“Rap” is Done

I’ve been predicting it for years, just like I predicted the housing crash, and its finally come true for both of them. What goes up, must come down.

While music-industry sales have plummeted, no genre has fallen harder than rap. According to the music trade publication Billboard, rap sales have dropped 44% since 2000 and declined from 13% of all music sales to 10%. Artists who were once the tent poles at rap labels are posting disappointing numbers. Jay-Z’s return album, Kingdom Come, for instance, sold a gaudy 680,000 units in its first week, according to Billboard. But by the second week, its sales had declined some 80%. This year rap sales are down 33% so far.

Longtime rap fans are doing the math and coming to the same conclusions as the music’s voluminous critics. In February, the filmmaker Byron Hurt released Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a documentary notable not just for its hard critique but for the fact that most of the people doing the criticizing were not dowdy church ladies but members of the hip-hop generation who deplore rap’s recent fixation on the sensational.

The article seems to imply the fake tough guy posing and bad language became stale and part of that is true. But the fundamental reason hip hop is fading is its not creative or original (with a few exceptions). Most of it is repetitive, swiped hackwork. The Jay-Z comeback they cite is a great example. The lead tune off that CD has him repeating the same five words over and over again ("Show me what you got") between uh-huhs and yeahs. It’s amazing the genre lasted as long as it did.

Now, I like some old school hip hop, back when artists actually used their own music and weren’t sampling and remixing everything. But I feel sad that the culture that gave us jazz, the blues, R&B, and soul music could provide this abortive fetus of a genre. It became nothing more than a parade of subliterate thugs repeating themselves. And the whole gangsta culture is so laughable and ripe for parody from the get go, that any generation could be sucker by this crap is a sad commentary on the human race.

I’m sure hip hip will always be around, but it will fade into the background like jazz did, metal music, etc. There will always be its fans. But its heyday is over. 

Actually, the real reason why sales are going down on all categories of music, is the internet, and how easy it is to get any kind of music you want ... for free.
You say rap is not creative - well, I really don’t think it’s any less creative than jazz or blues or rock or crapcountry or whatever. As soon as a genre has been around for a while, it all starts to sound alike - especially if you are not into that kind of music.

But hey - I totally agree on that whole “gangster"-thing ... those guys are just too funny! *sigh*

Posted by  on  08/20  at  10:19 AM

It’s 30 years old. Which means a new generation will find something else to like. Maybe it will be that Emo stuff. Who knows.

Posted by James Hudnall  on  08/20  at  11:21 AM

Saying jazz is no more creative of rap is indicative of someone who really doesn’t know much about jazz, IMHO. They are polar opposites. One requires an in depth understanding of the relation of various musical keys, rhythms and beats, and the other requires a loop machine and a gangster lean.

Jass musicians, of the classical sort, take a lifetime of musical instruction and intense practice to develop, while rap artists just need a phat gold chain and something to bitch about.

There really is no comparison.

Get a clue, Bob…

Posted by  on  08/20  at  04:37 PM

Looks like I need to get a clue on the typos and spelling..



Posted by  on  08/20  at  04:39 PM

Okay, okay, I get it. You don’t like Hip-Hop. Sales are down because the mainstream has veered off path in a very bad way, and I agree that Gansta Rap and Dirty South are tiresome cliches that have beat down the genre but you are obviously not into “old-school hip-hop” because nobody ever really used their own music except for a few hand-pounded beats, of which the individual hits are samples.

Hip-Hop is and always was about ripping vinyl to an MPC 2000 (or other machine of choice) and manipulating it. That’s the trick and it DOES take an incredible amount of skill to do it tastefully (see DJ Premier, Madlib, J-Dilla etc.)

You also have to realize that Hip-Hop is so pervasive that it has many different genres and subsets, much more than other forms of pop music, which contributes to the over all thinning of conventional album sales. It is now a mature art form in an era of a technology and information explosion. Hip-Hop, of all current genres, has embraced technology from its inception on through to today and it lends itself keenly to collaboration and computer production.

Practically every other kid in America and Europe has a set of decks or a DJ computer program. Hip-Hop is not over at all as you’ll see in another thirty years.

Posted by sean  on  08/20  at  09:03 PM

<<They are polar opposites. <<
I never said it was the same kind of music.

