Bounce said:Honestly, it drives me crazy. It drives me nuts when someone claims 50 Cent is the best rapper ever. Or that "X Gonna Give It To Ya" is DMX's peak... 😢 It kills me when people talk about rap and immediately default to Nelly, 50 Cent, and Eminem 😢 but hey, what can you do?
Bounce, you aren't alone in feeling that way. The issue is today's generation doesn't know anything beyond Eminem, 50 Cent, Nelly, and a handful of others. Of course they think those guys are the best. Like you said, I guess it beats Britney or whatever... but I just don't get why they don't care how things used to sound. Honestly, in a place like NYC, there isn't a single club where you can actually hear the classics playing. There used to be a specific show on MTV, but that was ages ago. And don't even get me started on record stores—can you even find old albums in shops anymore?! People just aren't interested. Maybe it was our era and now it's theirs.
Bounce said:Eminem is trash to me. Look, I admit the guy can freestyle. I admit he knows how to make a solid beat. But he also knows exactly what sells... and just because he's a big-time rapper doesn't mean he's actually great.
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Bounce said:Though I wouldn't say Wu-Tang falls under "modern rap."
Sure, they count as modern rap, but it's not really *that* anymore. Compare their latest album to something like 36 Chambers. That raw energy from those sick beats, the aggressive mic work... it's gone. They totally shifted styles. They went from gritty hardcore rap to—I hate to even say it—funky stuff. Their current formula is basically the same as 50 Cent's. Back in the day, you knew who was HC and who was funky. Take Killarmy versus Warren G; night and day. Now? Everything sounds identical.
I think the biggest mistake the Wu-Tang Clan made was letting Ghostface handle the production. He steered them wrong, straight into the money chase. He always pushed for lighter beats. If O.D.B. had stayed on production, I bet the vibe would still be intact.
Just look at GZA's latest album. The guy completely distanced himself from the Clan and he's still out here pushing pure HC, but he's not pulling in $5 million per track anymore.
Later. 👋