INTERESTING DEBATE

FunderFirm

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2005
It is interesting mr Flak but it is not relevant to UKHH.....
Coming from the position of a producer in the scene, having chatted to loadsa artists linked to UKHH, it is a different scene over here compared to america.
For instance as the UK is more multicultural than the US, Hip Hop is not just a black issue, it talks more of class than race.
Also, our scene over here is not a "multimillion dollar industry", it is still a very underground niche subculture still that has limited coverage and much less money spinning round in it than the US.
As well, added to that, if you ask anyone in the UK who Mystro or Yungun or Skrein is the likelyhood is they will not know who they are. In fact ask them who Foreign Beggars or Task Force are and they will probably not know who they are.
But if you ask who Lil John or Nas or 50 or any other US artist they will probably know who they are...........
thats my 2 pence on the issue apart from..........



FUCK THE USA AND THEIR CRUNKY SKANKY SHIT. SUPPORT HOMEGROWN ARTISTS WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT STUFF YOU CAN RELATE TO IN OUR SOCIETY RATHER THAN LISTENING TO 40's, BLUNTS, LOW RIDERS ETC!!!!!!
 
FUCK THE USA AND THEIR CRUNKY SKANKY SHIT. SUPPORT HOMEGROWN ARTISTS WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT STUFF YOU CAN RELATE TO IN OUR SOCIETY RATHER THAN LISTENING TO 40's, BLUNTS, LOW RIDERS ETC!!!!!!

Innit tho. Mainly at least.

Most US HH seems to be absolute shit at the mo, made to sell to school kids, MTV audiences, and 'G-Daddy' Westwood, even most of the beats are kitten strength.

There is still some good underground US stuff tho.
 
FUCK THE USA AND THEIR CRUNKY SKANKY SHIT. SUPPORT HOMEGROWN ARTISTS WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT STUFF YOU CAN RELATE TO IN OUR SOCIETY RATHER THAN LISTENING TO 40's, BLUNTS, LOW RIDERS ETC!!!!!!

Nah, don't agree with that at all. UK hip-hop is at best a flattering imitation of it's US counterpart. There are some sick people making music over here, but there's plenty of posing wideboy chancers.

40s and blunts and low-riders? Most hip-hop heads over here smoke weed, drink and have cars... Don't see how they can't relate to it, art transcends simply talking about what you see when you walk to the shops. I don't just listen to music about being a lazy fucker :slayer:
 
Good hiphop's good hiphop, regardless of where it comes from, & a lot of what most people classify as US hiphop is weak rnb chart pop at the mo...

There's a lot more fire and originality coming from certain UK acts, just they don't get the exposure or radio play, so hardly anyone / no-one's heard of them...

i.e. Pro Green, Stig, Dr Syntax & Manage, & Chemo's production stands up to any heavyweight US heyday biz, or Steady Diggin Workshop, or Yes Boss for a slightly grimier sound, Sway's very good too, but not especially to my taste.

P Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Snoop & Akon should be blushing :rosie: to be classed as hiphop acts from some of the trx they're putting out...

I know Akon's a smurf novelty voice, and P Diddy was always crap & Busta's too busy pimpin the Pussy Cat Dolls to care, but Snoop???

What happened?

:|

People say hiphop's the biggest selling commerical genre, but the music they are making isn't hiphop, it's pop RnB with a rapper doin a verse or two, and I don't see a link from real hiphop to that shite. If you compare 50 Cent's Massacre 2nd Album to his underground mixtape stuff from before the first album, you'd think he's had a lobotomy inbetween,

(or maybe the US 'industry' just turned to gold plated, diamond encrusted shite in those few yrs...Who knows...)

You don't even have to go back that far (Wu & Biggie & Gangstarr & lots of Jay-Z when US hiphop could be commercial & quality & real HIPHOP, even the Fugees 1st record b4 the solo shite, & Spooks, etc) ...

I was listening to the Beastie's best of 'Sounds Of Science' today, and it's class. Who's doing anything to compare to that in the US now? And not just the hits, they had depth, variety and all kindsa styles...

-Edit: If you listen to the 800 tx mix, there was a huge depth of quality & variety in US Hiphop, (much of it commercial), and that's completely missing now and over the past few years in 80% of US...Cos it is all blunts, low riders & bling...

If you listen to a Stig, Syntax or Pro Green mixtape, there's more variety and different styles, from one act than you hear in 2 x 3 hr Westwood shows...

I love MF Doom, but it's sad that him and Diabolic are about the only 2 US acts I'll remember from 'now' in 10 yrs time, maybe Kanye. (& Spank Rock, but they're not really hiphop)...-end edit...


Come back Will Smith! You weren't so bad after all...



















(That's a joke btw)

:crazy:

I can't stand Will Smith...
 
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Summat else...

Talent wise & creatively the UK scene is thriving, but apart from Mike Skinner & his Beats labels & collabs (Plan B, Pro Green & The Mitchells included) no-one is making any money.

Go to a few open mics around Ldn & you'll see the cream of UK MC talent, sometimes travelling across the country to get on the mic at their own expense, and paying to put their own records out...This is respected UK 'big names' (who I won't name on here, cos I've spoken to some of them privately about these things at shows).

It's not even a case of 'underground'. UK currently just doesn't sell, but as Mike Skinner has shown, it can do.

It's not about lack of talent, it's lack of exposure and major label marketing budget...

At the same time, ppl are being force fed US pop shite...Much of US has completely lost it's edge, you'd have to be deaf to think most modern US 'Hiphop' even compares to 80's or 90's.

Rant over...:mad:

& I forgot about Lupe Fiasco, who I do like!
 
Yeah, I agree with all your sayin; the US mainstream hip-hop market is a shower of shit. Let's not just restrict it to hip-hop here, pretty much most pop culture these days is devoid of any meaning other than superficial bullshit. It's almost offensive to anyone with half a brain lol.

However I just find it wierd the superiority complex some people have over here that we're doin anything that hasn't already been done in the US.
 
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