Steve Stoute: "The older generation didn't care about lyrics. That's why Illmatic took 5 years to go Gold. G Rap never got rewarded for lyrics"

[Wacky D]

What do you consider a hit?

Hafltime and the world is yours both charted high on the hip hop/r&b charts and the rap charts in the early 90s
It ain't hard to tell was 91 on the billboard 100 in the US and also charted high on the rap chart

It's 2024 and Do Or Die hasn't gone gold yet.

AZ :: Doe or Die – RapReviews

www.rapreviews.com

Sugar Hill went gold, and it appeared that AZ was on his way to stardom. But unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. The album dropped too long after the buzz for the single had died, sales were somewhat disappointing, and the album failed to spawn another hit.



but i personally feel like if a song charts it's a hit

It's definitely gold.

I agree about the hit thing. I should've just said "radio hit".

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Nah we not doing this.

Nas was very much a mainstream artist and did a ton of pandering in hopes of becoming a bigger mainstream artist.

I'm sure you agree with my point then, which is that lyrical artists were being pushed as mainstream acts a lot more often back in the 90s than today. The default rapper signed to a major, was lyrical back then. Regardless of region

Nas persisting as a major label artist who is very lyrical, despite average sales is a unique phenomenon in the 00s. Everyone is falling off, for the most part, and he's still going

 

[Axum Ezana]

lyrics were more thought about back then yes but when it comes to overall sales no i dont believe it mattered the most. fans cared about it more than these dudes do today though.

hiphop main draw was always image, the beat, dancing/breaking and the rappers flow/delivery/voice/ and how catchy the hook was.

it just depends on what era/style you favor.

u gotta remember big sales come from casuals...not true hiphop heads. thats why sales didnt supposed to matter when it came to hiphop culture. it was never was supposed to be "pop" type music and culture.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

What do you consider a hit?

Hafltime and the world is yours both charted high on the hip hop/r&b charts and the rap charts in the early 90s
It ain't hard to tell was 91 on the billboard 100 in the US and also charted high on the rap chart

It's 2024 and Do Or Die hasn't gone gold yet.

AZ :: Doe or Die – RapReviews

www.rapreviews.com

Sugar Hill went gold, and it appeared that AZ was on his way to stardom. But unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. The album dropped too long after the buzz for the single had died, sales were somewhat disappointing, and the album failed to spawn another hit.



but i personally feel like if a song charts it's a hit

Doe or Die sold a million and Sugar Hill was a top 40 hit