I’m mostly talking about artists and producers who molded the next generation. Not just through influence, but by hands on guidance/mentorship, and providing opportunities that opened doors.

When it comes to reach and sales, Jaÿ-Z is certainly a major figure in hip-hop. But when it comes to the stylistic evolution of the genre, I don’t think much of him.

To me, he’s simply ‘hip-pop’. He’s found a formula that appeals to the masses. That’s an achievement, of course. But neither his flow nor his sound are in any way special, nor have they advanced hip-hop as an art form.

Perhaps I’m quite alone in this opinion. Nor is this meant to be an attack. I’m curious to know what you think?

Title

Oldhead here, so apologies. I came up loving rap in the era of XXL and The Source, which for me was the best way to discover new music. I’m much older now, but I’m still deep into music. I feel like I have at least one magazine for each of my genre interests — Decibel for Metal, MOJO for “classic” rock, etc etc — but I can’t seem to find one for rap. There was OG Press magazine for like a half second and I loved it, but then it died. I don’t wanna be at the mercy of the algo, and Fantano is a fucking assclown. I like Sam Bucked Up and Passion of the Weiss, but is there any semi-regular publication I should be getting on? Street Dreams was another one I liked that seemed to have stopped. Anyway: would love some suggestions.

Basically they built up a good or great buzz but ruined it by not dropping in time, not dropping at all, or when they did drop the project was a massive let down.

Being a secular artist honestly has to be hell on earth sometimes.
I remember when “Grippy” by J. Cole came out, my friend sent it to me. I first heard it back in 2024, and I didn’t read any comments or reactions at the time. I just listened to the song for what it was. (I havent heard Cole in a minute)
I’m not even the biggest Cole fan, but I honestly didn’t think the song was bad. To me, it sounded like he adapted to the times and was just making a fun, catchy song like a lot of artists do. The song is about sex, it’s catchy, and he found a flow for it. I really didn’t see the big problem.
Fast forward to today, I listened to it again, then I finally started reading the comments, and I was kind of in disbelief seeing how many people were trashing Cole for it.
It made me think: are artists not allowed to have fun anymore?
Because honestly, if Young Thug made that exact same song, I don’t think people would have reacted the same way. If Drake made it, I definitely don’t think people would have reacted like that. People would probably just say it’s a fun record.
It feels like fans put artists in a box. They complain when somebody keeps making the same type of music and say, “Switch it up, do something different.” Then when the artist actually switches it up, those same people are like, “What are you doing? Go back to the old you.”
At some point it’s like… what do people actually want?
I get everybody has their own taste, and you don’t have to like the song. But sometimes it feels less about the music and more about people already deciding what an artist is “allowed” to make.

I feel alot of opinions are emotionally driven and group thinking.

After Wiz dropped his collab mixtape with mgk "blog era boyz" I been seeing multiple comments about Wiz that I did not see coming

Hating Wiz Khalifa? He the most humble rapper from the 2010s

Zero ego problems, chill dude who is almost never in controversy (except smoking weed in illegal countries), great family man, great melodic rapper when he chooses to be he also solid for the singing type he does

But anyways, I see that he "did mac Miller dirty" or "sold out"

So im wondering, why tf is this being said? Hating Wiz is like hating SpongeBob like why?

Edit: man some of you really annoyed by Wiz and his weed. And you really tryna find reasons to hate

After moving to Tampa, I’ve heard a lot of people talk about Tom G as a local standout.

Apparently he performed at the BET Awards some years back or something like that

Everyone seems to be mad at them when their favorite artists dont win and claim they're all rigged/bought/scripted/meaningless, but when their favorite artists win, they use it as a flex and a personal 'record' in the industry

There used to be lots of hate against the Grammys. I.e Kendricks fans said it was rigged but when he won all those awards for Not Like Us they flexed it on everyone also

Also to this day people are mad about Michael Jacksons album (Bad) being snuffed at the Grammys. And understandably so imo

What are your thoughts on the Grammys and the controversies surrounding the credibility of the awards?

People's taste change over time so I don't want to pretend I'm the first to say it. But I like Jay-Z's verses more on Renegade. Maybe because I'm older now and have been disenchanted by Eminem (not disrespecting his work)

I'm not a Jay-Z glazer either, I always thought he was overrated even as a kid and as an adult I still find his "I'm a pimp/drug dealer" songs unlistenable, but I feel like Renegade is actually an example of Jay-Z being on his game.

La Reezy, Coast Contra, McKinley Dixon, Norman Sann, Myles Bullen, Jarv, JZAC... And I guess Marlon Craft. Haven't heard too much of him but what I have sounds pretty good. Chris Patrick and Saba also seem to fit but I've only heard a few songs and could use recommendations if there are any particular songs I should hear.

Thanks in advance for connecting me (and maybe others in the sub with similar taste) with new artists.

A while back I posted asking for your opinion on who was the Beatles of hip hop, and I was given so much homework. Thank you.

My next question.... Kendrick Lamar, he was the first rapper to win a Pulitzer prize so I plan to go down that rabbit hole. Any specific place I should start besides his discography?

And what other artists like him should I check out?

Many thanks in advance

The 3rd Verse podcast made an interesting observation. As they were discussing the recent Lupe statements on Kendrick, they stated that some rappers are evolutions of other artists. By evolution, they took the vision that artist had further and became much more successful.

Claim being made:

Kendrick is the evolution of Lupe Fiasco.

J Cole is the evolution of Common.

And they didn’t say this, but following this logic, Drake would be the evolution of Kanye. Drake took the elements Kanye made mainstream - breaking away from gangster rap and taking it to a more vulnerable, emotional direction, which Drake took much farther.

What are your thoughts on this concept? And do you agree with the comparisons between these artists?

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I've not been a big fan of either (not saying they're not good) but their recent songs slap. Just wanna know how they started collaborating and all cause I feel like Max B prolly didn't know FM when he went to prison, right?

What is the hardest hitting lyric you've ever heard?

One or two-liner, no full verses.

Edit: Automod seems to be nuking the more vulgar lyrics. Consider censoring the more offensive ones

He’s literally not even close lol.

Is there anywhere that I can read vintage rap magazines online? Outside of the internet archive, it’s hard to find a lot of digitized articles.

The Source, Blaze, Scratch etc. for reference

Thanks all

I’m talking about the joints that feel timeless.

For me, the best example is “Feel It in the Air” by Beanie Sigel. It dropped in 2005, right in the midst of the mid 2000s trend of snap music, synth beats, and all that other gimmicky shit.

A lot of those records didn’t age great, but this one stood the test of time in my opinion.