images portrayed by many of the other artist.
As someone stated above, something else is sure to come up as it is time for something new. If it will unseat hiphop is another question
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Thank you Jabrax.
I'll try and find the interview, but Jay-Z once said that no matter how sophiscated and 'artful' you make your rap, the audience (typically teen to early 20s men) will only adopt and purchase the stupid nonsense that most of you are bitching about. He said he could make the most eloquent album ever, but no one would buy it. Not because its not good, but because the audience is either too stupid or just has no interest in it.
Case in point, groups like The Roots, Dilated Peoples and Deltron are relatively unsuccessful based on sales, but without a doubt far superior to the groups that get the most play on the radio.
Now, back to the article, why just the recent and sharp decline in sales? I don't think that rap and hip hop has changed much lately. Its been pretty consistent for the last few years. I'm just not sure what has triggered the current drop in sales. I can't think of one single event that would cause the swing. If anyone else can think of it, please let me know.
