Erick Sermon has never been one to bite his tongue when it comes to his thoughts on Hip Hop. Now, the Green Eyed Bandit weighs in on the industry at large, saying that Hip Hop has lost its sense of artistsic balance.
In a recent interview with ThisIs50, the EPMD/Def Squad double threat said that the mainstream market has become overly saturated by one single style of Hip Hop. The legendary Sermon explained that this lack of sonic balance in the industry is hurting new artists’ chances at breaking into the game and achieving success.
“Right now, like I said before, I think that we don’t have a balance in the industry,” he explained. “I’m not claiming to be the mad rapper neither, I feel like right now we just have one side. You have people like 50 [Cent] and [Lloyd] Banks…and Lupe Fiasco who fought so hard to get that Hip Hop to where [they] wanted it to be so [they] can do what [they] wanted to do and [they] won that way…we don’t have a balance right now, everything’s one sided. All the new Hip Hop kids who want to rhyme and the producers who want to make beats…they feel there’s no place for them because no one’s picking them up. I feel like there is a lane that needs to be filled up and somebody needs to open their mouths so we can get creativity and balance back in music.”
Check out the full interview below.
So true
So false. If anything, there’s more of a balance than ever with Drake, B.O.B., J. Cole, Whiz Khalifa, Kanye West. Common is still around. Kendrick Lamar is coming.
You stupid and you smell like POOTED!!!
stop smoking crack…..its making you think that the music of today is good
I completely agree with you, but your selection of artists is so off. Maybe those are the mainstream guys who represent the balance – and I’d definitely include Kanye and Kendrick – but look at how many different styles there are now. W/e or not you like OF, theyre doin their thing, A$AP/Scuba, the south w/ KRIT and Curren$y, Add+ is bringin back outkast, and Shabazz Palaces is doin all kinds of crazy. Bronson is killin it 90’s style, and Das Racist/BBu are still bein weird as ever.
IF IT WAS A TRUE BALANCE IT WOULD B DRAKE, ACTION BRONSON, WAYNE, ROC MARCIANO, BOB, JEEZY, SLAUGHTERHOUSE, BOLDY JAMES & BIG KRIT ALL IN THE SAME RADIO ROTATION EVERYDAY. THAT IS NOT THE CASE.
@BradZuk
Bruh, I think what Erick is tryin’ to say is that mainstream hip hop has no balance. People know who I’m talking about if I drop a name like Wiz, but probably less a chance they would recognize Big KRIT.
yea, i actually completely disagree. I feel like theres more balance and variety now than there’s basically ever been. If theres a period that can compare… it may only be the golden era, 88-92, so perhaps it looks shitty to him. But honestly, the game for mainstream rap is pretty much dead. All the mid-decade heavyweights are clingin to life (ie. jeezy, cam’ron, wayne, etc) while the new guys… following in Kanye’s footsteps for the most part, are makin it. The last two years has seen so many new artists doin it in so many different ways. Maybe they havent all hit big yet, but the parity in the genre is allowing for a whole lot of amazing new tunes.
U DON’T GET IT BRO.
I’M REPLY 2 WHATCHU SAID DOWN THERE. ALL THOSE PEOPLE U NAMED ARE NOT ON MAINSTREAM RADIO GETTING ROTATION. U ARE CONFUSING WHAT MUSIC U GET ON THE WEB AS BEING A BALANCED INDUSTRY.
We got balance…..With Tyga,Big Sean,Waka Flocka Flame,Roscoe Dash,French Montana,Future,Drake,Nicki Minaj,Gucci,Rick Ross,Lil Wayne,YG,Wale,Meek Mill,and ASAP Rocky…The future of Hip Hop never seemed any brighter…swag
13 LETTERS YMCMB OVOXO MMG
Wow…People like you make E Sermon’s words sound prophetic. Most of the artists that you named are exactly what’s wrong with hip-hop right now.
CORRECT LIQUID. ALL THOSE NAMED RAP OVER THE SAME SOUNDIN’ BEATS AND HAVE QUITE SIMILAR RAP STYLES AND CONTENT. NOT BALANCE.
Once again So icy boi (btw he loves dick) proves that he is nothing but a stupid troll with a shitty opinion on music, please do the world a favour and jump off a cliff?
a y’all…don’t even pay ‘so icy boi’ a bit of attention. i bet he’s a CIA agent posting this shit to help twist these young, weak-minded folks’ minds. think that can’t happen?!
