Hip Hop Is Dead... How Nasir's Battle Cry Helped Save An Artform
- Thread starter Ziggiy
- Start date
prophecypro
Hollywood North
Let There Be Light should have been a single
Big Mel
@bigboss
Hold down the block is my favorite song on the album.
I remember the hype for HHID waiting for it to leak, shyt wasit's an album I don't listen to as much as I should really though.
Not read the whole piece but will do later tonight,@Ziggiy
This thread is well worth the read breh
"By becoming global no one knows where it comes from. No one knows who is doing it right. There was a time when you knew that Jim Morrison was dope. You knew that Kurt Cobain was dope. You knew they were the shyt. But by the time it turns into what's going on now, you don't know. How are the kids going to be inspired to create something innovative when they're being influenced by some of the shyt that's happening now, which is about just copying and turning it into a business? You never get a chance to know about Muddy Waters or the shyt that really meant something. You don't even care."
Nas interview with Complex on Dec,6,2006
http://m.pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6499-nas/
Nas interview with Complex on Dec,6,2006
http://m.pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6499-nas/
Piff Perkins
Veteran
Agreed. It's not a bad album but I can't say it had much impact. I agree with others that the internet saved hip hop, after initially killing it. 2006-2010 was a transition period for rap. Labels caked off ringtone money while figuring out where things were going next.
What was next were the host of young "everyman" type rappers who emerged in stark contradiction to the gangster superheroes and invulnerable rappers that dominated the early 2000s (50 Cent, Wayne, etc). Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Curren$y, Big KRIT, and others capitalized by bringing their music to their fans: with mixtapes and affordable college tours, they managed to create more legitimate buzz and acclaim than any of the young mainstream artists of the time, most of whom were one hit wonders.
Labels have largely gutted their A&R departments over the last decade. This has hurt hip hop more than any other genre, as labels no longer have dedicated scouts out there listening to what the streets have to say, or helping to mold artists. But in its place, artists have done that shyt for themselves. Kendrick and TDE shot their own videos, spent their own money for studio time, and came up with their own image. J Cole had a style long before Jay learned about him. etc etc. These artists proved themselves, and labels responded with advances.
Today who are the biggest young rappers? Drake, Kendrick, Cole. All born from the same wave of mixtapes and tours. So while I think HHID was a nice album that some reflected on, overall the actual change was more grassroots and came due to artists making themselves. Not waiting on a label to figure out what they should rap about or wear. Which is why the artists I've named will always be more popular than Trinidad James, J-Kwon, Mims, Jibbs, etc.
What can I really say that will make this thread any better than it already is. 
@Billy Ocean @Buckeye Fever @Tuling @No_bammer_weed @JoelB @Illeye buckmatic
@HishElsayed @Plexxx @blazn101 @We Major
@Life is Good
This is for Nasir
ummmm....my nikka...
anyway
on another dope thread about the one true GOAT
Rapmastermind
Superstar
Amazing piece @Ziggiy. NaS wasn't the 1st person to say "Hip Hop Is Dead" but he definitely had the most impact saying it. Also "Hip Hop Is Dead" is finally certified Platinum making it NaS 9th Platinum album (Including the Firm LP). I liked the album but there were some weak track that brought it down. But overall it's a solid album. What NaS did on the "Where are they now Remixes" was a work of art. "Black Republican" and "Still Dreaming" are still probably my fav two tracks.
the cac mamba
Veteran
Yes I know Nas wasn't the first to say it. He actually took the album title from a song that Andre 3000 and Kelis were working in called "Hip Hop Is Dead & R&B Is Dead". He was in the studio next to theirs working, heard the title, liked it and stole it lol...
"To the South's credit, they kept the lights on in hip-hop for at least two years. And I rock with all their records. Hip-hop ain't died because of the South, that's retarded. When I named the album originally, I thought I bit off more than I could chew but you'd be an idiot to think I'm talking about how the South killed hip-hop or how New York isn't where it should be or where it once was. It was like, "Damn, I need to explain this?" But I thought, "Nah, the proof is right there. We should know what it is." I expect the hip-hop audience to be avant garde. I want them to be where I'm at or beyond where I'm at."
http://m.pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6499-nas/
http://m.pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6499-nas/
