youre right, it’s not. i didn’t write this in stone when i observed it, but i must ask, is LL’s career that cut and dry?
by time i started listening to hip-hop, he was a full on ballad rapper. that was around 97. first song of his i ever heard was “doin it.”
i didn’t hear about “i shot ya” until my double back days in my teens.
so basically, he was gambino status by time he became a movie star.
luda’s fall off probably exemplifies my point the most. pop rapper who was heavy in the streets, went hollywood and became a caricature in music.
mos and common are almost unfair cause they’re backpackers.
kanye blurs the line cause soft nikkas was always welcome in street culture if a street rapper needed a producer. his whole career in the street rapper world is based on that. he basically became an honorary street nikka because of hov. his street rap style gave drake the blueprint. (yes, drake don’t produce, but kanye didn’t produce his dj khaled records either)
him in street fashion blurs it even further, cause nikkas about that life love streetwear as much as your nerdy hypebeast. mans is just my goat, okay?
look at this difference. i still listen to hov and nas on some dead serious shyt. they are the two guys moving the culture forward for their bracket in a way we have never seen.
i love ice cube, but i don’t take him rapping about my vape stick seriously. but if netflix put his face in their next movie, am i watching? yes as fukk.
hollywood draws rappers away from street culture. gambino has zero street presence probably cause he’s so hollywood.
for some reasons the worlds love each other, but don’t mix. this will be broken soon. maybe a street movie that breaks the mold. shouts out to that movie yg made.
So other than that, you're a big fan of his work?
