35 replies to this topic

[apopyalips]

jump in here, i need everybody's opinion on this subject.


success in the music industry depend on a lot of factors not only how tight your lyrics are or how cheap it is, there's more to it that's why professionals get involved. money, media and perseverance of course good music. and then what's goopd music? how do u define REAL hiphop and COMMERcial hiphop? is there any tested formula for a successful music or track like Rugged man claimed? bring your takes on this and researched info is welcome

[apopyalips]

this thought ws going thru my mind while i was on the bus. what do we really bring to the table as rappers/emcees?As rappers/emcees, what word defines our course and what do we really want to achieve?
i was going thru the lists of rappers/emcees/afro whatever rtists and what they brought to the table

Rugged man-he ended the era of tongue twisting rap with no content and bla bla bla
mode 9- he brought realness in the rap industry and helped put nigeria in the map of countries with real emcees.
tribes meyn- them dudes actually started the group thing and if i'll say, rap.
stereo man- he developed his own style and used his music to talk about his region and everybody listened.
Tuface-dude started an infusion of raggae and RnB with pidgin english and a style that is inarguably the mother of Nigerian modern day afro hiphop
Nigga raw- he started rap in igbo language, he took the risk and look at where he is right now. alotta people are following suit. i'll say dude created a unique style of rap that's classified by me as Enugu hiphop lol.

the list goes. if u know any, u can post up. my point here is, are u just rapping cos u learned how to do that or cos u think ugot something to bring to the table? what isyour goal and objective? if u're called up for an interview, what will u actually talk about, yourself and that's it? Do u think what u bring is worth listening to and worth investing on? i need opinions here

[Meyer Lansky Ent]

well i did not want to comment on this thread,but after reading it countlessly,and also reading other threads,i decided to volunteer some information...i have never had any problem with Dance records,and insist that Dance is an element of Hip-Hop,i think ALL rappers need to make songs for the people.i hate when i hear people say commercial,without really investigating what is commercial...SIMPLY PUT COMMERCIAL MUSIC IS RADIO FRIENDLY MAINSTREAM MUSIC ,there are Hardcore Mainstream tracks like M.O.P Ante up, Gangstarr Ex Girl to the Next Girl etc..... A SONG CAN BE HARDCORE AND MAINSTREAM AT THE SAME TIME......in Nigeria,we have had Modenine ,Cry { is this commercial YES .is it a sell out NO !!) people just need to know that Hip-Hop is about Good and bad Rap,and not commercial or hardcore or underground or whatever you call it,,


the arguement should be wether the Song is GOOD or BAD and not Mainstream,Underground,whatever

examples of Nigerian Cross-over Rap songs i like

1 Ob Jazz - Lyrically Alert Kilonshele
2 OD - Alujo
3 Modenine feat OD and YQ - Loke
4 Terry Tha Rapman and pherowshuz - Sample
5 Da Grin - pon pon pon
6 Six Foot Plus - Millenium bugging
7 MI - Blaze
8 Vector - Mary Jane
9 Osagz - U say
10 Gino - Farabale

None of this songs i mentioned here are sellouts to me,nd they are all Radio friendly,mainstream and HOT...if you are an emcee,and you wanna make some Money from rap,you might wanna do something like this in your album


back to the issue of what we want from Hip-Hop...i dont care whatever,but when they mention the greatest, my name should pop up....and dats me....

to end this,i Performed at a russian Hip-Hop show in London,and after the show,i was interviewed and my music was felt by almost everyone...i was asked similar questions on the state of nigerian hip-hop and all my answers are in the video for you all to see..its kind of Long, 8 mins ,but its worth the view....





