Underground Hip Hop

[flowerpower]

Lets take it back: Natural Elements?, Artifaks?, L Swift........., someone said Lords of the Underground, Kool Keith, Pharaoh Monch, Afu Rah, Boot Camp, and it goes on.
IMO, Hip Hop (underground and mainstream) peaked in the 90's. Todays artist have different influences that we had back then. The 'art' has been lost.
I remember tape recording Stretch and Bobbito and WNYU and listening to freestyle sessions on the radio that went on til the wee hours of the morning.
That was when Hip Hop was young, fresh and untouched. Now she's got 8 kids, 5 baby daddies and she hangs low like a turkey neck.

 

[cichlid fiend]

Myspace/sophimore

Or google "Fursun"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1bDm4ttOYM

 

[Nic]

it should stay underground...

 

[gobucks1]

Lets take it back: Natural Elements?, Artifaks?, L Swift........., someone said Lords of the Underground, Kool Keith, Pharaoh Monch, Afu Rah, Boot Camp, and it goes on.
IMO, Hip Hop (underground and mainstream) peaked in the 90's. Todays artist have different influences that we had back then. The 'art' has been lost.
I remember tape recording Stretch and Bobbito and WNYU and listening to freestyle sessions on the radio that went on til the wee hours of the morning.
That was when Hip Hop was young, fresh and untouched. Now she's got 8 kids, 5 baby daddies and she hangs low like a turkey neck.

I've only been around since '93, so i wasn't really into underground during the 90's, but i like some of the stuff from back then, Kool Keith is alright. I will agree that Hip Hop as a whole peaked in the late 90's, i'd say around '96-'98 (B.O.B.S., Blackstar, Moment of Truth, Hello Nasty to name a few), but it is still very strong if you know where to look.

Saying that, as a whole, the art is lost is a gross generalization. There is still a great amount of feeling, thought, and passion put into today's underground Hip Hop, though most of the Mainstream has been lost, mostly since "Southern Hip Hop" got on the map.

Also, a lot of the artists from Hip Hop's "Golden Age" are still producing today, or just fell off very recently. People Under the Stairs (Acid Raindrops is one of my favorite songs), Talib Kweli, J5, Jay-Z, Snoop, Mos Def, Black Star, etc.

It's definitely fallen off a bit, but the art has in no way been totally lost.

Myspace/sophimore

Or google "Fursun"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1bDm4ttOYM

Some of those songs on the Myspace were very well made, i just don't really care for the Club Rap with little meaning.

it should stay underground...

To each his own, i probably wouldn't listen to your music either.

 

[flowerpower]

The 'art' has been either lost completely or watered down and assimilated into mainstream culture. Graf, Breaking, FREESTYLING, and most every aspect which defined the culture is now used to influence consumer behavior rather than inspire artistic expression.
The sad thing is that the same can be said for just about every form of artistic/ cultural expression.

 

[gobucks1]

The 'art' has been either lost completely or watered down and assimilated into mainstream culture. Graf, Breaking, FREESTYLING, and most every aspect which defined the culture is now used to influence consumer behavior rather than inspire artistic expression.
The sad thing is that the same can be said for just about every form of artistic/ cultural expression.

Every generation has said that about the succeeding generation for the last hundred years.

Hip Hop is still very much independent and alive. MAINSTREAM Hip Hop has been completely sucked into mainstream culture. It has always been about consumer culture, that's just a big part of it.

 

[flowerpower]

True but there's one distinct trent that I've noticed. Ever since the 90's each new generation mimics the one that took place a decade before they were born. You've seen the 80's revival that's only now starting to phase out. Well, in the 90's they were jocking the 60's and 70's.
Now, what does this have to do with Hip Hop or, more precisely, Underground Hip Hop?
We're starting to see styles and concepts, which we originated in the 90's Hip Hop scene, recycled. It's been done before and those doing it now are on the tail end.
All progressive art forms must do just that: progress. The dependence on established formulas to cultivate and redefine 'next' generations (not to mention market music) inhibits the development of new styles and genres of artistic expression.
That's why artists like RJD2, Madlib, Beastie Boys, etc can still capture my attention; they've continued to grow as artists and transcend genres and generations of Hip Hop music and listeners.
Wow, I'm old.

 

[flowerpower]

True but there's one distinct trent that I've noticed. Ever since the 90's each new generation mimics the one that took place a decade before they were born. You've seen the 80's revival that's only now starting to phase out. Well, in the 90's they were jocking the 60's and 70's.
Now, what does this have to do with Hip Hop or, more precisely, Underground Hip Hop?
We're starting to see styles and concepts, which we originated in the 90's Hip Hop scene, recycled. It's been done before and those doing it now are on the tail end.
All progressive art forms must do just that: progress. The dependence on established formulas to cultivate and redefine 'next' generations (not to mention market music) inhibits the development of new styles and genres of artistic expression.
That's why artists like RJD2, Madlib, Beastie Boys, etc can still capture my attention; they've continued to grow as artists and transcend genres and generations of Hip Hop music and listeners.
Wow, I'm old.

 

[gobucks1]

True but there's one distinct trent that I've noticed. Ever since the 90's each new generation mimics the one that took place a decade before they were born. You've seen the 80's revival that's only now starting to phase out. Well, in the 90's they were jocking the 60's and 70's.
Now, what does this have to do with Hip Hop or, more precisely, Underground Hip Hop?
We're starting to see styles and concepts, which we originated in the 90's Hip Hop scene, recycled. It's been done before and those doing it now are on the tail end.
All progressive art forms must do just that: progress. The dependence on established formulas to cultivate and redefine 'next' generations (not to mention market music) inhibits the development of new styles and genres of artistic expression.
That's why artists like RJD2, Madlib, Beastie Boys, etc can still capture my attention; they've continued to grow as artists and transcend genres and generations of Hip Hop music and listeners.
Wow, I'm old.

That's also very true, the Mainstream today is going way back, alot of it is almost blues-like.

Hip Hop is constantly evolving.

This reminds me of when the Nellyville CD came out, the Song "Dilemma" was considered to be so g@y and slow. But then Chris Brown, Akon and all these mainstream guys started to make all the music like that, slow, love songs and junk. And then came Lil' Wayne...

I can only imagine what music's gonna be hot when my kids listen to music, or even when i graduate college.

 

[Nemesis]

Some of my favorites are D.I.T.C, Pharoah Monch, Big L, Canabus, Jae Rule The Damager, Talib Kwali, and even though they went mainstream I still consider Wu-Tang and Big Pun underground.