What's an album that gave you that feeling?
Not necessarily a bad album, but one where the expectations were through the roof and after the first listen you knew it wasn't going to deliver on all the hype surrounding it.
Hot in Herre by Nelly and In Da Club by 50 Cent.
Both of those songs were on heavy rotation everywhere when I was a young teen.
You get **$**5 mil but there's one catch:
You have to say something genuinely positive about a rapper you absolutely loathe. No backhanded compliments, no sarcasm, no loopholes. You have to actually mean it, or you don't get the bread.
Who's the rapper?
And what positive thing would you say about them?
And by "lucky," I’m not talking about someone who didn’t put in the work. Every successful artist had to sacrifice and be ready for when opportunities came knocking. But let’s be real, talent and hard work aren’t enough on their own. Plenty of incredibly talented artists never get that life changing break.
So who do you think had the perfect combination of talent, timing, opportunity, and circumstances that helped launch them to another level?
At this point, I’m convinced no rapper has a worse digital footprint than Meek Mill.
What the fuck is going on with this man?
LA
Kendrick Lamar
Ice Cube
Snoop Dogg
Schoolboy Q
Ab‑Soul
The Game
Nipsey Hussle
Rass Kass
WC
Blu
Bay Area
Too $hort
E‑40
Mac Dre
Keak Da Sneak
Mistah F.A.B.
The Jacka
Yukmouth
G‑Eazy
Larry June
LaRussell
Which place do you think gave the world the better rappers?
Philly
Black Thought
Beanie Sigel
Meek Mill
Cassidy
Freeway
Eve
Bahamadia
Tierra Whack
Vinnie Paz
Lil Dicky
Jersey
Redman
Ransom
Joe Budden
Naughty by Nature
Queen Latifah
Lauryn Hill
Russ
Lords of the Underground
Arsonal
Crimeapple
I get it wasn't intended to be funny, but whenever I see or think of MC Lyte, I can't help but remember the time she tripped on the stairs as she made her way onto the stage.
She hit the ground hard af, and the drummer just kept playing like he ain’t see shit lol
I wish I could see the footage from the POV of the guy who tried to save her.
I’m genuinely asking here. Because if you look at the resume, Will Smith did some dope things in Hip‑Hop. Him and DJ Jazzy Jeff were literally the first Rap act to win a Grammy and the first Rap act to perform at the Grammys. On top of that, he won more awards over the years and sold something like 35+ million records.
Can we really fault him for going mainstream?
To me, that feels like a brand decision, not a lack of skill. He chose the clean, lane and killed it.
I’m genuinely asking here. Because if you look at the resume, Will Smith did some dope things in Hip‑Hop. Him and DJ Jazzy Jeff were literally the first Rap act to win a Grammy and the first Rap act to perform at the Grammys. On top of that, he won more awards over the years and sold something like 35+ million records.
Can we really fault him for going mainstream?
To me, that feels like a brand decision, not a lack of skill. He chose the clean, lane and killed it.
My pick is N.O.R.E.
Years back I made a post saying I think N.O.R.E. might be one of the lamest rappers ever. To this day I don’t understand why people hype him so much. That post had folks jumping in the comments telling me he’s actually nice, that I needed to revisit the catalog, give the music a second chance etc…
I tried again and I still don’t think he has a single line anyone would quote unless they’re clowning him.
My guy said:
“Ayo we light a candle
Run laps around the English channel
Neptunes, I got a cockerspaniel”
Wtf does that mean?!
Dude also said:
“It goes Indian style, knees bent in dashiki”
Why?!?
Like a verse so bad it made you double check the credits lol
This might be bias because I’m from Tampa and have kicked it with all three members at one point or another, but I genuinely feel like the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League is the dopest producer collective ever.
Outside of Organized Noize, of course and even then, I personally fuck with JL’s music and overall style more.
Those dudes were composing music at a very high level
This might be bias because I’m from Tampa and have kicked it with all three members at one point or another, but I genuinely feel like the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League is the dopest producer collective ever.
Outside of Organized Noize, of course and even then, I personally fuck with JL’s music and overall style more.
Those dudes were composing music at a level that felt larger than life.
I’m from Jersey but I live in Tampa now, and when I first moved down here in the mid 2000s I kept getting into heated debates with people about which rappers were actually good. It was a real culture shock to see how different the taste was. Folks down here did not care for a lot of the rappers I consider top‑tier. Like at all.
My circle of friends at the time didn’t care for Jadakiss. A lot of them didn’t care for Nas. Nobody liked Lloyd Banks. But they were huge fans of Goodie Mob, who I never heard of at that point, T.I., 8Ball & MJG, Field Mob and a bunch of other Southern acts.
That’s when I realized music is wildly subjective. Acts that are legendary in one region barely registered in another. And no one is wrong, shit is just different.
Also, for the record, I’m glad my family moved to the South. I probably wouldn’t have appreciated a lot of the Hip‑Hop I love today if it weren’t for this. Living here really changed what I consider “great”.
I’ve recently been working on broadening my knowledge and appreciation of West Coast music. I've listened to many of the major singles, a few albums by Pac, Xzibit's first five albums, a couple of Mack 10 albums, one DJ Quik album, a majority of Dilated Peoples’ catalogue and The Game's first five albums. I'm not sure who to explore next.
Any suggestions?
Oh and I have heard and I like a lot of Problem's music. He goes by Jason Martin now, but still.
It’s wild how often people jump online with “free [rapper]” the moment someone gets arrested, even when the charges are pretty fucking serious.
My niece’s boyfriend posted “Free Durk” because his trial just started. I asked him why he wants someone with Durk’s criminal record freed. ESPECIALLY when his most recent arrest has him being held without bond for allegedly orchestrating a murder for hire that led to an innocent person losing their life.
Like bruh whether he’s guilty or innocent, why would you want someone involved in a situation that serious to just be free?
It’s crazy how many people defend artists and honestly all types of celebrities no matter what they’re accused of. At what point does loyalty turn into ignoring reality?
I was listening to Aquemini earlier and got hit with a weird mix of emotions. On one hand, it sucks that OutKast broke up. They’re very easily the greatest Hip-Hop duo to ever exist, and they gave us six incredible albums with some of the most timeless music the genre has ever seen.
On the other hand, I’m weirdly grateful that their split didn’t turn into beef, diss tracks, or any public bullshit. They just grew apart. Most partnerships in Hip-Hop end ugly, but not this one.
Which is dope because if 3 Stacks decides to rap again, another OutKast album doesn’t feel far‑fetched
I feel like people know Cash Money’s $30M Universal deal was epic, but I don’t think folks really understand how lopsided that contract actually was.
Cash Money kept 85% of the profits, owned all their masters, had full creative control, and even kept their branding and artwork. Universal basically just shipped the records out. That’s it. Which is insane when you think about how labels usually operate.
But even with only a 15% cut, Universal was still earning MAD money. Cash Money/Young Money artist were selling an insane amount of records.
It’s kinda surprising that they fell out, but honestly I feel like a lot of the praise for those six albums isn’t really warranted.
A good chunk of that music was mid at best.