Apop no vex...i had to vent a little bit

#RIPDAGRIN - #Nowplaying - Azadus feat Da Grin and Lord of Ajasa - Jump up

[ik-sl!ck]

i totally agree with meyer lansky, the arguement should be about good and bad rap, not underground and commercial rap. Good point

[apopyalips]

seriously, this thread was inspired by terry d rap-mans thread set up by prodigal angel, titled what's wrong with terry da rap-man. alotta comments there had me pondering on the term commercial as it's used in Nigeria and if there's actually a formula behind it because through out the time rap music started having mainstay in Nigeria, artists who focus more on delivery Technics rather than contents have been enjoying large crowd of followers and media recognition. this is what am actually part of what am hitting at. i guess sell out vs keeping it real should be the topic of the thread.

Quote

SIMPLY PUT COMMERCIAL MUSIC IS RADIO FRIENDLY MAINSTREAM MUSIC

aiight, like the ones u mentioned?

my music is influenced by alotta thing-radio and market taste excluded. i make my own beats and i don't think any of the two things i mentioned influences the out come of what i produce. i listen to all typah music and try to pick something out of all genre. 80 of mainstream producers in united states and Nigeria are all washed up and don't have anything to offer anymore, and it's reflecting on the sales of hiphop music compared to other genre. there's no denying the fact that Nigerians have a formula for a "commercial music"(which could as well mean selling out). if u listen to OD's new single-rocking with da best, u'll understand what am saying.

anyways, i have a song called rocking with the best and i think OD would've changed his title if he had heard mine. www.myspace.com/cdrill rocking with the best. enjoy and comment

[apopyalips]

ik-sl!ck said:

i totally agree with meyer lansky, the arguement should be about good and bad rap, not underground and commercial rap. Good point

it's not commercial and underground rather, commercial and keeping it real.

[Meyer Lansky Ent]

mr Apops lemme take u now one on one...what is keeping it real ???

[Xblaze]

Apop wat it do homie!, ur opinion though, kool but i disagree with the fact that commercial music is "selling out"? first of all, hiphop has transcended from a mere expression of oppression rhymed in cyphas to a marketable product just like any other music genre, if u want to market a product, u better know how to package it and sell it, nobody is going to buy a 50" samsung 1080p HD resolution packaged in inferior alaba box( no offense to lagosians, just making a point here lol), the product is definitely superior, but the package will kill the market sales. If ur a dope rapper and come with stupid beats in the name of "keeping it real", u wont only starve but a time would come when u'll start pushing a wheelbarrow to survive aiight. OR

"..should kick my own rhymes in the privacy of my own home.." CANIBUS

keeping it real is staying through to your ideals, your roots or watever u came into music for, it doesnt mean staying hardcore! or going commercial as long as ur music is not trash.
i like canibus, mostly because of the intelligent lyrics, i have all canibus albums, some hardcopy, i'll listen to most incredible rappers with repulsive beats, thats me, but people like me are like 2.5% of the population listening to rap, u wont make money off us i can tell u now. we all agree CANIBUS is a good example, dope ass lyrics mostly with trashy beats, dude, who u wan sell those things to? everybody is not like me, this is not 1995, we are in the digital age, post 2003 Itunes and the internet changed everything, if u aint gat a good formula, homeboi u wont matter, no matter how dope and hardcore u sound on the MIC!!

better still, wat do u actually mean by selling out? if someone makes dance-able music, is that selling out? isnt music about having fun and all? is there anything wrong with a dance track. point is RAP can be REAL and COMMERCIAL, yes, if u intend to make money off this, u better make it enjoyable, it doesnt mean ur selling out, selling out is fraying from your roots or not being who you are, it has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with trying to EAT!!

REAL and COmmercial tracks i can remember off the top
TALIB KWELI- LIsten, Deliver us (both off Eardrum 2007), GET By (off Quality)
Kanye WEST - Diamonds from Sierra Leone
Eminem - I dont even know where to start well, Crack a Bottle -Relapse
LIl wayne - A mili - As much as i DONT LIKE lil wayne, i'm big enough to admit that track was it.
Fabulous..
lloyd banks .. On fire (hunger for more 2004)
50 cent - In da club
Modenine - Talking to u (paradigm shift)
T.I...Dead and Gone...and many more
Jay-Z- Hard KNock life and so many many more

