2006 was an amazing year in music but not for hip hop. Sales dipped (only Jay-Z and T.I have comfortably gone platinum), critics yawned, Timbaland gave up on it, the streets birthed little and 2007 doesn't look much brighter.....
The most anticipated LP's of the year belonged to President Jay and Nasty Nas. Jay's album is an event but it side steps the streets; it is not a hip hop album, he has become hip pop. And why not I say. He has given us 10 years of joy. 'Kingdom Come' is a great album, just dont expect another 'Reasonable Doubt' or 'Blueprint'. The dude is worth $300 mil, would we really take him seriously if he still rapped about crack and bitches? He is too honest for that. Let him penetrate the pop charts and make us and our girlfriends dance. His album is still avenues ahead of all most of the washed-out competition. You have to go back to the 'Black Album' to understand the root of 'Kingdom Come'.
'Hova the God nigga blasphamy
I'm at the Trump International
Ask for me
I ain't never scared
I'm everywhere
You ain't never there
Nigga why would I ever care
Pound for pound I'm the best to ever come around here
Excluding nobody
Look what I embody
The soul of a hustler I really ran the street
A CEO's mind
That marketing plan was me
And no I ain't get shot up a whole bunch of times (50 Cent)
Or make up shit in a whole bunch of lines (Nas?)
And I ain't animated, like say a, Busta Rhymes
But the real shit you get when you bust down my lines
Add that to the fact I went plat a bunch of times
Times that by my influence on pop culutre
I supposed to be number one on everybodys list
We'll see what happens when I no longer exist
Fuck this man
(What more can I say?)
Nas' album, released under Jay's umbrella initially disappointed me but I have grown to like it. He still fails to deliver another classic but there are some wonderful highlights ('Can't forget about you', 'Black Republicans Ft Jay-Z). Hip Hop is not Dead its too much of a monster to die but it does seem to be in remission.
The problem is that the whole 'money, crack, cash, ho's, gangsta' mentality is saturated; we done heard it all before. Its not healthy that the bleak landscape has demanded a new Jay-Z album when he has already given the culture and music so much. Why are we still hoping for Nas to be 'illmatic' again? It ain't going to happen and we can't blame him for this. Why is no-one coming through to take over? People are not inspired by todays sad crop of Jadashit, Paul Wall, Jeezy, Busta, Camron, Dipshit (none of them deliver great albums) etc. The Clipse are fantastic rappers but their second album is ruined by their continued crack addition. I don't give a shit about you selling crack, you battered that concept to death on the first LP; think of something new to say. Ghostface, why did you release a second album this year? That was just dumb; nobody knew about it and as a result it bombed - as if Def Jam will give you the promotion budget twice in the same year; come on you are not doing yourself any favours....
2007
Rap needs to evolve away from repetition. You released watered-down clones then you will get watered-down CD sales. Its sad that Talib Kweli (new album in 2007) doesn't move units. Lupe Fiasco and Rhymefest released strong, interesting albums but only a small part of the market listened. Little Wayne is hardly a conscious rapper but has great potential, can he keep his ego in check and sit down to record a great solo record? Kanye is back in March, lets hope he has been saving his best beats for himself because the few he has given out this year have been weak. In 2007 lets hope a crop of young, new, interesting rappers emerge to push hip hop forward again because its lost in the crack smoke and its no longer Shawn Carter and Nasir Jones' place to drag it out....
Lupe Fiasco - Lu Myself
Jay-Z - Hustlin'
The Game - Sound Scan (G-Unit Diss)
Nas - Where Y'all at
Lil Wayne - Georgia Bush
Jay-Z - Show me what you got (Chops Remix)
Lupe Fiasco - Cold War Fiasco
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