PART TWO: Are '90s Rappers Held To A Lower Standard As Artists?

[Wacky D]

last thread was about the spittas. but something that ended up coming to the forefront:

most of the '90s legends weren't stuck making formulaic albums and didn't have to deal with as much label input.

the same people saying ***insert 2000s rapper** couldn't make tracks are the same people who will turn around and say that somebody like prodigy is top 10, but all he had to do was drop 1 or 2 hot 16 per track. how many legendary prodigy hooks have there been? how many legendary songs does he have on his own?

meanwhile, theres guys like j.r. writer who had next-level hooks on their mixtapes & such. sure his album was riddled with that 2000s formulaic approach but he had enough excellent tracks underground, along with freestyles that he turned into his own records with hooks that pushed the envelope. he had enough of this stuff that could've made for a classic album or two.

THESE ARE JUST TWO EXAMPLES. we don't have to make the whole thread about them.

 

[Yehuda]

I think so.

 

[Lord Mecca]

What do you mean "next level hooks"? No, because the 90s also had great hooks. There are an endless number of hooks from the 90s that are great... timeless at that.

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

They were held to a higher standard but not as locked in by the labels. The labels didn't have "data" and formulas developed for Hip Hop at the start of the 90s, for the most part. I'd say the late 80s and 90s was still like the wild wild west.

Ice Cube made Priority have flexibility. Cash Money and Wendy Day set their deal up to give them flexibility. After that they started to get wise and lock people into contracts, security was different, artists were handled different. They started to justify what was 'hot' based on numbers. Marketing changed quite a bit just overall and so did the labels approach/control.

Also, they have to look like they are doing something.....

 

[Wacky D]

What do you mean "next level hooks"? No, because the 90s also had great hooks. There are an endless number of hooks from the 90s that are great... timeless at that.

I was just speaking on writer.

he was taking it on some NEXT chit with the hooks on his tapes. but instead the radio went in a backwards direction.

if this was '94 instead of '04. at least one of these would be a single for his album, instead of just a mixtape cut.

meanwhile, illmatic gets praised in '94. I don't recall nas doing a hook on his own album. only hook I remember is pete rock. meanwhile, if a modern rapper cant do hooks, people will say that they cant make tracks. and those same people will turn around and say nas is top 5.

that stuff just don't add up.

back to JR tho.
show me a hook by nas, big l, big pun, prodigy, or whoever else thats messin with these.

 

[kingofnyc]

thread makes zero sense

seems like u wanna make ALL kinds if excuses for the lact luster 2000's

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

seems like u wanna make ALL kinds if excuses for the lact luster 2000's

I think (could be wrong) he is saying you needed a bit more to stand out in the 2000s. The thread is asking why that seems to be the case....

Snow would never have had a hit song in the 2000s. Just being a white guy who could rap good wasn't enough to get in the top 10.

 

[kingofnyc]

I think (could be wrong) he is saying you needed a bit more to stand out in the 2000s. The thread is asking why that seems to be the case....

Snow would never have had a hit song in the 2000s. Just being a white guy who could rap good wasn't enough to get in the top 10.

snow wasnt even a rapper
he was a Canadian reggae singer

BTW
his shyt wasnt played on urban radio nor da in streetz in NYC

 

[Not The Ruler O9]

contender for WOAT poster

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

snow wasnt even a rapper
he was a Canadian reggae singer

BTW
his shyt wasnt played on urban radio nor da in streetz in NYC

It doesn't matter if he was a canadian reggae singer because it was #1 on the billboard charts for 7 straight weeks and was categorized as a rap song, not a reggae song.

And it FOR SURE was played on Urban radio in NYC, it was was top 10 song on the Hip Hop charts breh. Now whether you remember it or not is one thing but for sure it was played.

 

[kingofnyc]

It doesn't matter if he was a canadian reggae singer because it was #1 on the billboard charts for 7 straight weeks and was categorized as a rap song, not a reggae song.

And it FOR SURE was played on Urban radio in NYC, it was was top 10 song on the Hip Hop charts breh. Now whether you remember it or not is one thing but for sure it was played.

what do u mean it dosnt matter
its not hip hop -breh


and i can honestly say it was NEVER played on da streets in nyc

as far as the radio goes
HOT97 problaby didnt even change there urban format when the song came out
KISS & WBLS played 95% straight R&B and the 5% late late night hip hop
BELIEVE ME chuck chill out & red alert didn't play that bullshyt on KISS
now, im not sure about BLS -mr magic & marley may have play'd it a few times cause their man mc shan was on it

FYI
nyc urban radio dosnt necessarily follow billboard top 10

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

what do u mean it dosnt matter
its not hip hop -breh


and i can honestly say it was NEVER played on da streets in nyc

as far as the radio goes
HOT97 problaby didnt even change there urban format when the song came out
KISS & WBLS played 95% straight R&B and the 5% late late night hip hop
BELIEVE ME chuck chill out & red alert didn't play that bullshyt on KISS
now, im not sure about BLS -mr magic & marley may have play'd it a few times cause their man mc shan was on it

FYI
nyc urban radio dosnt necessarily follow billboard top 10

It was a top 10 record on the HIP HOP and R&B charts. You don't get there by not getting any spins in the biggest city in the country

 

[spliz]

No. It's actually the opposite. They were held to a higher standard cause nikkas had no problem with callin you or ur music wack. In the early 2000s there was a million nikkas who rapped the same way for the most part that could generate a Lil buzz on the mixtape circuit. Plus the music making skills weren't up there like in the 90s. And don't get me wrong. I loved the early 00s. So I'm not hatin. It just seems like u having a hard time accepting that the 90s was just an overall better decade for hip hop all around. I don't see why tho cause it's simple enough to just appreciate all of it.

 

[kingofnyc]

It was a top 10 record on the HIP HOP and R&B charts. You don't get there by not getting any spins in the biggest city in the country

breh - im telling u NYC is different from da rest of the country

we dont have to follow the billboard top 10 charts - its over 8.5 million in the NYC metropolitan area
(if da people not feeling it ... it's gets no play)


STILL u dont believe me????
see 49:15 to 49:45 marks
confirms what i been saying all this time

 

[kingofnyc]

double