yo, the list is endless. so many people listen to music for different reasons, but if u want to make money off this art, its simple, ur music has to be enjoyable and not boring, cos u have to appeal to people who just dont listen to lyrics alone, but beats and people who just want to have fun.
i like Hardcore rap, but i like music before rap, thats y i listen to almost every genre u can think off from spanish merengue to korean pop, i listen to Kool Savas from Germany, i dont even understand what the FCUK he's saying but i'll pay money for his album. i am not ur average music listener, but this is how music is, its not just about what u say but how u sound overall.
if u want to make only "hardcore" rap, go ahead, but dont forget that no DJ has ever played RENEGADE (jay and em) in the club.. just saying. :D

@meyer, cant wait to hear ur track....

[apopyalips]

in my own opinion, keeping it real is doing it the way it's to be done. rap has elements that includes multi,metaphor,wordplay,simile,complexity,in rhyming,imagery,intelligent infos as in canibus(i like his poetic expression) , the list goes.Rap/hiphop is an art form of its own and it has rules too. i am a producer, i've seen bunch of cats come to ma studio with their shitty rap with no rhyming schemes, no bars, no taste and they want me to give them the best beat in the world cos they can afford my price. i don't get enough motivation working with people like that cos i found out it's not all about money, money can't provide me enough motivation i need to do this. My 80 percent motivation is intrinsic cos i have pride in showcasing my knowledge and educating with rap through my work.

Rap motivated me to read books that i use to ignore. listening to intelligent rap helped me a lot in knowing things i wouldn't have known listen to garbages. something inspired me into loving hip hop and that is what i still follow. i can't be comfortable seeing my son listen to rap these days cos of its negative effect on the listener. todays' rap promote violence,drug, demean women, and portray black people as stone cold mean muthafuckers. Rap these days promote materialism to the extreme cos that's what Satan wants to achieve. meyn are lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God. and that's what i call selling out. people like jay z would do a song promoting satanism because the people that pay them are agents of the devil, and you're a dumb-sell out when u follow them to do the same without knowing why. am not saying as an artists, u're not suppose to express yourself and things u see around u, but u can be a role model and change things to the positive with your words. i love rap the way i love poetry and books but these day, rap has relegated itself to a mediocrity level and that's because alotta artists preferred to sell out (their soul and inspiration) for money and material things that flickers.

@xblaze. i make club beats and party songs too and i can't compromise my talent and inspiration because of popular demand. n canibus has better music than alotta nuisance of today
i do it for the love and i will keep doing it well.

[apopyalips]

okay. while u reading, u can listen to my new beats here www.blackworldrecords.com

[Xblaze]

c-drilly, u dey vex, see, i've heard ur beats and they're on point, i no even know y u dey worry about this, but the thing is this, in as much as rap originated as poetry and all the different elements of hiphop, all rap musnt be didactic, just cos someone is not being idealistic and politically outspoken on a record does'nt make their song shit, immortal technique, diabolic, ill bill, hell razah and so many other idealistic rappers choose to enlighten and make people socially aware, this is a noble cause, i enjoy this mostly because of the intelligence, but i dont have to always agree with their political point of view just cos a dope rapper said, i have my own idealism based on the values i grew up with and recognize, some of them i agree with some i disagree with, but the music is dope which is why the record is playing in the first place. jay-z doesnt have to say kill evil coporations before he is classified as good rap, the dude has distinguished himself on the mic, u may not like jay, but u will def recognize what he's done on wax and how far he's come. he's music is sheer brilliance no matter how u look at it, jay is the reason metaphors started appealing to me in the first place.

Don't forget i'm the no 1 canibus fan lol, dude is sick no doubt, infact, in his prime i still believe no rapper would come close if a battle is set up. none, zero zip, not even em, or chino XL. canibus delivery is octane. but lets not deviate from the discussion, if u want to eat, u better improvise, we're talking about commercialising the art as well as keeping it real abi? well The BEAST From The EAST aka Canibus forgot to do that, and um where is he now? still making hardcore shit for people like me.

