Yes yes I am back with another one and this issue I jus had to address because it made me think a certain way about hip hop. Let's get started shall we. . .
I was on worldstarhiphop.com today and I was just going through a bunch of videos, (you guys need to really check out the documentary about the puerto rico day sex attacks in 2000, you fellas can laern something)and I came across a video of KRS-One saying that Def Jam single-handedly destroyed hip-hop. Before everybody gets their panties in a bunch I'll break down the video,(I will provide a link at the bottom of the post)he said that although hip-hop would't be what it was today without def jam in the same breath they destroyed it. He said something that made me actually see his point he said, "Def Jam is the type of label that makes everybody sit down while they are able to do their own thing" and how most of their artists are the ones that are being played on a regular basis. I sat there and I said wow he makes a very strong argument, but I have some rebuttals.
Yes, Def Jam is the label that seems to be running hip hop but can you blame the record label. As a rapper or a singer or whatever why wouldn't you not want to be associated with one of the longest running black owned and culturally noticed hip hop label of all time. If it wasn't for Russell Simmons and Rick Ruben I doubt that hip hop/rap music would have the global power it has today. Def Jam is the pioneering record label of Death Row, Bad Boy, Rocafella , Murder inc., etc. And another fact has anybody seen the roster if the def jam label and I am not talking about now times, I am talking about between 1996-2002. And especially during the golden years of hip hop 1997 & 1998. Like let's face the facts, there was DMX Ruff Ryders, Rocafella, & Murder INC who was fuckin with them? Yes there was alot of hip hop crews during that time, but those 3 ran both radio and music video rotation. They gave the listeners what they wanted to hear and because there was a vast amount of response and in Def Jam seeing this what were they suppose to do sit back? Umm no I think they had to do what any label had to do and push their artists out on all fronts and if that meant that everybody had to be stepped on, then so be it. Another example of this is when Method Man & Redman came out with their first collabo album, Blackout, the response was good, but when Da Rockwilda came out (2 mins of gold that should've went on for longer but meh is considered a classic) it was like ok, this just isn't the roc or ruff ryders and such, def jam is THAT crew not to fuck with.
But int he same breath they have been the label that in some form has bullied other artists on different labels. When you look at it Def Jam was an ego driven label that lead to the demise of some of the greatest rap crews and severed many good relationships. I can understand as to why KRS says that Def Jam single handedly destroyed the culture known as hip hop, I feel somewhere along the line the money nd the greed has transpired in these artists and the values and ethics of what was hip hop had turned into the rap game or the music business. This is especially seen through accusations from artists about not getting as much shine as other artists and not enough money being put into their albums and marketing. When you think about it, it's like when Ha by Juvenile was big in the South and making it national but when Jay-Z got on the track it brought it to a whole nother level. I think many artists on Def Jam feel that they are in their own stratosphere and because of the fact that not only is it a pioneering label but it also molded and powerhoused some of the best artists of this generation. Shit even Nas knew whats up and took his ass to Def Jam. Therefore the label as a whole seems like a label that bullies itself through the music business.
I think to say that Def Jam single handedly destroyed hip hop is a very loaded statement because there are so many factors that led to the dismembering of hip hop from rap. But I do think that Def Jam had a hand in bringing about the musical recession we are in when it comes to rap. The south didn't do it alone once rappers that you call heroes make fuckery look cool there is a generation of idiots that will come about.
Speak Your Mind, But Hold That Thought!
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