Once upon a time in a universe far, far away, HipHopDX used to host blogs. Through Meka, Brillyance, Aliya Ewing and others, readers got unfiltered opinions on the most current topics in and beyond Hip Hop. After a few years, a couple redesigns and the collective vision of three different Editors-In-Chief, blogs are back. Well, sort of. Since our blog section went the way of two-way pagers and physical mixtapes, Twitter, Instagram and Ustream have further accelerated the pace of current events in Hip Hop. Rappers beef with each other 140 characters at a time, entire mixtapes (and their associated artwork) can be released via Instagram, and sometimes these events require a rapid reaction.
As such, we’re reserving this space for a weekly reaction to Hip Hop’s current events. Or whatever else we deem worthy. And the “we” in question is me, Andre Grant, and our Sr. Features Writer Ural Garrett. Collectively we serve as HipHopDX’s Features Staff. Aside from tackling stray topics, we may invite artists and other personalities in Hip Hop to join the conversation. Without further delay, here’s this week’s “Stray Shots.”
Is Drake Correct About New York’s Place In Hip Hop?
Andre: Well, yes and no. Drake’s take on not having to go “make it in New York” is based on the idea that you can do it from wherever you are. In a way that’s correct, and the Internet made that happen. As Jas Prince recounted in a recent piece for Fader, he plucked Drake straight off of Myspace and put him into the at-first-reluctant and then exuberant arms of Lil Wayne. Of course, he was giving him unauthorized tracks (i.e “A Milli”) to rap over in order to build a buzz. It looks like Empire’s father/son dynamic is really on to something. Trying to impress your dad is one hell of a drug. Regardless, Drake benefitted from a platform in Myspace that was made for acts to get their music out there, and he isn’t the only one that benefitted from the Myspace universe. Soulja Boy is another. Still, Houston had much to do with Drake’s success, as the Jas connection will show, so that really makes the point that instead of bypassing New York per se´, the issue is going where your connections are.
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It just so happens that a vast majority of the connects used to be in NY. That hegemony resulted in New York dominating the cultural cache´ in an unprecedented way, but it’s over now. The golden chickens have flown the coup, and New York is no longer the cultural power center it once was. Yes, the major labels are still there, but a lot of them have offices that are just as powerful elsewhere in the country. And that diffusion of power in New York combined with the fact that no one trying to “make it” can really hold out for very long there because it’s expensive-as-fuck means that the people scouting talent are now in all different parts of the country. This means that they will most likely find you. They are searching for you. No longer do you have to go to NY and plan your power encounter with Kanye or Jay Z or 50 or whomever. Now, scouts will hop on a plane to go see you in your podunk town tear up a stage. It’s a bright and beautiful world out there not unlike High School basketball or football. If you’re a star, you’ll be found.
Ural: Having a successful career in the internet age doesn’t require much travel. Cultivating a dedicated local fan-base is all that’s really needed. Once that happens, outsiders will find you. Having a presence in New York, Los Angeles or even Atlanta isn’t the end-all-be-all anymore. In that regards, Drake makes absolute sense. Why spend hundreds of thousands in dollars on relocating to the biggest cities in America when that money could be used on either building one’s own studio or buying time at a real one. Hell, this is the same generation that allowed Chief Keef leeway in making “Don’t Like”s music and accompanying video from the confines of his grandmother’s house. From a small apartment in Chicago’s South Side, Mr. Cozart helped push forward a movement in his area that expanded fairly wide. Drake himself was discovered on Myspace. Once someone makes it into the consciousness of mainstream Hip Hop fans, does respect from New York respect matter?
That all depends on the type of audience one is attempting to capture. Let’s be completely honest, Drake is at the point in his career where he doesn’t need some sort of certification from New York. Matter of fact, his label mate, who happens to be the biggest rapper of this generation to come from the area, got her career kickstarted in Atlanta. Those not concerned with Hip Hop for Top 40 may still find that New York co-sign extremely important. It’s almost similar to getting C++ certification. Sure, one can have a successful career in programming without sitting in one class. However, having that status sometimes adds a level of prestige. The same goes with New York Hip Hop. Yes, the city isn’t too hot right now in terms of popularity but, something is to be said about the level of creative prestige that comes with being embraced by the city that never sleeps.