Besides, it doesnt have to be a dance song that will sell you, the beat speaks to all of us, make that beat appealing, imagine canibus on a dre , scott storch or just blaze beat, we all know wat he can do with that delivery. Everything no be hardcore, can i bus tell us about ur childhood, tell us about that girlfriend wey shun you for high school, tell us about your mum's struggle to raise you, c'mon are u serious? u've proven ur point, nobody can kill u on the mic, its time to make something else.
it doesn t always have to be "My lyrics invade Europe and murder niggaz like joseph stalin" Buckingham Palace

Canibus is my kind of shit, but he could have made money and blown the world to smithereens if he switched up the business part of his craft.

How about Lupe Fiasco? sick, yet commercial.

dont you see how Jadakiss sounds on swizz beatz songs?

[apopyalips]

you are on point. The road that leads to hell is broad, and the way to heaven is narrow. i think if u look a at it in the context of rap, you'll see what's happening today. people like the broad way cos it's cheap and easy but it leads to destruction, but only few MEN follow the narrow way which leads to life, infinite wisdom and eternally blissful. LOL!!!! am not preaching but get my drift.

[apopyalips]

Quote

no even know y u dey worry about this,

i like the flow of knowledge here, don't ya? i need something like ya post to come back here




if u grow the balls to talk like this man, then u are a true emcee. Don't sample felas beat or his words if u can't do what he did. true talk. i like lil wyne(now i lied), i hate em and his likes. what did he teach his listeners? drank sipping and tattooing everything on ya body plus ya dick lol. Ma friend got into lil wyne and started sippiing drank, and in portharcourt, it's the new cool-lynning

Quote

Dear HIP HOP,

First and foremost, please understand that you, the customer, control HIP HOP. Not the artists, not the radio, and certainly not the old white guys at the heads of these labels. These people have a lot of power but if they don't produce the numbers that is expected of them, they will eventually become POWERLESS. You and I are those numbers.

Together we can make changes.

It all started last week when that Lauren Hill video from TMZ was posted on the net. Then Illseed posted a short interview of her and at the bottom he wrote "She is so Smart". A couple of days later, i was cleaning up and I decided to put in a CD instead of just turning on my itunes. I had to use my blu-ray player cause my CD player wasn't even hooked up. LOL. It's been that long. Anyways, i put in the "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill"

Wow, what have WE done to HIP HOP???

That album is a masterpiece. That is Music. PLEASE, I BEG ALL OF YOU THAT READ THIS LETTER TO LISTEN TO THAT ALBUM AGAIN, AND IF YOU NEVER HEARD IT PLEASE LISTEN TO IT FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY. Its very important to listen to the entire album from the beginning to the end and in the the proper sequence. Listen to that album and only buy albums that MATCH THE GREATNESS OF IT and we can change HIP HOP back to what it was.

Artist don't make albums anymore, and i know why. It's because in today's industry artists are forced into thinking only about the GIMMICKS: the ring tones, the merchandising, etc...(a. Gimmick: A device employed to cheat, deceive, or trick, especially a mechanism for the secret and dishonest control), But all these gimmicks wouldn't be so relevant right now if artists made good music. Gimmicks were invented because your album sucks and your single sounds more like a jingle then a song. Your label and management have to think up of crazy ways to make themselves money because they know a jingle when they hear one. Note to artist: I said make themselves some money.THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU, or us

Let me get back to us, the people, the customer. People please stop calling your radio stations, e-mail video stations and requesting this wack music. These artist can make better music, believe me. We can make them change.

HIP HOP needs all of its categories: Underground, Main Stream, Pop HIP HOP, Ganster Rap, Rap, Back Packer, Hip Hop Soul, etc......, but it doesn't need all the junk in between.

Lastly, i know a bunch of you are going to say that there is a lot of good HIP HOP out right now but i'm talking about HIP HOP that can be played on the radio and win a Grammy for Album of The Year. Anytime a good artist tries to go commercial, all they make is JUNK.