U COMMENTATORS ARE THE 1ST ONES TO SAY LYRICISM DOESN’T SELL. THE 1ST TO IMPLY YMCMB IS RUNNIN’ THE GAME. THE 1ST TO SAY NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR THE OL’ HEADS. THE 1ST TO SAY A RAPPER NEEDS A LEX LUGER BEAT TO B HOT. THEN U SAY THE GAME IS BALANCED?
as long as old white guys are controlling what the public get to hear on the radio and videos on tv,there will be no balance.they dumbing everything down,have been for years.most people eating it up.garbage
Rap games hijacked – Ice -T – Return of the real
(shaking my head)
Man it’s a gang of stupid remedial niggas in the world and all of them comment to articles.
How the FUCK can the game be balanced right now when you name off the same sucka ass niggas who sound the same and rap about the same nothing getting radio spins and primetime video time?
Like someone said below…this BALANCE pertains to radio and video i.e. MAINSTREAM markets, channels, venues, etc. This would equal such if this was equally spread out and played on such:
Roc Marciano, Drake, Wu-Tang Clan, Madlib, DOOM, Jeezy, B.O.B., Lupe Fiasco, Slaughterhouse, Elzhi, Random Axe, Kanye West
See. That’s a gang of diversified shit. Equally played. Equally spread. I don’t listen to Drake and B.O.B. cause they are softer than baby shit on top of a pillowtop matress floating on a cloud but someone else does. It would be something for everybody…not just this same rehashed recycled microwave bullshit.
I don’t listen to the radio and watch videos. There is a huge reason. And it’s exactly what Erick Sermon speaks.
real talk
Co-sign. When all the rappers you mentioned start getting equal exposure, thats when I will start listening to radio and tv again.
we got a balance you old azz niggaz. swag
Nicki Minaj – hardcore hip hop
Waka Flocka Flame – gangsta rap (juss like Pac)
Lil Wayne – classic hip hop, alternative rock, hard rock, blues rock
Rick Ross – mafioso rap
Drake – alternative hip hop, soul
Tyler, the Creator – horrorcore
Lil B – ol school hip hop
Soulja Boy – original
Tyga – party rap
Gucci Mane – Southern hip hop
T-Pain – r&b/soul
Raekwon – East Coast hip hop
^^^^ You bugging out right?
GTFOH with that list…there is NO diversity in the public eye. Similar sounds and styles these days unless you bump the underground stuff hardbody.
Erick came up when Big Daddy Kane, CMW, NWA, Too Short, ATCQ, EPMD, Redman, Wu, LL, Common, 2 Live Crew could all come out and SELL and there were different things popping off. Not anymore.
Your a fuckin faggot.
Your a fuckin faggot
Again,@ So Icy Boi,U are a non rao undastandin,clueless fuckin FAGGOT dawg,strate up
you only got raekwon right you idiot
you’re a fag for including raekwon on that list
give the man credit he’s obviously a comedian. He just said Nicky Minaj is a hardcore mc! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So Icy Boi: Resident Troll.
Don’t feed the trolls, people.
Black Hippy’s
They have to turn this shit around
(Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Ab Soul, Schoolboy Q)
F*ck all these swag-ass non talented fake MC’s (o well, these punks aint no mc’s…a bunch of hippop rappers)
Respect 2 the Green Eyed Bandit
Real Hip Hop stand up!
I think Chuck D said it best…the BIG THREE MG’s have their hand so low to the streets that they can mute almost anyone who doesn’t fit their mold of musician. Less than 20% of their revenue comes from music sales anyway…they just like being in control.
That’s what I want to do Erick. I want to give those artist who want to preserve the essence of Hip Hop & get back to that lyrical street shit. I’m sick of this kids bop (hip hop) it’s so one sided, couldn’t have said it better. If I can get the opportunity to watch out, I plan to shake this game up (for better).
As much as I love EPMD & Erick, I have to disagree. There’s so much diversity you just need to look on the internet. Where you can simultaneously find something you love & something you hate. As much as I like EPMD, Erick is saying something tons of older MC’s like KRS and Chuck D have been saying, it’s gettin boring really fast. You can’t tell me 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar are similar to Nicki Minaj each of them have a different sound.
No, I can’t. That would require me listening to really bad music…and no human with a Y chromosome should be listening to Nicki Minaj
Problem is… only the die hard hip hop heads check the sites for new talent. The masses still get it from radio and BET. I publish a hip hop magazine and people ask where do I find these artists at? I’m talking about artists like Little Brother.
So yes there is a diversity but there’s a whole lot of people who don’t read hip hop blogs. Don’t search for new shit… don’t realize they’re being fed the same shit over and over…
@New Shit
Again, I think your missing the entire point of the what Erik is tryin’ to say.
What do you see/hear exactly on tv/radio?
Do you hear them bumpin’ someone like Freddie Gibbs? KRIT? Naw man!
He talkin’ about MAINSTREAM. Key word “mainstream”. Mainstream doesn’t apply to 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar. If they don’t got as much general recognition as Drake or anyone in Cash Money in matter of fact then they ain’t MAINSTREAM!
