why HIP HOP is bigger than FREESTYLE

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Kenny Guido

Kenny Guido

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I'm not going to begin by saying it was caused by sales. Nor will i say it was caused by poor distribution. HIP HOP is a constant source for news.
way back in the early 80's, HIP HOP (or RAP) emerged out of NYC. the youths embraced it and adored it. RAP was a new sound that everyone could enjoy. the media and government, did not like it though. they thought it was bad and not educational to our youths. they said it preached about everything that was not good in todays society. in raps early days, there wasnt much more that can be found that was totally wrong with it. the media tried finding things to make news. when someone screwed up, the media was the first to be there to say "i told you so". at itmes, it seemd that it was a racial thing.
When rap changed, so did alot of thier feelings. this was more news for the media. they had so much more to look forward to. rap was preaching about guns and drugs now. what else could they ask for? they knew it was a matter of time before something big hit. in time, it did. from ol dirty to puff daddy to the king adrock to eminem, there was always constant news. as long as their is rap, there will be news, good or bad, black or white.
FREESTYLE never did anything wrong. sure, the sales declined and the distribution began to get shoddy, but that was not our fault. the competition was furious. hip hip was becoming a billion dollar industry. it was nearly impossible to keep up with the jones's. perhaps if frrestyle got itself involved in some sort of contreversy it may bring them to the spot light, perhaps temporarily, but i dont think we need to do that. that is not "our" style.
now, when we ask "why doesnt MTV have a special about FREESTYLE?" need i say more? why doesnt MTV have a special on techno? not big enough. in about 5 years, you may see a special week dedicated to the new music of today which (pregressive/house) promotes drug usage in the clubs. that will be worthy enough. lives will be lost and and it will involve a drug industry. why? there is a lot of contreversy surrounding it. FREESTYLE is just too kind hearted.
 
Hey Kenny!

While I liked your piece, I also thought that you truly missed a lot of good things that came from hip hop as well. I know this is a freestyle web site, and promoting freestyle is why we are all here; however, looking at another successful genre and saying that it is far more successful for controversy alone is unfair to hip hop.
Being a product of Spanish Harlem where a lot of your freestyle pioneers are from (Lizzette, TKA, Joey Gardener) I know for a fact as you should, that freestyle is derived from hip hop. It was originally and still is in my heart "Progressive Dance Hip Hop". The tag name freestyle is a verb to describe an artist (in hip hop) ad libbing as the beat goes on. Later transformed to a word describing the movements done to the newer and faster "Latin Hip Hop"(Heartthrob...etc.). You seemed to miss that Hip Hop is successful because even when an artist achieves commercial success they will be checked at the doors of the streets if it aint real. Hip Hop kept it's rules without restricting artist from being creative. There are plenty of formulas to get real hip hop. Freestyle always seemed to be done one way as opposed to trying to grow, and when it was bad, nothing was said.
I can agree on the fact that freestyle is less controversial and that hurts the sales factor because when you get on the news you arouse curiosity from fans you otherwise would have never reached, thus getting them to see what the controversy is all about. The battle is won however, when that curious fan buys the record and that record is as entertaining as hip hop can be. Not to mention the fact that the music is made up from bits and pieces of all music, and the lyrics are rhythmic spoken word poetry, vividly describing ones life and times. It's not all love. But it's what many can relate to and it's not so hard to remember. (When it's not Bone Thugs N' Harmony:0))
Here in the freestyle world it's a great thing to go to a concert, and all the artist are together and the only real beef is who is going to have the better show. The battle is invloved in the artistry where it should remain. I have been backstage and performed for fickle hip hop fans as an artist myself, and the vibe isn't as nice. The threat of real beef exist and it can be a very intimidating game. (especially now that Suge Knight is back..lol) So I actually applaud freestyle for maintaining it's focus on being a peaceful source of entertainment. The only real thing to do is make better music. The newspapers will come for good music as well, especially it becomes consistently good, and we don't let bad music overwhelm the genre again.
So say again to everyone change is good as long as the music is good. Don't hold your selves back by holding your artist back let them grow and grow with them, or you will be left behind and back on these post wondering what happened to your art form.
When the answer is nothing happened. It grew and your failing to see it. I still think that everything that these boy bands were doing were stolen elements of freestyle. Far less controversy than hip hop, yet the numbers speak for themselves (read: 11, 12 million records sold)
There lies the possibilities of good freestyle music. The last boy band pop phenomenon was spear-headed by Full Force who brought you Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Samantha Fox etc...Need I say more?
 
