Replay value of Hip-Hop music

combo gd

combo gd

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VICTOR PAGE said:
Maybe it's cause I'm getting older or something but there aren't many hip hop albums lately that have replay value to me.

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As I have gotten older(I am 32), I have realized that for the most part hip-hop music does not have much replay value. Most albums and songs are not timeless. 

Maybe it is because most of the content is focused on material things and scenarios that are hot right now, and do not have any lasting value. 

When I listen to songs from other genres that stand the test of time they all focus on love, relationships, good times, or have really catchy choruses. Rap music has become negative, a battleground, and a platform to tell everyone how rich/hard/gangster/real they are. Nobody wants to hear that for long periods of time... especially as a person ages and matures. 

Honestly, I am pretty much done with rap. 

Can it be saved? 

Am I wrong? 

Is this just the way it was supposed to be? 

Discuss. 
 
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The tragedy of Hip hop is that it's a young mans game. Once you become less angry, start to make some money, aren't in the "struggle" the music becomes less appealing.
 
Maybe it's the artists your listening to. All those topics you mentioned can be found all over rap music and then some.

Personally, ppl ive known who say they're "done with rap", were never really into it to begin with.
 
Its the only genre of music I listen too, if it didnt have good replay value overall then I probably wouldnt listen to music at all
 
I'm 29 and I can remember when certain albums would come out and in a week or 2 I would know all the lyrics.

Now I don't even listen to whole albums. I pretty much pick the songs I like and keep it moving. The only album I can kinda listen to from beginning to end is probably GKMC. And I don't even make it to the end of that all the time.

Speaking of that... I always thought the and album should have more than 13 or 14 tracks.

Only a couple albums that I personally consider classics have more than that.

Today it seems that most have 16 to 17 and IMO that just leaves room for weak tracks.
 
I think there is rap music that withstands the test of time. You hear it and you aren't reminded of any specific thing in particular that takes you out of the experience of enjoying the music. You hear it and you enjoy it because you are aware it is great hip-hop, absent trends or scenes or beefs or fads.

Biggie, Jay, Nas, Outkast, basically everything that dropped 87-89, there's a reason these dudes are called the GOATS. It's because their music transcends genre labels and falls into the realm of simply "music." That music has enormous replay value IMO
 
I'd say maybe the rappers you're a fan of aren't making good music anymore. I've noticed which rappers music I grew up loving that simply can no longer make an album with good replay value anymore.

So to me it's not hip hop as a whole it's just who you're listening to.
 
I think you are wrong.  You need to get your catalog up.

Albums in my current rotation

-Onyx All we got iz us

-Gangstarr - Moment of Truth

-Yeezus (not everyday)

-Magna Carta

-Fat Joe - Jealous ones Envy

Fabolous - Soul Tape 2

AZ A.W.O.L

Tyga -Hotel California (lol)

Guru Jazmattaz Vol.1

Kane and Abel 7 sins

Prodigy -Return of the Mac

If your talking about mainstream rap then yeah, most of it is microwavable. But if your talking about the overall  catalog of hiphop over the past 40+ years your crazy to say its not timeless.
 
I can definitely understand that mindset if I was solely buying music of artists on the radio
 
Peep Game said:
I can definitely understand that mindset if I was solely buying music of artists on the radio
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+1

I have no problem finding new artists to listen to. Artists that I continue to listen to for years because they don't try to fit into whatever trend is hot at the moment.
 
Time is good at separating the great from the mediocre from any medium or genre. I think that that is why people usually think that theater, cinema and music of the past are better than right now. People tend to forget about the forgettable and as time goes on people only remember the best examples of a bygone era.

There was forgettable hip-hop in the 80's and 90's, there were a ton of bad movies that were made in the 70's and the 30's. There were bad Jazz and Blues musicians in the 1920's. When Shakespeare was writing plays, London was awash in theater and many of the plays were bad or they were forgettable, that is why many people are unaware that Shakespeare had dozens of contemporary and competing rivals in theater.

With that said; upon reflection, some years are better than other years, especially when we have centuries or at least a couple of decades of hindsight and reflection. In hip-hop, it is hard to image that in 50 year's time, people will consider the early 2010's to be better than the early 1990's.
 
Disagree . . . Still play all of Kanye's solo albums regularly

Take Care still gets spins

Section 80

Of course, Jay, Nas, etc. catalogs

I rarely listen to full albums all the way through at random though, most of time iPod is just on shuffle
 
Having said what' stated above, I love hip-hop but I don't think a majority of what's out today (like the artists I mentioned above) are hip hop. They're acts designed to sell units, singles, merchandise.

Some of you that may be familiar with my posts here in the music section. If so, you should know my musical tastes are very diverse however I love hip hop. My first concert was RUN DMC Raising Hell tour with the Beastie Boys opening up for them. I grew up on listening to hip hop before getting into other styles of music.

I have fond memories of trying to record the hot 8 @ 8 on my boom box. I'd have the tape ready with the record & play button already pushed in with the pause on ready to unpause once the music started playing so I could listen to that mix all day the following day on my walkman.

I still play most of A Tribe Called Quest's catalog of music today as I did when it was first released. I've actually went through 7 copies of Low End Theory on CD because I played them so much. There are relevant artists today that I listen to repeatedly like Mos Def, early Curren$y, Big KRIT, Jay Elec.

I will never stop listening to good hip hop.
 
There are so many different sub genres in rap that Im always finding something new. Even when im not looking for it. For me, its cyclic. Im drained from all the trap/drill records and mixtapes and have been listening to artists who focus on lyrics and meshing their rhymes with the beats in interesting ways. More so than usual anyway. I realized years ago that I could no longer rely on mainstream channels to introduce me to rap music that I enjoyed. This wasn't the case in the 90's or even the early-mid 00's. I was still able to find at least some artists that I liked. Thats not to say that all rap music in the mainstream today is bad, but its not for me.

So while it may be more difficult or time consuming, I ask you to have an open mind to acts that you haven't listened to yet. You may find something you like. Asking on here would be a great start.
 
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I thought he was talking recently... Their are lots of albums I still listen to today.

I still listen to " it's dark and hell is hot" on the regular... Along with others.
 
u gotta find some underground no name rappers... 99.845464% of rappers that are signed CANT make timeless music because the label wants them making whats hot now...
 
just depends on your taste of hip hop, critical successful hip hop is there for a reason, sometimes i get lost on spotify listening to scarface or even rakim 16 letter and im like man i love hip hop,
but then i go back and listen to albums that ruled our cars for weeks like jkwon hood hop and im like yo we were idiots. I do admit though its hard listening to mixtapes on livemixtapes then going to albums on spotify the disconnect of eras is just not easy on ears.
 
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