Nas - King’s Disease (Discussion Thread)

[ISO]

That had nothing to do with the media or label. Interscope thought the album would under perform, Dre wasn’t sold on Kendrick as a star, and no one at the label understood that he had a fan base built already.

okay buddy

 

[Lyrically_N_Gaged]

Our challenge is holding ourselves back, I hope you felt that

I thought it was " our childhood is holding ourselves back "

 

[Piff Perkins]

okay buddy

Yea what do I know...

 

[blankstairz]

This is a good album.

 

[spliz]

Jay has no classic, genre changing albums

The Blueprint.

 

[spliz]

That had nothing to do with the media or label. Interscope thought the album would under perform, Dre wasn’t sold on Kendrick as a star, and no one at the label understood that he had a fan base built already.

I also remember the GKMC thread here. Virtually everyone here thought it was a classic because it’s an amazing album. That’s not a push, that’s a natural real time recognition of greatness.

Reasonable Doubt was overlooked in real time, in 1996. It was well received in NY but wasn’t some big hit or deal. Even Hov admitted to that. Doesn’t mean it’s not a classic.

Kendrick is a media darling and they was tryna push that independent stuff while he was already in bed with a major, but GKMC isn’t the album guilty of only the media pushing it as classic. TPAB and DAMN is a whole different story. Them shyts was media hyped as fukk. Kendrick winning a Pulitzer for DAMN is one of the most ridiculous things I seen in hip hop in a minute.

 

[blankstairz]

Kendrick is a media darling and they was tryna push that independent stuff while he was already in bed with a major, but GKMC isn’t the album guilty of only the media pushing it as classic. TPAB and DAMN is a whole different story. Them shyts was media hyped as fukk. Kendrick winning a Pulitzer for DAMN is one of the most ridiculous things I seen in hip hop in a minute.

Yeah, the heavy push really started with TPAB and beyond. They wanted the top spot but they did it by promoting Kendrick as the antithesis to Drake who was everywhere. Kendrick the avant-garde artist with jazz influences on his album. It worked.

 

[perfectblack999]

That Rolling Stone review was pretty atrocious Dude is getting destroyed on Twitter though, lol.


Something has to be done with these corny dudes that fetishize hood porn. It’s shameful they even have a voice.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Kendrick is a media darling and they was tryna push that independent stuff while he was already in bed with a major, but GKMC isn’t the album guilty of only the media pushing it as classic. TPAB and DAMN is a whole different story. Them shyts was media hyped as fukk. Kendrick winning a Pulitzer for DAMN is one of the most ridiculous things I seen in hip hop in a minute.

Nearly every artist from that era got introduced as independent when they really aren't. ASAP, Drake, Kendrick. Chance, Wiz...the point is to make it seem like they're a hot act with multiple deals on the table. It's basic label shyt. Marketing.

All a label does is get you in the door and on the shelf. What happens after that is completely based on what the people think/want. TPAB is a great album, and the best rap album of the last decade IMO. I don't think that's controversial. It's impact is undeniable and clearly Interscope got Kendrick into all types of places a normal rap album wouldn't get (specifically the way non-rap music fans and critics embraced it) but again...that doesn't happen if the album was trash or average. DAMN...honestly if you want to argue the Pulitzer should have gone to TPAB and they were just making it up to Kendrick I'd agree. But there is no "push" there. That's not how major labels operate.

I don't think DAMN is a classic at all. It's a good album. A really good album sure, but nowhere near GKMC or TPAB. Clearly it was a smash hit tho, from the sales to the hit records to the tour. People really, really liked it. Does that make it classic? No.

 

[spliz]

Nearly every artist from that era got introduced as independent when they really aren't. ASAP, Drake, Kendrick. Chance, Wiz...the point is to make it seem like they're a hot act with multiple deals on the table. It's basic label shyt. Marketing.

All a label does is get you in the door and on the shelf. What happens after that is completely based on what the people think/want. TPAB is a great album, and the best rap album of the last decade IMO. I don't think that's controversial. It's impact is undeniable and clearly Interscope got Kendrick into all types of places a normal rap album wouldn't get (specifically the way non-rap music fans and critics embraced it) but again...that doesn't happen if the album was trash or average. DAMN...honestly if you want to argue the Pulitzer should have gone to TPAB and they were just making it up to Kendrick I'd agree. But there is no "push" there. That's not how major labels operate.

I don't think DAMN is a classic at all. It's a good album. A really good album sure, but nowhere near GKMC or TPAB. Clearly it was a smash hit tho, from the sales to the hit records to the tour. People really, really liked it. Does that make it classic? No.

