Jim Jones has offered an explanation as to why New York City Hip Hop hasn’t been at the forefront when it comes to regional sounds.
During a visit to Maino’s Kitchen Talk The Podcast, the Dipset Capo reflected on New York City’s positioning in the rap game and how the attitude of the city has also hurt it as well. According to Jones, New Yorkers have the mentality of always wanting to be the best and not working with others.
“New York has been at a state of emergency when it came to our place in Hip Hop for a long time, we’ve been in last place,” he said. “One of the reasons is because we all know what New York is about everybody wants to be the man. Every few years it’s one person that’s unanimously New York.”
He continued: “Jay would have it, Puffy would have it, Nas would have it. Then when 50 came out, 50 had it. It goes in those cycles. It’s never been a united thing where everybody is helping each other to become unanimously that man.”
Jim Jones’ comments have been a topic of discussion for years amongst New Yorkers. The city had suffered from an identity crisis ever since Hip Hop music began to spread across the nation in the early to mid-2000s.
Diddy spoke on something similar when he visited Hot 97 and gave a public service announcement to the Big Apple. According to Puff, it was time for the city to reclaim its throne.
“New York, we’re in last place,” Diddy said. “I’m here to tell y’all, and that shit comes to an end today. We’re gonna start doing us. The way you hear the beat in your head, do you. The way you move, do you. The way you dress, do you. Don’t be doing them, God bless them.”
He continued: “A New York cat is not supposed to be following nobody nowhere for nothing. Because we come from a rich culture of artists and designers and creatives. New York was always leaders, and we don’t blend in, b. We from New York, the fuck?”
Diddy echoed a similar sentiment during his interview with The Breakfast Club last month where he specifically addressed the influence of trap and drill — sub-genres synonymous with Atlanta, Chicago and London — on New York Hip Hop.
“I’m here to deliver a message to New York artists,” Puff began. “We have to press the hard reset button and get back to being us. I love that we know how to rap on trap beats, I love that we know how to rap on drill beats from London, but what are we rapping on that’s coming out of this city? I don’t want to sit back and see my city stay in last place and keep on following what everyone else is doing.”
He added: “We the swag, we the alpha, you know what I’m saying? The alpha and omega, we started it. And no disrespect to nobody else, we should be competing from New York in a way you have to figure out, ‘Ok, this is what’s going, that’s going on. How am I gonna produce something that makes our people move so we could do us?'”
New York has been last place because of garbage rappers and weed carriers like himself, Red Cafe, Maino, Tony Gayo and other garbage watering down the quality of music!!!
lol. Red Cafe is that bad ?? What about Fab…..
Jones needs to explain why he’s so scared to take a damn shower; smelly bastard…
Soap scary…..hisssssssssss!!!!!!
Glad they’re finally admitting it. NY started chasing trends in early 2000’s and never stopped. Meanwhile the South, West, and Midwest kept their identity even with a modernized sound.
New York dudes are doing drill music.
We’re followers now. Dudes just want the money and don’t give a fawk about the damage left behind.
Seems like NY has more veterans than new blood. I can’t name a memorable NY artist from the last 5 years, other than Pop Smoke–and that’s was because of his death. Where your stars at?
Dave East came and went..he was supposed to be that man
but he still relevant thou
NY music fell off because lyricism and punchlines dont sound good in a club. As hip hop became more and more mainstream, your top songs gotta be club songs. Thats why Griselda Records cant seem to duplicate what the Wu-Tang Clan did 30 years ago. Same type of music, different era.
facts. Real talk OG…
But NY is known for making club bangers too. 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Ja rule, DMX all where known to make club bangers… the issue is a lack of New producers and DJ’s coming out the city and as far as the artist about 10 years before New York fell off there was nothing but older season rappers in NY that knew the music business well so they wasn’t getting jerk by the label (if anything they got to a point were they was jerking the labels lol) so they labels went in search of other markets that had plenty of young rappers that does not know the business
Nope it’s because New York keep following the trend from different areas. First they copied the south and now they copying chicago drill!! Need get back to being creative and doing what they do best! Cole, Kendrick, and Nas etc all still go platinum! Why because they keep it original! Bringing their own unique sound to the table! So punchlines and bars is not the problem! If anything that’s what the people wanna hear!
All I listen to are veteran rappers from New York so they’re never in last place in my mind. Maybe in the mainstream but fuck mainstream music. New York rap is gritty and not made for the radio most of the time. If anything I feel like there’s been a resurgence in New York rap the past couple years.
New York doesn’t have it’s own swagger no more they even follow U.K. rappers now wow. NY sound like U.K. and Atlanta now.
Joey Badass… hope everybody saw his performance at last months BETs’ of Head High’ that last speech was powerfull, thats HIP HOP for yall
I did…best sleep I’ve gotten in months.
Griselda AND 38 spesh took over hip-hop in NY and these borough niggas are mad, that’s all it is.
I hate the Conway and Benny’s beats. Production is shitty and boring af.
Wow. I’ve been saying this for years. I grew up in NY, the 70s-80s the pinnacle of hip hop and I hate it here now. No originality, no substance, no identity. NY hip hop is just trash. I am not knocking Nas, one of my favorite artist, but with all the newcomers in the game, why is his album smashing theirs? Maybe these new artists need to follow Nas’ blueprint🤷🏿
The problem is the age disconnect. Old heads want the old sound. Shorties want the drill. When NY as a collective decides what their next sound is going to be, people might listen.
New York rappers fell off because they was the first group of artist pushing the independent route they did not want to deal with the record labels anymore. In the early 2000’s before the southern wave majority of the major rappers in NY were seasons and knew the music business well. The labels said F NYC and went looking for different markets like ATL were the artist were young and naive. It’s not rocket science record labels make rap stars NY artist got too arrogant and thought they did not need the labels anymore
it’s also because new york niqqas is actin like bitches and your bitches is actin like niqqas…GACTS!!!