Okay, so once upon a time, hip hop was cool. The words rappers said meant something. Ideally, they wrote insightful lyrics and it rhymed. The "best" rappers would even have their work be called "art."
Soulja Boy has always received a lot of criticism. It started back when he was able to go platinum off a frenzied dance. It was fun, it was "cool," and he was expected to fade away.
But Soulja Boy has not done so. He deserves all the credit in his world. He was able to master his desktop, play with bells and drum kits to create an overly simple pop sound. Its music. Its a collection of sound expressing emotion in rhythm, melodies, and those concepts.
Soulja Boy is a rapper. He doesn't sing (Turrrrnnn myyy swagg onnnnnnnn!! Yea I chuckled when I thought that, sue me). So he is grouped in the same categories with Nas, 2pac, Biggie and Big Pun. And there lies the imbalance. For the most part, the rappers mentioned made some radio friendly hits while maintaining a level of integrity for their music. Now we can't and don't expect every rapper to be Ras Kass(we could though, which might be productive), but the lyrics mattered. Rapper's lyrics evolved because it contained a poetic element. Lauryn Hill taking the grammy for best album was an example. Whether it was "Lost Ones" or "Final Hour," her songs were poetic.
What has Soulja Boy done till this point? So far he has managed to take several catchy phrases and make them MTV material. It doesn't matter what he says. His record label will pay big bucks in order to make sure everyone hears it. He gets all the promotion in the world and is shoved in our faces as the new.
He does continue to have success though. All that promotion is good for something. Whether its ringtones, or itunes downloads, people are looking to him for music. And that is what keeps him going. He is expected to put out music, and as long as people look to him for it, he will continue to noted as a successful rapper.
I know I'm giving him extra promotion, but I love the music too much not to say something about it.
Don't blame it on us- people were more than ready to forget Soulja Boy. Blame it on Soulja's determination to not become that 'guy with the stupid dance'.
ReplyDeleteWell people have to start somewhere whether it be on you tube making dumb videos or singing in the shower. The viewers seem to have lowered their expectations of what music really is especially in the Rap game. For example: Peanut Butter Jelly Time.. -_- enough said. So i agree with you but on the other hand the media and the people who support the media are the one's who actually call the shots. So if anyone's to blame at this point blame it on the " A aaa alcohol lmfao i joke.
ReplyDeleteWell you have to look at it this way. If the internet was widely availiable in any era where good entertainment was abundant, we'd have something like 'Peanut Butter Jelly Time'too.
ReplyDeleteBad (as in hollow, stupid, etc.) has been around forever. Just because we've become more sensitive to it, doesn't necessarily mean that humanity is becoming retarded....
The interent is a big deal. The internet helped bring Drake
ReplyDelete