<<One requires an in depth understanding of the relation of various musical keys, rhythms and beats, and the other requires a loop machine and a gangster lean.<<
That’s the same as saying that jazz simply requires a guitar, bas and a drum, and a big sweating black guy (cliche).

<<Jass musicians, of the classical sort, take a lifetime of musical instruction and intense practice to develop,-<<
Maybe jazzmusicians are just slow learners ... I really don’t know!

<<There really is no comparison.<<
Sure there is.

<<Get a clue, Bob… <<
I’ll try to pick one up, next time I go shopping. Thanks for the tip!

Posted by  on  08/21  at  01:41 AM

<<I really don’t know! <<

Well, that was kind of my whole point!

And don’t get me wrong; I like some forms of hip hop. I’m just saying that the level of musical talent and focus needed to create good jazz is, in my opinion, much higher than what your typical rapper strives for. I think most rappers would agree. That’s one of the reasons so much jazz gets sampled in rap..

Posted by  on  08/21  at  02:29 AM

Did someone mention Madlib and J-Dilla? I’m impressed.

Bottom line, there’s no conspiracy here - sales are down because the current stuff simply sucks. Everyone is copying each other and no one is saying anything new. Especially, when they’re still sampling ‘Stand by Me.’

But, there are so many great artists that NEVER get any airplay which is simply a shame while we’re been force-fed all kinds of crap.

These things go in cycles...as long as Mos Def, Common, The Roots continue to put out records, I have faith.

Posted by  on  08/21  at  04:41 AM

The fact is that some people never liked Hip-Hop and are panting heavily at its “demise”. Most are pointing to the supposed negativity of it all while anymore, rhymes about gatz and drugs don’t really happen that much.

What we have now in the mainstream is that gold-grill booty-shakin’ crap out of Atlanta (ALL respect to Outkast) with what DJ Premier describes as “Tinkerbell-ass Beats”. It’s cheezy, stale and will be remembered with the same reverence as “Winger” or Leif Garrett and it should not be confused with the larger idiom.

There are some fantastic artists out there still doing it right. Same with Jazz, as most people don’t realize that some of the finest Jazz ever made is being produced right now with Bill Frisell, Ben Allison, Kieth Jarrett, Paul Motian and many others making stellar albums.

As a Jazz AND Hip-Hop musician (and almost everything in between), I can say that, for me at least, there is no comparison to be made, as they are both essentially the same thing in spirit.

By the way, the word “Rap” died in about 1991.

Posted by Sean  on  08/21  at  07:56 AM

The article called it rap. It’s the same difference.

And Sean, maybe they used sound clips I was unaware of, but many of the old school people like LL Cool J in the 80s, Grand Master Flash in “The Message” seemed to be using their own music.

Regardless, when people like P. Diddy or whatever he’s called now, take famous songs and put their lame fuck lyrics over them, that’s just crap music.

I’m interested in originality or at least an attempt at it.

But, back to what I was saying, the so called genre is played out. It’s old now. So it’s fading. This happens after anything peaks. The 90s was the heyday of hip hop. Now we’re nearing the end of the 2000s. People are interested in something else. They’re getting bored with hip hop.

I don’t doubt there are good artists who aren’t being heard. That tends to be the way things are. Especially in these days of consolidated media. But the bottom line is, the kids drive the sales and the kids seem to be moving on. Downloading isn’t the only reason sales are falling.

Hip Hop is their parents music.

Posted by James Hudnall  on  08/21  at  09:11 AM

I don’t think it will ever fade away, I think it’s merely in a transitional phrase right now.

For instance, when NWA appeared on the scene or Nirvana, if that’s more to your tastes.

Regarding LL Cool J, not to start another debate, but I don’t believe he began using his own music until he was convinced it would work via the MTV Unplugged special he did.

I’m all for originality and I totally agree with the current state of boredom, but we have only big record companies pushing radio stations to play what they want to blame for that.

There’s a great documentary called ‘Scratch’ that came a few years ago that you really should check out.

Posted by  on  08/21  at  03:46 PM

C-RAP is C-Rap, and always will be.

Posted by  on  08/21  at  11:35 PM

nah, its still there. Fading that is.

Posted by rocawear big & tall  on  03/06  at  11:00 PM
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