Man. I don’t wanna hear none of this shyt. TPAB is the highest rated hip hop album OF ALL TIME fam. And I barely knew people in real life who even liked the shyt. TPAB ain’t deserve no damn Pulitzer either. For what? Lmao. Man u wrote all that for nothin. I got eyes, ears, and a brain fam. Ain’t nothing u can say to me to convince me otherwise. The BET awards where Rakim got celebrated was the writing on the wall for Kendrick. If u was there u would understand what I’m talkin bout.

 

[kes929]

I put Jay over Nas after 4:44 lol

This album is nice but Jay had verses of the year on Neverending Story and Universal Soldier

444 might be the most overrated album this past decade. It's a good album, but people acting like its unworldly or something.

 

[ISO]

444 might be the most overrated album this past decade. It's a good album, but people acting like its unworldly or something.

It’s a good album who is acting like it’s unworldly?

The videos were unworldy though.

Sounds like insecure Nas stans to me

 

[Piff Perkins]

Man. I don’t wanna hear none of this shyt. TPAB is the highest rated hip hop album OF ALL TIME fam. And I barely knew people in real life who even liked the shyt. TPAB ain’t deserve no damn Pulitzer either. For what? Lmao. Man u wrote all that for nothin. I got eyes, ears, and a brain fam. Ain’t nothing u can say to me to convince me otherwise. The BET awards where Rakim got celebrated was the writing on the wall for Kendrick. If u was there u would understand what I’m talkin bout.

Having worked in the music industry (at Interscope)...you aren't making sense to me. Artists get pushed, that's why they sign to major labels. But as I said, the push is meaningless if the product or artist doesn't resonate. There's a thread right now about Drake being an "industry plant" as if him dominating music for over a decade doesn't matter. As if we didn't just watch Chance implode, despite his push and top tier management. If your shyt is trash it doesn't matter how much you get pushed. It's not going to work.

And yea I stand by what I said about TPAB. It's transcended its genre and attracted fans from other genres (specifically jazz and rock) in a way that's very rarely seen in rap. I'd compare it to something like bytch's Brew, where much of the mainstream jazz audience had mixed impressions but mainstream rock audiences loved it. And as time went by, jazz audiences began appreciating it. Was that an "industry push" from Columbia, to make that album a success and maintain Miles Davis' place as a music darling? Of course not.

That album resonated with people, heavily. Did "the kids" fukk with it? No. But the kids don't dictate everything. I'm not aware of any notable rap circles outside of "the kids" where that album isn't loved. Actual rap critics loved it. The Coli loved it. Virtually every rap blog/forum/reddit/etc loved it. So what's the issue.

 

[spliz]

Having worked in the music industry (at Interscope)...you aren't making sense to me. Artists get pushed, that's why they sign to major labels. But as I said, the push is meaningless if the product or artist doesn't resonate. There's a thread right now about Drake being an "industry plant" as if him dominating music for over a decade doesn't matter. As if we didn't just watch Chance implode, despite his push and top tier management. If your shyt is trash it doesn't matter how much you get pushed. It's not going to work.

And yea I stand by what I said about TPAB. It's transcended its genre and attracted fans from other genres (specifically jazz and rock) in a way that's very rarely seen in rap. I'd compare it to something like bytch's Brew, where much of the mainstream jazz audience had mixed impressions but mainstream rock audiences loved it. And as time went by, jazz audiences began appreciating it. Was that an "industry push" from Columbia, to make that album a success and maintain Miles Davis' place as a music darling? Of course not.

That album resonated with people, heavily. Did "the kids" fukk with it? No. But the kids don't dictate everything. I'm not aware of any notable rap circles outside of "the kids" where that album isn't loved. Actual rap critics loved it. The Coli loved it. Virtually every rap blog/forum/reddit/etc loved it. So what's the issue.

I’m not speaking on kids or anything. I’m talking about grown KENDRICK fans that didn’t fukk wit that shyt. The hype didn’t match real life. I don’t care where u worked at bro. I don’t care WHAT u say. That album DIDNT deserve the hype it got. Best reviewed rap album of all time? nikka do u know how crazy that is? That shyt is a joke fam. Like I said before Aint shyt u can really tell me that’s gonna convince me. I been listening to music and hip hop for too long for that. If u think it’s the greatest rap album ever created. Than that’s fine. But if u don’t. Than u automatically agree with me because it got rated as just that.

 

[spliz]

It’s a good album who is acting like it’s unworldly?

The videos were unworldy though.

Sounds like insecure Nas stans to me

4:44 ain’t a better album than King’s Disease or Life Is Good for that matter. Hov carried that Written Testimony album I will say that much tho.