inspoeater

2mo

I mean the premise of what Drake said about Kendrick is this

And while I love Kendrick and think he’d be a relevant force in rap without the pitchfork white critic love

These past few years since 2012-2016 and s*** like the Washington politician kufi pic lol , the climate is more ripe than ever for a revolutionary rapper to take over again bc of the factors Drake brings up/implies with Kendrick even if Drake himself didnt really say it the right way with the slave line

Its just that they gotta also have a true following organically with niggas/black people in their city it cant be white hipsters primarily gassing you and it “work” and no one really been able to pull off doing both of those except kendrick. Thats why lil baby bigger picture seemed like an exciting moment lol

@BRAVE had a great post on this one time about street energy vs revolutionary energy in rap and how we pivoted waaaay into street energy when at one time it was both lol

ineedabaker

2mo

pac was the perfect medium imo. after he died, the street energy takeover began

inspoeater

2mo

what if the street takeover began because of pac or at least he was the tipping point of the two directions battling for control lol

1996 BRL

2mo

For the most part music needs to get 'white' support to be successful but then you have to wonder, could a true hip hop revolutionary ever blow up?

If a 'white' person likes a 'slave movie' then it wasn't truthful enough type beat

I'm a big fan of 'that somewhat conscious nigga' but if we keep it a bean
He industry af with a lot of these brand partnerships he been doing
I doubt he'd ever go all the way and stick his fist up to the point 'white' people would genuinely be offended

Success in music via traditional pathways required these folks to sell out their values on some level, even a loosely pro Palestine rapper gon perform a concert sponsored by some company making food for the IDF or something

The story of niggas in the Western world has been tied to struggle so obviously there will be some conscious type rappers but hip hop was initially about having fun, Melle Mel was addicted to coke when he made White Lines

Valentine

2mo

the mythical black dollar niggas love to talk about has never trickled down

I randomly decided to look at the career earnings of the top NBA players in 2010, and of the top 20, only 3 weren’t black.

The rest, collectively, salaries added up to like ~ $4billion IN 2010

mr get dough

2mo

De La Soul Is Dead 1991

yungcartier

2mo

HipHop has always been the trendsetter genre first and foremost

Rap was about party music until “The Message” dropped but Rap didn’t sell well until Kurtis Blow got the first Gold rap record in the early 80s

The truth is the revolutionary/black power wave was just a trend reflecting on the post-Black Panther/Civil Rights era where a lot of 80s rapper grew up in but again Rap is commercialized like every other genre, if rappers are selling records by rapping about gangsta s*** and hoes, best believe other rappers are following suit unless they somehow break the mold or are satisfied with being underground because most are about making money at the end of the day

Just look at Pac for example, he made socially conscious songs but his biggest records are his gangsta rap s*** cuz that was the trend at the time.

Valentine

2mo

Notice how only one NBA player owns a team

It’s a reason it’s Mav’s name on this and not LeBron’s

Little do most people know, it’s built into their contracts that they can never fully own a team

Ron Mexico

2mo

Bron built an empire outta his areas greatest hustlers

Then non-compete clauses be having reasons

ineedabaker

2mo

pac was the perfect medium imo. after he died, the street energy takeover began

Bobby_96

2mo

De La Soul is interesting because they used to constantly try to call out s*** they didn't like in rap.

They were calling out having a flashy and materialistic image that labels expected out of hip hop on their debut in 1989.

Calling out labels trying to pigeonhole them and other rappers in certain boxes and stifling their creativity on De La Soul Is Dead.

Calling out the proliferation and corporate push of gangsta rap on Stakes Is High.

And calling out the "Bling/Shiny Suit" rap era on Art Official Intelligence.

Some people labeled them "bitter" but they always kept it 100 with how they felt about modern mainstream rap at a given time.

Mr Sting

2mo

Just look at the crowds of most rappers nowadays at festivals

You really think it would be the same if they were talking conscious pro black s***? These dudes are more interested in seeing kids mosh and would gladly sacrifice having a message in their music to achieve that. Hip hop is popular which in turn makes it pop music or at least pop music adjacent.

We also have to accept we live in a different society rn. Most kids don’t really want to just listen to music that talks about race and inequality all day when everything outside of music is already doing that. We have to accept some forms of entertainment as just that, entertainment. Rappers shouldn’t have to be philosophers if they don’t want to be.

Bobby_96

2mo

De La Soul is interesting because they used to constantly try to call out s*** they didn't like in rap.

They were calling out having a flashy and materialistic image that labels expected out of hip hop on their debut in 1989.

Calling out labels trying to pigeonhole them and other rappers in certain boxes and stifling their creativity on De La Soul Is Dead.

Calling out the proliferation and corporate push of gangsta rap on Stakes Is High.

And calling out the "Bling/Shiny Suit" rap era on Art Official Intelligence.

Some people labeled them "bitter" but they always kept it 100 with how they felt about modern mainstream rap at a given time.

Mr Sting

2mo

Just look at the crowds of most rappers nowadays at festivals

You really think it would be the same if they were talking conscious pro black s***? These dudes are more interested in seeing kids mosh and would gladly sacrifice having a message in their music to achieve that. Hip hop is popular which in turn makes it pop music or at least pop music adjacent.

We also have to accept we live in a different society rn. Most kids don’t really want to just listen to music that talks about race and inequality all day when everything outside of music is already doing that. We have to accept some forms of entertainment as just that, entertainment. Rappers shouldn’t have to be philosophers if they don’t want to be.

1996 BRL

2mo

it is sad when you find out even the conscious/seemingly pro-black niggas are slimey too

this type of stuff just ain't right, gotta question the whole movement when the face of conscious hip hop (Chuck D) ends up working as a government ambassador

dude claimed he was dropping knowledge yet he working with Cop Adams

when I saw Nelly complaining about folks being mad at him working with Trump i wasn't mad because i had a feeling he'd be ignorant
but seeing niggas flip flop on their stances is waaay worse

i respect that EL-P didn't accept the white house invite even though Killer Mike did

Valentine

2mo

This the same nigga who said he didn’t like that hiphop became about sales and that what Kanye and 50 were doing to hiphop isn’t good as it was happening

Valentine

2mo

This the same nigga who said he didn’t like that hiphop became about sales and that what Kanye and 50 were doing to hiphop isn’t good as it was happening

inspoeater

2mo

He was right and can still be funny in the light for his current moves lol

Mr Sting

2mo

Just look at the crowds of most rappers nowadays at festivals

You really think it would be the same if they were talking conscious pro black s***? These dudes are more interested in seeing kids mosh and would gladly sacrifice having a message in their music to achieve that. Hip hop is popular which in turn makes it pop music or at least pop music adjacent.

We also have to accept we live in a different society rn. Most kids don’t really want to just listen to music that talks about race and inequality all day when everything outside of music is already doing that. We have to accept some forms of entertainment as just that, entertainment. Rappers shouldn’t have to be philosophers if they don’t want to be.