Pete Rock is a Hip Hop veteran and more than qualified to speak on the culture — that’s just a fact. On Thursday (January 9), the celebrated producer hit up Instagram to share the clip of Tory Lanez explaining how “rap is in a horrible place,” a sentiment Rock clearly cosigns.
In the caption, Rock added his own two cents to the argument and lamented the new era of Hip Hop.
“Horrible! This new shit is forced!” he wrote. “No Leadership just Followers! what happened to the actual artist who gave you official inspiration for real to become something in music? for me it was marley marl, teddy riley, howie tee, 45 king, Larry Smith (RIP). This new generation shits on that, leading music to a bad place.
“Where i come from if your talent wasnt for real you had no chance. The music business is built for music people not just any artist, any DJ or any producer. God had to bless you with something real to share with the world in order to be seen or heard your true talent had to shine through.” [apple_news_ad type=”any”]
The Return of the SP1200 mastermind continued by assessing what he feels is the only thing needed for success today — social media presence.
“Today you dont have to have talent no more. just a look, a instagram page or some sort of social media presence or you can also act like an idiot too and get on today,” he added. “Integrity of hip hop is out the window due to greed and thirstyness to be popular. Thats today’s generation. Minus the real dudes yall know who yall are, my 90’s torch bearers and dudes who keep the music real. Even some artist from my generation can be annoying. i got love for them even when they dont show it back to me.
“Mainstream radio sounds really bad and nobody in that world cares about real music anymore. they big up this new shit like its talent involved. Mofo’s hate the truth, and thats a gotdamn shame man. Big up to all real artist who make real music from new to old. Mainstream world [thumbs down emoji].”
Rock is never one to hold his feelings back. Last March, he defended Michael Jackson following HBO’s airing of the controversial Leaving Neverland documentary.
“A True King!!” he wrote on Instagram. “Owned all dat music made you the king of the music industry. They mad at you! Your innocent but even in death they wont leave you alone. The Greatest artist/musician in the world. The King Michael Jackson RIP.”
try #synthhop
Ok Boomer
Wrong Generation dumbass
I FOUND HIM! Here he is Ladies and gents the most ignorant retard in this thread. FACT, 100% of people who use that bullshit straw man response are from the shallowest end of the gene pool
Pete rock a racist old stoner.
He needs to stfu and sit down before i stomp his wack ass
Lol you hate what mans said because you on the mainstream d!ck ride with the rest of these non talented scum. Yo ass aint gonna stomp shit sit down little kid you keyboard warriors with your empty threats smh
I hope you o.d on lean and pills
He will, just wait lol.
That’s cuz rappers these days are too drugged up on pills and lean and sucking each other’s butts to be creative.Bunch of pansy ass gay shit now in hip hop. That’s what corporations are pushing to help us destroy ourselves and y’all are taking the bait. Congratulations,Retards….smh
RealTalk. At least Real Music last forever and remember. Shit this new shit we ain’t gona remembered these artists or folks that jus pick up mics and shit lol jus saying!
He’s not totally wrong though,becoming a celebrity is easier than it has ever been so EVERYTHING is diluted…a social media chef can garner more celebrity than a truly accomplished chef,but if you really love music you will still know how to find the good stuff
Well….he’s not lying. Only a very limited few are leading the new school and those folks aren’t mumble rappers, singing rappers or junkie rappers.
Pete Rock is wrong here. It is time for the old generation to embrace new sounds and new artists. The top 10 list for 2020 now requires a new generation. There is enough space for old and new to coexist in the genre.
This is nothin new: another bitter old timer talkin about how hip hop used to be better back in the 90s and how today’s artists are followers. And what about Kendrick, J. Cole, Big Krit or Joyner Lucas just to name a few?? Are they followers too?? The hypocrisy is huge on this one. Quick reminder: in the 90s most of the rappers jumped on the same bandwagon called “gangsta rap” to pretend they lived a lifestyle on the streets they actually never had! And you call them leaders?? FOH! Today’s rappers are maybe rhyming less and mumbling more but hip hop has never been in such position where it is part of the pop culture now. Which is fuckin fine by me. And this new generation can rhyme their ass off to! Just like the ones I just named before.
None of these replies are listing any leaders that come after Kendrick and JCole
This happens every decade (remember when Nas made Hip Hop is Dead?). If you want higher quality music, you have to search through the underground, just like damn near any other genre.
Exactly. Genres have golden ages, and then essentially all end up becoming pop music. Rock n roll peaked in the late 60s n 70s, then the sub genres were born with artists like Foo Fighters, Metallica, Nirvana… Great bands. But now, Mainstream rock is alternative rock, and alternative rock is POP MUSIC. Mainstream hiphop is HIP POP MUSIC! All genres end up becoming pop! EDM/Dubstep has become POP!
Oh Peter what bitter lemons have thee ingested. Hip Hop is very nuanced and in a very healthy state. Like any industry things change and styles, formats move on. If you do not move or evolve you are forgotten or simply a victim of failing to adapt. Hip Hop currently may not be to everyone’s tastes but my intuition tells me this will be from people still stuck in the 90s. There is plenty to look forward to and we should celebrate each individuals creativity and just because you cannot and relate does not mean it is whack after all art is subjective. God bless you my children and don’t forget to confess your sins. Yours truly archbishop kanye west of canterbury.