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Thanks for replying to my post, TY. i wanted to broaden the topic but i didnt know how to start it. i just put alot of things that were on my mind lately. hip hip is a huge part of everyones lives, whether they know it or not. i just felt that alot of bad things that hip hop represented is what fuels thier fire. there were so many bad things that came out of rap (insert vanilla ice's name here).🙂
there are so many things we can talk about when it comes to hip hop. we, the listeners and fans, dont take it to heart and truley call it bad. it is what the other listeners do to ruin it. if they hear something in a song, they go out and re-inact it. thus, life imating art. thats what puts the spotlight on hip hop in the media as such a terrible thing.as of lately, hip hop has been portrayed as "the worst thing since the devil". BUT, thats life. nothing we can do about it.
 
let me get this out of the way right off the bat, i DO NOT LIKE TODAY'S HIP HOP and have no problem telling that to anyone.

From sales and the media hip hop has generated a sh*tstorm of hype, but it seems, and i just admitted that i am biased and this IS my opinion alone, that the hype is what keeps hip hop afloat.

It has little musical merit and tons of negativity to spew to young minds that are trapped in angry underprivledged bodies.

Hip hop will always have an audience because there will always be pissed off kids runnig around looking for ways to rebel, whether it be at their parents, their teachers or the police or gov't, so long as there is angst there will be hip hop.

I should also state that because i don't like the music i am not about to try and get it banned or lobby against it or anything of the sort, but i would not let my child listen to it until he/she was at an age where they can form an opinion of their own rather than have DMX or JAY Z scream it into their faces.

I'm sure this will piss off the hard core fans out there but so what? Hip hop music runs around like its the only genre that ghas a right to be pissed off, or their the only ones who want to "get theirs" or "represent"...pfah, whatever.

Old school guys like Rakim or
Slick Rick, or Grand Master Flash and Chuck D, not the one from this site, and Run DMC, those guys had something to say and it wasn't about they gonna gat yo ass cos ni**as is real and sh*t!

Those guys are considered out of it cos they aren't running around gunning down the competition.

Kenny Guido said freestyle lost because it was too kind hearted well there are worse reasons to lose. Freestyle never gave up and therefore it will never be a "loser" in my eyes, and if you think that way why are you here posting?

It's taken a stiff shot to the jaw and gone down but never out, and in regards to your MTV comment, MTV deals with music thats like chewing gum, its good for the first few minutes but once the flavor is gone you just spit it out and try something else.

Its a trend based sort of teevee and it shows hip hop because right now thats whats considered to be cutting edge and MTV always goes for shock over substance.

So what does that say about hip hop?
 
I ebecause it stole the spot light from freestyle. but like i said before, there is always a debate being sparked in the him hop community. can you not read a newspaper or watch a news report without seeing or hearing about a downfall of a hip hop artist? i see one at least once a week. the media just feeds off of hip hop, as the kids crave the style, lyrics and bad boy attitude it portrays.njoy freestyle because it is so much UNLIKE hip hop. FREESTYLE dealt with the feelinf of love and heartbreak. while it told the truth of love, HIP HOP took it to an almost darker level in the 90's, still discussing the horrors of life. i dont adore all hip hop of today, but i still like a portion of it, although i wont buy it (i am not an advocate for napster, either.)
look at the contreversy that freestyle has started. there is none. what are the things that wer so bad that they did that are worth making the news? NOTHING. we should be glad that our music embraces common decency and good morals while hip hop tells us the bad things in life and gets a bad reputation for it. honestly, i have enough of my problems, i dont need to hear some rapper boast about how many "niggas" he "F"ed up or how many hoes he wacked. I'll stick to what makes me happy, and if the media doesnt want to talk about the good things in life, so be it.
 
