Some of these old Source Reviews....

[threattonature]

I'm gonna assume you're both far younger than me because nobody in my peer group gave a fukk about a Source rating. I would've been 20 the year "Soul On Ice" came out, I don't even think I ever read The Source review for that album.

Fred.

I was 14 at the time it dropped. My brother was 5 years older so right around your age and his peer group was fukking with The Source heavy to and discussing their ratings. What was your hip-hop tastes? I came up in the midwest and fukked with music from every area of the country so I was always looking for new shyt to check for.

 

[hex]

I was 14 at the time it dropped. My brother was 5 years older so right around your age and his peer group was fukking with The Source heavy to and discussing their ratings. What was your hip-hop tastes? I came up in the midwest and fukked with music from every area of the country so I was always looking for new shyt to check for.

Midwest too. Knew people from both coasts. fukked with everything.

I'm just not understanding how rap fans could use The Source as some kind of yardstick for quality in real time when, like I said:

1. You couldn't necessarily find a Source mag when you'd want to cop an album. Some places wouldn't stock new issues immediately and/or if they were sold out you were assed out. So I'm kinda at the thought of holding off on buying a popular album....because you couldn't find a magazine. Kids in my high school would leave in the middle of the day and go cop a new album....come back and discuss it at lunch. The Source wasn't a factor, at all.

2. The Source retroactively changed a gang of reviews because it didn't match how the albums were received. If The Source was such an infallible.... well, source....then that would've never happened. What happened was a lot of reviews didn't line up with how rap fans felt and The Source wanted to be on the right side of history and updated their reviews.

As far as new stuff to check out, I do agree with that. There was that hot single or whatever you call it section, we ate good off that.

Fred.

 

[nose hair]

How many mics did Ma$e's Double Up album get in the Source Magazine?

 

[Erratic415]

How many mics did Ma$e's Double Up album get in the Source Magazine?

I remember it wasn't a very good review.

Either 2.5 or 3, probably the latter.

 

[nose hair]

I remember it wasn't a very good review.

Either 2.5 or 3, probably the latter.

Oh ok

 

[Roxx the King]

post of the month

THE MICS MATTERED. It was the main reason to buy the magazine. Timing was wild off sometimes but I swear I stole that ,magazine every month for years for the mic ratings.

My first issue was the Nas It Was Written cover in 96

 

[Roxx the King]

I remember it wasn't a very good review.

Either 2.5 or 3, probably the latter.

DEFINITELY 2.5 lol. One of the lowest ratings I ever say

 

[Art Barr]

They didn't give soul on ice 5?

soul on ice has horrific clarity via mix tho.
Which for the time even though it could be said plenty of releases did.
the clarity of those songs on the album.
probably lead to it having a below three and a half mics. Which was the dark horse rating for a grassroots classic for the era. Yet a number of critieria were not met to publicly rwte it five mics.

all the images of reviews posted were dead on culturally as far as reviews for the exact time.
if you do not think so.
rate the records culturally.
not based on prison industrial economy semantics.

now after wcc things become fuzzy and their cred dwindles via timeline in that era. Yet before that. A source review took Into consideration culturally what said album meant as a release wholeheartedly.

I would still say those rating were spot on and if i reviewed them culturally. They would get the same marks to this day.



art barr

 

[Art Barr]

I'm gonna assume you're both far younger than me because nobody in my peer group gave a fukk about a Source rating. I would've been 20 the year "Soul On Ice" came out, I don't even think I ever read The Source review for that album.

Fred.

not sure how you are saying this at all.

the source was so coveted. I still have the premier issue of the little known flypaper as a collectible. Which is all built off of the source being the source.
maybe after the wcc thing this changed via perception culturally. Yet before xxl and what was kinda pr'd halfheartedly about the source and the wcc issues. The source was the holy publication culturally easily.

you posted this like the source was murder dog or rap pages.

when clearly the source was taken culturally.
in a whole different light culturally than any other publication culturally for thr time and all time as well.

now if you would have said the original rnb fukk rap direction of the vibe mag before it flopped and started the prison industrial pr mode it went i to with a certain interview. Well then i could understand what you posted.
yet before that.
or other than that,...i know that what you posted is not relevant culturally at all via timeline.




art barr





art barr

 

[Sinister]

Didnt they give benzino group 5 mics

4 and a half

 

[Mr swag]

it was damn near impossible to get the 5 mics

 

[feelosofer]

One a lot of the those 4.5 Mic albums were retroactively given 5's later and in general 5 Mics was usually reserved for what they believed were genre defining albums (not saying these judgements were right or wrong per se it was what it was). But that 5 Mic honor was meant to be given sparingly and 4.5 was seen as an excellent album still. You gotta remember it takes time for albums to sit in the culture and be added into the 'classic' pantheon. I wasn't something that was given out like candy.

 

[85 East]

Midwest too. Knew people from both coasts. fukked with everything.

I'm just not understanding how rap fans could use The Source as some kind of yardstick for quality in real time when, like I said:

1. You couldn't necessarily find a Source mag when you'd want to cop an album. Some places wouldn't stock new issues immediately and/or if they were sold out you were assed out. So I'm kinda at the thought of holding off on buying a popular album....because you couldn't find a magazine. Kids in my high school would leave in the middle of the day and go cop a new album....come back and discuss it at lunch. The Source wasn't a factor, at all.

2. The Source retroactively changed a gang of reviews because it didn't match how the albums were received. If The Source was such an infallible.... well, source....then that would've never happened. What happened was a lot of reviews didn't line up with how rap fans felt and The Source wanted to be on the right side of history and updated their reviews.

As far as new stuff to check out, I do agree with that. There was that hot single or whatever you call it section, we ate good off that.

Fred.

The Source didn't have any real competition until XXL came out. Without a strong competitor to keep the magazine fresh, The Source started slipping and lost their edge. They believed their own hype. We saw this with Benzino and the Interscope fall out. Also most of their writers for a time were NYC centered. That meant other regions weren't understood the same way. They weren't scrutinized the same either. Once XXL dropped there was a competitor who understood the game and wasn't trying to be so corporate. For a while XXL was the perfect bridge between the underground and what was bubbling. Now it's just headline news and giant font articles...

 

[DaHNIC82]

How many mics did Ma$e's Double Up album get in the Source Magazine?

2.5

 

[nose hair]

2.5