Ehhhh…. Today’s hiphop industry is plaques with click bait. It’s all about drama and ci troversy, less about good music. Today’s power producers don’t touch the former power production teams, like the ones on Dres Aftermath, The Neptune’s on Def Jam, ect… U can say we’re just stuck in the past and biased, but think…. From 2000 to 2005 what we had dwarfed today’s talent! We had Eminem, DMX, JayZ, 50 Cent, Nelly, Ja Rule, Ludacris, G Unit, Xzibit, and soooo many others! I don’t think nearly anyone in the mainstream right now it putting out albums with quality like the names I named! I believe hiphop, and music in general, is in its worst state. Am I biased? I don’t think so. The reason I think music is so poor is for a few reasons. First off, the rappers of the past already pushed the controversy envelope as far as you could, so been there done that. Next, back then, to make money, you had to SELL RECORDS. Today, u make money on streams, clicks, and views. So, it doesn’t have to be good enough for someone to pay. It has to garner attention, and that’s it. That’s precisely why 6ix 9ine will be able to get millions of hits when he’s outta jail, and continue a highly succesfull career. Nobody would purchase his albums, but millions will stream. Most kids these days go on Spotify and click “play top 10”. They don’t even know what they are listening too, but simply follow the trends. We’ve always done that with radio to some degree, but again, for an artist to truly make it big, they had to have millions of people go purchase their albums!
You make some valid points no doubt. But it’s just the change in genre more than anything. You just won’t hear 90s rap anymore its a different sound. I could list dozens of new school rappers who are awesome and better than some of the old school ones. We have cole, kendrick, Royce, pusha and many more.
He’s 100% right. Artists have no control and just do what the label instructs them to. That’s why drake has such longevity, he doesn’t follow us trends like American rappers, instead he connected with Canadian and European artists in their own lane. US music is saturated
TheReal
Right on the money. Rappers who crave attention from their followers are not true leaders. You can’t bitch, kick, scream and shout online and be respected the same way as someone who moves calmly and quietly can. Calculated moves and careful releases will always win, but they are few and far between these days.
I used to rock his music back in the day but like all the artists from that era are bitter its easier to sit there and judge the younger rappers which is wrong because Pete Rock never attempted to put out any artists other then himself and honestly his bars was never dope
You do know he really a producer right? I agree there is some bitter heads out there, but you really think hiphop is what it used to be? Do you think music of any genre is what it used to be? It’s not just rap…it’s hard to tell a rap record from an rnb or pop record these days. The “bitter old heads” defense isn’t the answer cuz there’s always been that even when rap was dope. Jesus, people used to call Bone thugs soft in 94-95…think about that shit for a minute and then throw on your local hiphop station. There is no denying the cookie cutter nature of hiphop music right now…make music like everybody else then hit social media to establish yourself
Grand Puba from Brand Nubian wrote ALL HIS VERSES. Pete Rock cannot talk. Who is he leading, really? What example is he tryna be? Pete Rock, along with Talib Kweli, Mysonne, and a couple other “underground” industry niggas shuck and jive for rich white liberals. He leading the people down the same path as whoever he’s dissin. I fucks with pete rocks beats, but he needs to STFU… Word to Sean P!
Your retarded. Wikipedia did not help you sound smarter. If you lived the era, you cannot deny pete rocks place in hip hop.
If you hear the name Pete Rock and the first thing you think about is “bars”, this hip hop shit might not be for you. Stick to pop music little kid.
I know, right?
He’s right Hip hop today is wack probably the worse its ever been. The majority of any decent Hip hop today is underground which get no recognition which is a shame. Not just hip hop is in big decline other things like sports are in decline such as the NBA and wrestling, no one really cares anymore like they use to back in the day. Social media has a lot to do with that.
Past is better, I don’t care what anyone says. Music genres all have golden ages, and surpass them going to pop eventually. Think of Rock n Roll. It’s far past its golden age, from 60s n 70s. Yes, we got dope rock from 80s n 90s too, but not as legendary. Today’s mainstream rap cannot compare to yesterday’s. From 2000-2005 we had: Eminem, Jay-Z, DMX, 50 Cent, Ja Rule, Nelly, Xzibit, Snoop was still making decent music, Dre was active with artists, LUDACRIS was dope…. I love Tupac, Big Pun, ect, but to me, the early 2000s had more legends as a whole. Not that any of them I put over Tupac, but they are still amazing. And DMX… So original, and so legendary! Under appreciated artist. Ppl just listen to his mainstream hits, but it’s his less known music that is killer! Same goes for 50 cent. His underground hits are killer, and better than GRODT!
Very true…I’m a hip hop fan. But if you are not on percocet,lean or some other crap then they don’t want to know. It’s not about being bitter. It’s about having an opinion and Pete’s being around a while. A lot of the stuff I’m hearing now is microwave music. Everyone following everybody because of a certain sound or the over use of autotune .
Today’s rappers lyrics consist of this:
“Barely started, then I farted, sip lean, now retarded, take addies, pop xannies, til I’m wearing lime green panties”It’s this type of slowed down BS homo slurred rhyming style with auto that killing the culture.
In general, mainstream hip hop doesn’t have the quality it used to have in the 90s and until maybe 2010. The more underground kind of rap is still great. If you are able to look a bit deeper than what is on TV and Radio you still find enough great stuff. Every year my playlist is full of good stuff.
Kids are the only ones supporting, so they keep marketing to them…that’s business. All those “real hiphop” motherfuckers be the first to not pay for nothing…
Old head alert! Hey Pete, the golden era was damn near 30 years ago. that’s like being 50 years old in 1990 and saying “what is this rap crap, this music has no soul like Jackie Wilson, it’s not real!” It’s the exact same thing.
Retard Alert. It’s like shitting on the mic while popping Percocets and Mollies with Autotune simultaneously trying to call that music. For one, everyone can do it. And Two, your attempt at substance gets flushed down the toilet with your era of cRap.