Legacy?

Kid Heartbreak said:
Most of Legacy is has been locked up for the last six years.

The reason why hip hop sells more is because it's some real shit from the streets (the way freestyle used to be).

Old school freestyle related to the people cuz it was real. People see right through the fake new shit.
Click to expand...

Legacy? Maybe if they had been smarter in how they did whatever it was that got them locked up, they would still be doing FreeStyle instead of time.


As for why Hip-Hop/(C)rap sells more than FreeStyle, I don't really care about it. I listen to FreeStyle because it still appeals to me. I do have a preference for the Old School, though. If you really think about it, Old School FreeStyle was about love, just like current FreeStyle. So, the point about its being real is open for debate.

- Fernando Benitez from San Diego, CA -
 
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KENNY GUIDO said:
...the kids crave the style, lyrics and bad boy attitude it portrays.
Click to expand...

You got it right there, Kenny. It's all about attitude and it's all about image. You got a bunch of kids who always gotta be hard up. And when you're a kid, you wanna be bad. And hip hop heads are always quick to diss other music. Makes others feel uncool, or "gay" as someone here mentioned before. So the others join the hip hop bandwagon. They learn to like the beats, they learn to dance to it. That's how I figure it got so popular; 'cus I that's what I went through.

How important is this bad-ass image to hip hop heads? Where's Heavy D. nowadays? How bout Vanilla Ice getting dropped by the fans when they found out he wasn't from the ghetto? Does that mean fans only bought his music because of that? Today, the lyrics are all about smoking weed, screwing hoes, I have a lot of money, I'm the baddest mutha f* and everyone's jealous of me. Try to find a rap song that's not about that stuff. Is that what they mean by "keeping it real" and "true to the streets". I'm tired of it. Who would've thought that music of negativity would be so popular? How can people listen to music with lyrics they don't agree with? Do they even listen to the lyrics? Maybe not.

Much respect to Rap artist who made respectable dance music: De La Soul, Digital Underground, Rob Base, Jungle Bothers, etc.
 
Cheap

Rap is cheap and easy to make.

Consider this:
How come rap artist can record 3 albums in one year?
How can 2Pac release 5 albums posthumously?
How can Puffy make millions sampling other people's songs?
 
wait!

I got to spit on this subject too.
about 2pac>>>thats easy,if all u do is write(when ur in jail)and all u do is rap(for your job,and everywhere u go)all day everyday,everynite since 1990(digital underground) you are gonna have quite a few recordings even if they are only one verse on a song you can always go back and add someone else or a simular rap from another production of the same tempo,also we do have timecompression and time expansion.
about Raps popularity,it is real people,doing real things,while freestyle is kinda fanatical fantasy based with love themes.If you think about it,rap is just like freestyle music with a reality based backround.Ive heared quite a few rappers that could sing better than 60 percent of the artists in freestyle.
Truth is the world will never truly know cause we move on as the world changes.From where im at and what I see among my peepz,(rappers and singers)they all love both.My rappers love most REAL freestyle(not that whinney hearthrob what will i do shyyyt)most of my freestyle peepz love the raps stuff too.As long as it isnt senseless distruction or endless bragging.
kF
 
Someone, riddle me this???

What does it mean? "Bone Thug"



And as for Rappers keeping it "real"...

How come they lie or dream about something that they say they did and then talk about it in order to make money?