PS. If any body thinks "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" is not a HIP HOP album then you need to do more then just read this letter, you need to re-learn what HIP HOP really is.

culled from All hiphop.com

[apopyalips]

dude speaks ma mind. a must watch, listen to his last statement.

[ik-sl!ck]

what the fuck???!!! dude im a christian to the core but that dont mean i should go around expecting other people to be holy on the mic!! Lemme tell you something apop, everybody comes from a different background. You dont expect someone who grew with his mom and no pops to act like a kid froma compkete home. You dont expect someone who grew in a gang and started rapping to start advicing youths to shun violence when he has not been saved!!! People are influenced alot by their environment and that is what makes hiphop real!! I listen to a lot of gangsta rap and i love, cause gangsta rap has got a lot of slang talk and with more slangtalk comes a lotta punchlines, and i love punchlines. Im not gonna go and graba gun and shoot some one because game my favourite rapper The Game said he did so, or cause crooked i said he shot back at the haters dont mean im gonna go violent on my critics! Anybody who is influenced negatively by music is a fool. Eminem has said thousands of times that he aint a rolemodel, even Richboy said he aint a role model. Ive heard the game on a lotta tracks talking bout how different he wants the life of his son to be, but the listeners no dey hear those lines abi??! Fuck anybody who is influenced by gangsta rap, that person will probably be influenced by any and everything they see. I know why i listen to some hardcore music, its not cause i love what they say or do, but i appreciate the picture they paint and the way they portray their lifestory kind of like the way i enjoy movies. My music preaches positivity and encouragement cause thats what im about. We should learn to pick out positive lessons from all things good or bad. God even uses some sad storied to teach us lessons sometimes. Know your stand in life and stand for something so you wont fall for anything. Nuff said!

[apopyalips]

u right about what u're saying anyways, but i tell u, i know alotta people in portharcourt that add cough syrup to their drink just because lil whyne is doing it, these are grown people around the age of 25. i don't listen to people like that cos they don't adD value to ma life. Nigerians like originality and creativity but the artists and the wannabes have their focus on money so they do what they think will fetch them marketers and earn them fame easily with no hard work. Read the article i posted, dude spoke my mind. i tell u, Rap is the only element in hiphop that's dieing and selling out, other things like break dancing, graffiti is still alive and being kept real.

[Meyer Lansky Ent]

@ apopyalyps u are making me lose respect for you gradually.....you just went to post videos of immortal technique all over this thread tht are irrelevant to this topic and NIGERIAN HIP-HOP as a whole...i posted my interview up there and you didnt even watch it...listen YOU DONT LIKE IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE MORE THAN ME...ive seen all these videos you have posted here,a long time ago,and much more but Immortal technique doesnt in any way apply to Nigerian hip-hop....this guy has MAD FANS THAT BUY HIS WORK......not all that shit..he sells more than KRS one and so many other rappers out there...but its irrelevant to nigerian Hip-Hop..why dont you start rapping like him?? and see whats up...Listen we are NIGERIANS....that love HIP-HOP..have u been to Brooklyn before....??/where you there when Biggie was signed???? Do you have Eric Bs phone number ?? Nigga you are a Fan?? and i am a greater Fan , because im working hard to carve my own sound and sell to the Jadakissess,The Puffys , the Nasses,,i CANT RAP LIKE THEM PLEASEEEEEEEE .......I RAP LIKE ME, ive said this and i re iterate and i reiterate ANY NIGERIAN RAPPER THAT WAS NOT BORN ABROAD AND LIVED ABROAD FOR A PERIOD OF MORE THAN 7 YEARS,AND THAT EXCLUDES HOLIDAY AND SUMMER TRIPS,that raps in a silly AMERICAN ACCENT is straight UNREAL....then if ure now WACK thats another problem...you will be given a pass if youre tight,but trying to sound like american rappers,makes you inconsistent ,and inaudible,and so many Nigerian rappers are just there jonsing......lemme state here.....my mixtape is dropping in three days time....i dont hype my shit, but give it a listen you will hear songs i recorded in 1999 in my bedroom,but they got massive airplay back den......Listen,i School in London,and i have been priviledged to meet Teckzilla of Str8buttah who hosted and mIxed my mixtape,hes in the mould of emcees im talking about.....lemme tell you my best Nigerian rappers are the ones that SOUND NIGERIAN,.....Ill-Bliss,Modenine,Alabai,Six Foot Plus,Nigga Raw,DaGrin(RIP),,and co...then the ones that yankee up that i still love ..OD,Terry, AQ,KB of Trybesmen ,Eldee Extra Large amd co BECAUSE THEY DO IT WELL AND ARE CONSISTENT...apops work on your carrer and make YOUR MUSIC ...and stop criticizing for once.....maybe thru your music you can effect a change....like Fela Said MUSIC IS THE WEAPON....