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Is Complex’s Justin Charity correct and 2015 Has No Lead Singles?
Ural: Truth be told, there was something fascinating when almost every track from Drake’s surprise February release If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late hit the Billboard charts. Music consumption has definitely changed and artists’ output are reflecting that. One could say this generation of music is becoming streamlined or purpose built. It’s painfully obvious album sales are declining and the best way for artists to survive is to make music that works best for their particular audience. Yes, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly is the best album of the year so far. However, outside of possibly “Alright,” there isn’t a track on that project matching BPM requirements for radio or fits into club conventions. And that’s totally fine. Plus, the album has gone gold and the level of endorsements Lamar has gathered should benefit everyone invested in the Compton rapper. Then again, regardless of how perfect the album is for these fucked up times, the general consuming public can really care less about a rapper who tackles colorism or racism. As this post is written, the funeral of Rev. Clementa Pinckney taking place. And guess what? It’s not trending on Twitter or Google Trends.
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If the homegoing service of one of the Charleston Church Massacre victims isn’t being paid much attention, what makes Lamar or even Lupe’s culturally relevant Tetsuo & Youth any different? However, at the top of Google Trends is Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj. Dense, thought provoking and challenging albums are an acquired taste that many don’t want to invest themselves too much in general. Albums aren’t the priority anymore with the Top 40 crowd. Those invested in bodies of work probably aren’t concerned with radio. This weird consumer dynamic is just another result of the internet. Most importantly, there are better expectations and freedom in how people are consuming music. Nobody expects Fetty Wap or even T-Wayne to have the same artistic clout of either Lupe and Kendrick. “Trap Queen” and “Nasty Freestyle” are commercial and local exercises for the moment. To Wap and T-Wayne, this music shit is a hustle; something one has to respect and enjoy or just dismiss as fluff. For the popular middle-class rappers of today, there’s a luxury of making the type of music that can expand out into something better. Are artists even concerned with selling music anymore? Chance The Rapper could have easily signed to a major record label but decided to release Surf for free on iTunes. The end result was over 600,000 downloads and that’s the most lighthearted rap release this year. Maybe the monetary value in music has evolved from the standard purchase system because those downloads have to be worth something.
Andre: Around the middle of the decade music usually decides which way it wants to go. The previous decade saw Hip Hop choose to move from the gangster-rap or conscious aesthetic established in the previous decade to the suburban rap movement. Three albums led that charge and they all dropped in 2005: Kanye West’s Late Registration, Edan’s Beauty and the Beat and Little Brother’s The Minstrel Show. The two differences those albums championed were a move away from materialistic narcissism to a kind of existential wandering, and a penchant to think that what was happening inside you was just as important as the events happening outside you. That your personal feelings, worries, and laments were as or more important than getting chased to your crib by the cops or dodging stick up kids. In a similar way, I’m predicting this decade has chosen to forgo the radio single for the complex, dense masterwork.
For me this is a worrying dilemma. In my mind it feels like what is “good” and what is “popular” are getting further and further apart. It’s hard to figure what exactly is to blame for this phenomenon. Hip Hop’s top single this year is Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen,” which is more an EDM shot of trap & B than anything that’s really interesting. It “feels good,” and that makes it good, which makes it popular. But the world we live in is wild complicated, and, as Justin pointed out, Kendrick’s To Pimp A Butterfly and Lupe’s Tetsuo & Youth and all the albums like it this year are pointing out those contradictions. Both those albums combined the ‘05 manifesto of the introspective with what’s happening outside. And, let’s face it, these times are rife with complexity and uncertainty. The best artists will always reflect that. But will mainstream radio singles follow suit? What I’m saying is that fans don’t seem to want their complex shit on the radio, and they don’t want their “feel good” shit on albums. God, these are trying times indeed. So while the complicated “Doo Wop (That Thing)” lead single isn’t gone forever, it may be relegated to the #rare pile of popular culture for the next few years.
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Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
Ural Garrett is a Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @Uralg.