C'mon really, how could someone be so stupid as to make a RAP song about how they killed "everyone & their mother" and still walk around a free man...NOT IF YOUR BLACK & DEFINATELY NOT IN AMERICA my friends....



Man, living in the projects all my life...I know alot of Rappers, personally...They run at the sight of blood...

So don't gimme that "OOH! IT's real" nonsense!

It has got to be the most ignorant misuse of a word ever in recorded history...


A wise man once said:

"The only reason why men curse is because they are really afraid to say what's on their mind"
Malcolm X...


The only thing "real" about today's RAP music is that it has no future...Some of you RAP only people will strongly disagree...

BUT..When everyone's tired of the bullsh*t and the cursing and disrespect (Before the new generation is infected ofcoarse) and money can't be made out of it & all these "HOT 97 - keeping it real" idiots grow up & have children & families to look forward to & raise them correctly...Which is the "REAL" sh*t... than all what is today will amount to nothing...

Talk is cheap & that's what I think about today's RAP...
 
i dunno, but the first time i heard the phrase "KEEPIN IT REAL" was in 95 on Bpbby's "STRONG ISLAND" comp. how it got the rap scene from there, i dunno.
i loved your questions, Jason!!

Rap is cheap and easy to make.

Consider this:
How come rap artist can record 3 albums in one year?
How can 2Pac release 5 albums posthumously?
How can Puffy make millions sampling other people's songs?

as for Legacy, I'm sure it would of made the headlines if they were well known,or a decade sooner but as this sad incident happened, it was well after the fact the freestyle has passed in the media's eye.

i hear about alot of rappers getting arrested. some i have never heard of before, but if "rap" is thier game, the media will snatch it up and continue to portray it as the worst thing to happen to kids since drugs.
honestly, why do people prefer freestyle over hip hop or vice versa? i guess it boils down to what the individual prefers. if he looks for excitement or danger (mostly in a fairy tale story) he will choose the hip hop or gothic. if one chooses about the good life and love and happieness, they may choose freestyle (or pop or country). there will always be music for someone out there.
 
Great Topic!

I totally agree with 'Kid Heartbreak' when he said "What Kind of Freestyle Head would not be down with Hip-Hop"

and who said 'Rap is cheap and easy to make', u see that's the kind of closed-mindness that has kept freestyle from getting any bigger, Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B have all evolved and gotten better with the times, u hear an R&B song from the 70's and 80's and it's sound it very different from the R&B from today, and the same goes for Rap, Yeah Run-DMC, Slick Rick, UTFO, KRS-1, started Rap, and it was Great, i still love listening to it, but if it were to stay the same, same style, same lyrics all the time, it would've never gotten big, it would've just died out......I love Freestyle Music, 'old-school' this so-called NEW FREESTYLE Music is just trying to imitate the old and it's not progressing at all, they need to get a style of their own and try to cater to the younger crowd <---- They're the ones buying the records that are making these Rap artists rich.

Open up ur mind don't stay stuck in da past, Rap is not all about Killing and Gang Life, Tupac's latest single "Until the End of Time" is a good example of a Great song.....

DaGirlNEXTdoor@webtv.net
 
real yes real

Let me first state that I am talking about RAP not hip hop.
Hey Baja Panties,I dont think that you quite understood what I typed so I will try another way to explain it.I dont really know how it is over there.I only know how it is over here.Let me tell you that it is very real.There is no love in the streets.It is very violent and unfair.Once u are in the system there is very little chance to get out.I am not a bleeding heart democract that uses cliches to explain my points.I own a rap label,I develop rappers,I am from the street also.What rap does for my people is to give them an outlet for their stress and violent natures.I have only worked with real thugs and believe me mayn they are for real when it comes to violence.I see them bumping their rap music especially when they are sad.Missing friends,hurt from fighting,sad from living in broken homes with parents addicted to drugs many of whom buy the drugs(or **** for them)from their childrens friends.I know quite a few that have 4 generations of family in and out of the Prison system.Did you know that for the last 100 years there has been a quiet civil war in mexico?Over the last 20 years it has spread itself to the US and manifested itself into two major street gangs.These things Im writing are real.Its up to u to believe me or not.BTW its not any cheaper to make rap that it is to make a freestyle song.Studio time costs the same at most places.Its just that these rappers have been ballin and can afford it.While most freestyle singers have delusions of grandeur just waiting to be discovered and fiananced.Freestyle peepz need to GET UP GET OUT AND GET SOMETHING or GET OVER IT.
much respect
kF
 