[apopyalips]

@Meyer. well, first of all, i listened to your interview i gotta say, point and mine are the same so what are saying?The reason why i set u this thread wasn't only about the misconception we Nigerians have about hip hop but also cos i want this forum to be happening. talking about losing respect, anyways it's ya choice and it can never change my opinion or what i do. mentioning Eric B's number and Brooklyn is really way off point cos i don't know where to fit it to what am talking about. first of all, you asked me what keeping it real is in my own opinion and i stated it but you came back acting like this ish is personal. I'll prefer to be a hip hop critic to being a sell out hip hop artist. in case you don't know, i ran a record label in Nigeria before i left for the states, and my first label compilation album is selling. i dropped my first album in 2001 and sold couple of copies,let me borrow your words, my fans bought it.i never had the chance to develop my website at list that would've given you a tip on what am doing. i gotta be honest with you, i'll respect you as an artist if u post up a sixteen or any of ya tracks you've already recorded that is up to the level of any of those people you said you respect. at list that will certify your claim that you are in the mold of peeps like teckzilla. i have to let you know, i can be in Brooklyn tomorrow, and i can get ERic B's number if you want, so what's ya point. Everybody mustn't be rapper to love hiphop. see me more as a hip hop head, as a true head. have to say it again, i prefer to be a rap critic to being a sell out rapper that always hit the studio wasting my hard earned money to record a bubble gum rap period! looking forward to hearing your track. oh1 i can peep em on your myspace anyways.
just to clear any doubts, i listened to your interview againhttp://www.myspace.com/bigfazillion i listened to your songs.

[apopyalips]

i like ya level of lyricism but you confuse me with these things you wrote.in your interview you said, i don't like when mcees rap in a funny voice, what u actually tryna say is, you don't like emcees who Rap without accent. dude, most of ya rap was done with English and again what's ya point? i learned in my oral English class that there is a way to pronouns words. if u pronounce words wrongly because u want to sound like a typical nigerian or igbo man, it's going to affect your rhyming, you might be rhyming words with wrong words because of the way you pronounce it. why Rap in English then, why don't u Rap with lingo that way what u do will support what u said? this is just what i think and if u have anything different then i want to hear it or read it. This is my last post on this thread cos apparently you are not getting it. Check my threads here, I talk about things lik street team, networking, music business more than I talk about this typah issue.

[Meyer Lansky Ent]

im not talking based on this thread only, and i love your songs,but your views tend to obstruct your Art,i know what i was tryna point out...i didnt sy i try to sound like an ibo man , all im saying is you should rp the way you talk.......ODB,Andre 3000,Pimp c ,Mystikal , Twista ,.....they all rap different,bt they rap the way they talk...i am not knocking your hustle,but my own point was the Immortal technique videos..they are totally irrelevant to Hip-Hop in Naija context....thats all....post videos that relate to naija,and lets discuss naija Hip-Hop...


me too im out..i usually dont go off like this,but it is accumulated thoughts nd ive let them out...lets talk about something more productive and mybe when my mixtape drops in 2 days time ull download...

Bless

#RIPDAGRIN