Hip-Hop In 2010: Mainstream rap relies on one man, but will Jay-Z atone for done damage or keep polluting his genre?
Posted on December 23, 2009 by Chris Faraone
There’s a song on JAM’N 94.5 that makes me want to slash and laugh myself to stitches. The tormenter is Def Jam recording artist Jeremih “Birthday Sex” Felton; his weapon, “I’m a Star,” is a miraculous synthesis of hackneyed production and faux-consciousness. It’s one of those insulting tracks that proves how powerful big label honchos truly are, and how payola supersedes product. If Def Jam can pass off Jeremih as acceptable urban entertainment, then they could sell my grandma as the new Foxy Brown.
One need not employ chicken-or-the-egg philosophy to understand why certain hip-hop acts succeed while others flounder. In the words of Chuck D: “Consumers have the audacity to think consumption starts with them.” Like dogs beside a kitchen table, rap fans dance and drool over any ragged scraps their masters throw them. In the post-sample era, that’s mostly meant that FM listeners get stuck with barren beats and rhymes to match. But with such genuinely skilled artists as Wale earning marquee acclaim, it seems as if that cycle may snap. Whether trends bend, though, all depends on Jay-Z, and the direction in which he steers his new Roc Nation venture.
In his four-year tenure as the president of Def Jam – from 2004 to 2008 – Hova was ideally situated to bombard mass audiences with authentic and inspired fare. Instead, he surrendered the archetype imprint to the likes of Bobby Valentino and Rihanna, ultimately softening the urban soundscape in the wake of DMX and Ja Rule’s pop brutality. Jay also prudently embraced vapid Southern crack rappers like Young Jeezy for the sake of survival; but his morphing Def Jam into an R&B cheesecake factory was a spineless bottom-line driven copout.
Now it seems that Hova might wish to atone for spoiling Ric Rubin’s legacy. Beyond “Death of Auto-tune (D.O.A.)” – a tremendous gesture that ironically triggered an influx in transparently synthetic vocals – Jay selected North Carolina rhyme surgeon J. Cole to front the Roc Nation roster. Cole is anathema to 95 percent of contemporary radio rappers; in the fashion of Golden Era stalwarts like Nas, Rakim, and Ghostface Killah, he casually executes astounding verbal feats over spreads ranging from the corny to the complex.
Suggesting that Hova, via Cole, might single-handedly slant the arc of hip-hop is a major overstatement – particularly considering his also signing Alexis Jordan (of “You’ve Got Talent” fame) and Music Kidz, a production squad that manipulates more smoke and mirrors than a Neptunes track engineered in Snoop Dogg’s powder room. Still, Jay alone has the proper platform off which to flip the tired script, so the significance of his first recruit is indeed cause for champagne showers.
Even with his pockets lined by Live Nation compensation, there’s a chance that Jay may cower. Though one of hip-hop’s most commercially triumphant acts in his own regard, he routinely neglected legitimate acts while presiding over Def Jam and Rocafella. Just ask Redman, Sauce Money, Black Thought, Ghostface, or Memphis Bleek about their marketing budgets. Now, with a $150 million corporate crutch, Jay could find the sack to push substantial hip-hop back into the spotlight. Surely now is the right time to change the guard, what with 50 Cent and Kanye West growing more irrelevant each moment.
Of course; if you don’t feel like waiting for Jay-Z to resuscitate the game, you can explore the depths of so-called alternative and underground hip-hop on the Internet and college radio. I just thought the big man needed some encouragement; his pole position, after all, may be the last hope for rap to maintain a mere sliver of the mainstream integrity that the genre once enjoyed.
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14 Responses to “Hip-Hop In 2010: Mainstream rap relies on one man, but will Jay-Z atone for done damage or keep polluting his genre?”
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well written article but honestly fuck jay-z. he had 1 maybe 2 good albums. reasonable doubt and the black album. i dont think his influence matters that much. he’s more like a barack obama. he’s just a puppet for the rich white man to use to make people think they have control and influence, when there’s a gepetto behind the scences pulling all the strings.
Here’s the problem: people don’t like hip-hop anymore.
Look at the few people who are selling:
Jay-Z and Eminem, still living off their past glory
Lil Wayne, Kanye West- these dudes are rappers, but they don’t make hip-hop. They are just rapping over R&B
T.I., slightly more hip-hop but rapping owes a lot to R&B (Dead & Gone, Live Your Life, Whatever You LIke)
And the new crop of rappers–Wale, KiD CuDi, Drake, etc.–are similarly looking for new directions, whether it’s working with MGMT or using live bands or auto-tune or whatever
Meanwhile, Joell Ortiz can’t get a record deal and after getting damn near every single Golden Era producer to co-sign him on his first album most people still don’t know who Termanology is. Raekwon’s album was great, but that was an exception to the rule. Artists like Freeway, M.O.P., Beanie Sigel and others have gone from major labels to indies, not by choice. Nas has lots of fans, just came off one of his best albums ever and did he even go gold?
Just look at 50 Cent. His last album did big numbers when it was all R&B’d out. Now he drops a dope album full of grimy NY hip-hop (aside from that single) and it gets delayed then released almost like an afterthought
Even Ghost needs a single w/ Ne-Yo to get spins
Hip-hop as we knew it is dead commercially and Jay-Z ain’t gonna fix that.
come to think of it Young Jeezy one of the only mainstream dudes i’m feeling right now
f*ck young jeezy.
tl;dr
Dude what are you 35 why do you care? (loser) Atmosphere ,Heltah Skeltah, Buck 65, ICP, Apathy, Celph, Necro, Kool Keith, JMT, B. Ali, etc etc etc.. are still dropping dope albums on the regular. Stop sucking dick at your job!! You posting on this site is a disgrace to the white man. Go write reviews and what not on Rotten tomatoes or something.. You are making JTTS a little worse with every key stroke. I am willin to bet you are a registered sex offender. Go tell people Bekay is good some more. FAG!
I don’t think we need to be dependent on the mainstream or popular music to appreciate the good stuff. I mean, in the end, who cares what Def Jam puts out so long as you know where to find the quality? In my opinion we’re just stressing over the mainstream effect way more than we need to. I figure, if I know where I can find the GOOD music, then I don’t really need to give a shit what they do to their “empire”. Their music is redundant to me.
ICP is still dropping dope albums bro wtf r u talking about?
hip-hop is flourishing
ICP sucks in itself
ha ha you suck do some research listen to some shit. BANG TO THE POW WANG TO YA MOUTH!
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i’d rather not, they promote the use of subhuman cults in order to not feel socially inept
F*CK GAY Z,
SELLOUT
KILLUMINATI!