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Eric Sermon is a fruit cake. Go get that Lil B “I’m Gay”. Based God out.
Erick is spot on. Hip Hop is seriously lacking musical diversity and If you have to crawl around the internet like sewer rats, just to find dope hip hop then Its an even more serious problem.
Wale, BOB, Drake, J Cole all make the same dumbed down music catered towards masses of girls and kids always willing to pay for anything thrown at them. If you decide not to make that trash then you face heavy opposition from major labels who actively block people and engage in payola schemes. I should be able to tune into daytime radio or music channels and not be subjected to marathons of nikki minaj or gucci mane wannabes.
If one were to put It into context of the 80’s/90’s, imagine no 2pac, ATCQ or Naughty By Nature on radio/tv, instead MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice was being played b2b, 24hrs day. That would have been enough for anyone to kill themselves at that time.
Word.
The rap game’s been changing. I used to watch a lot of music videos back in the day when I was much younger, mid-late 90’s/early-mid 00’s. I might be biased growing up in those times, but I sure remember em music videos/songs being much better.
J.Cole got some AIGHT shit. I ain’t hatin on that dude.
I’ve never heard any Action Bronson or Big Krit songs. There’s still an underground where hundreds of artists struggle to break into the mainstream. If Drake of all people, with his weird mix of rap and r&b can sell millions, then that means there is more of a musical balance than ever. He’s outselling gangsta rappers who used to dominate the marketplace. I think Sermon, like alot of the old school cats, is jealous of what is accepted now. The Keith Murrays’, Redmans’, Shyheims’, P. Smiths’ of the world are the one’s who can’t break through with their ideas anymore.
Why be jealous? A lot of the stuff that is acceptable now sounds the same and shouldnt be accepted or tolerated. Hes right there is no balance you could see that on the radio. Club hit after club hit. When’s the last time the radio played a real street anthem?
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I think his right. Every thing right sounds like either Lil Wayne or Kanye West, people don’t have their own style anymore.
You know what he is so dagg right, that why hip hop has become so boreing period, all of it sound’s the same and everybody talking abou the samething, these days all trashs
So what if it sounds the same? Go back to the time where EMPD was popular. Everything sounded the same then too. That was neither a good or bad thing. He’s jealous because despite his contributions, he’s basically a footnote now. Somebody people might remember, but no longer care about. It’s hard for a guy like him who clearly had success to admit that today there is no “head banger” or “hittin switches” songs being played on the radio. Does that mean today’s songs are crap because they aren’t made in the same vein Sermon made them? Don’t be foolish. The reason club songs are popular and in most cases sound the same is because familiar or not, people react to them. People download them. Come on. This is as simple as it gets.
Naw e doubles right there should be more than just club shit on the radio. There should also be street anthems and consious shit there. And like chuck d said local stations should play local niggas. I don’t think these niggas is jealous their just sick of seeing a lot of dope niggas getting shut out the game by fucked up politics
Greed, and like Eric said an unequal balance.
When EPMD were popular there was mad diversity. Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, LL, ATCQ, Gangstarr, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre just to name a few. You can’t tell me all the rappers I mentioned were running around with the same style of hip hop, can u? Use your common sense, It was called the Golden Era for a reason.
Do you really think anyones going to look back at the past 5-7 years of public viewed hip hop and be proud to call It a time they around for? Why must Erick be jealous when stating hard truth that acts like Kendrick Lamar,REKS,Phonte,Elzhi etc are not recieving anywhere near the same level of radio play or TV exposure as BOB, Rick Ross, Nikki Minaj, Lil Wayne etc.
Local rappers do get played all the time in their respective regions. One Ex: The Bay. Problem is when these dudes albums drop they don’t even chart. Street anthems are a thing of the past. They may make for a stand out joint on an album, but the club songs are the one’s that get radio play, downloaded a million times, generate ringtones, and can often times help an album go platinum. E Double is thinking from an old school, naive perspective, which surprises me cause he had success. He may not go down as a top 10 or 20 MC, but he’s survived alot longer than most, so just appreciate hip hop for what it is today, and the many directions it’s going in.
Who are some of these “dope” rappers who are supposedly getting shut out? These days, everybody gets put on in some way, so to me, if a rapper allows himself to stay down, or get shut out, then he’s not doing a good enough job making music. It’s one thing to be under appreciated, and another to be like Ras Kass, who has been shut out for years for the simple fact he’s mismanaged his career. Should he be on the radio 24/7?
Kendrick lamar, action bronson, elzhi, big krit just to name a few. These dudes get no radio play and deserve it.
Well here in denver if you ain’t known on mtv and shit you gets no radio play. It doesn’t matter how much buzz you got if you ain’t internationaly known ymcmb, mmg, good music you don’t get any recognition. And the same problem is in a lot of states.