My comment about Rap being easy to make stems from many Rappers being able to freeflow just about anything. They make up something smart in a second. Then, a “producer” can sample some record and lay the rap on top of it. Bam! Instant record. I was a big fan of Hip Hop, but then I rediscovered Freestyle and Dance music and even Pop music. And I realized, Hey, this Rap music sounds so stagnant on this loop; it never changes! Or, this guy’s lyrics are all about disrespecting women, and bragging about his money and cars. When I looked at the playlist one day for the local Hip Hop radio stations and saw that the majority of the Rap music was about these topics, it turned me off.

I know that not all Rap music is negative. And I also know that some Dance music sounds like cheap beats or endless looping, too. So, there’s a lot Rap that I like and a lot of Dance and Freestyle that I don’t like. What I don’t understand is how a lot of people like Rap, when they can’t really relate to it. They don’t relate to the experiences in the lyrics, or much less talk like that.
 
I just like whatever..dammit..lol, but hiphop is popular because of the hookups by producers and beats, samples, collaborations and yes i mention this waaaay back: u needs the dollars for promos and merchandise! Advertisement, popularity among artists..beef no beef, flashy videos..yadayadayada..oh and the lyrics is a must...(i agree, theres rappers that dont compare with the artists of yesterday to the artists of today..ex: RAKIM vs. NELLY..yeah i know, putting Nelly in a same sentence as Rakim is more than enough..RAKIM is wicked, KRS1, LL Cool J etc.. now thats hiphop)
Nothin' against Nelly i like some of his tunes, but i used him as an example..and a comparison. oh dang, i hope i make a little sense in my so called explanation, lol. peaceouttie peeps...😉

M...🙄
 
I THINK THAT THE REASON RAP IS SO POPULAR IS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPRESS AGGRESSION THAN LOVE AND SENSITIVITY AND RAP IS AN AGRESSIVE TYPE OF MUSIC WHERE FREEESTYLE ISN'T ALSO ALOT OF PEOPLE ASOCIATE FREESTYLE MUSIC WITH BEING"GAY" AND MANY HOMOPHOBIC'S ARE AFRAID OF BEING CLASSIFIED AS GAY OR QUEER LIKE WHEN NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK WERE OUT ALL I HEARD FROM EVERYONE IS THAT THEY WERE FAG'S AND STUFF LIKE THAT BUT THIS IS MY OWN OPINION ANDI ENJOYY ALL TYPES OF MUSIC AND RAP IS ONE OF THEM,BUT FREESTYLE IS MY FAVORITE!😉
 
Hey KiD ur right!, Redman is from BrickCity, and so is Queen Latifah, Lauren Hill, and Naughty by Nature,...hmmm I wonder who else, LOL


Fierce, as far as FREESTYLE MUSIC being 'gay music' I've heard that too, but pay no mind to it, it's usually a person who doesn't appreciate that music, making that comment (ignorant people), and Rap music is agressive!!!!! I don't know about that, I love RAP, and I'm not agressive at all,
all they're doing is rapping about the life they had as they were growing up, I can relate to it, (except for the guns, gangs, & drups) growing up in Newark, and being poor, makes it easy to relate to for me.

🙂
 
ive never heard of freestyle being called "gay" or for "gay" people other than from people in this site. i dont know if its a regional thing, but being from long island and nyc, ive never stumbled upon the 2 within the same sentence.
 
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