I stopped listening to most new rap releases sometime in 1993; Doggystyle was the last rap CD I bought. For me, it had started to get way too commercialized and had lost it's raw edge. I believe one of the things that made most rap of the 80's great was that it sounded low-budget. It was more about an MC and a DJ, rather than a producer layering songs with so many tracks.
Other than Run DMC and The Fat Boys, LL Cool J, Whodini and the Beastie Boys, it was nearly impossible to acquire rap cassettes during that time. I went to a high school with a large number of Army brats, who had families all over the country, and we used to buy mix tapes from a couple of them for $5 a pop. They weren't actual dubs of tracks pulled from albums either; most of them were just taped broadcasts of "Mr. Magic's Rap Attack" and DJ Red Alert's Saturday night mixes from 2 weekends prior.
Even after rap became more popular, it still had an underground feel to it, other than 4 or 5 "commercial" acts like Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince or MC Hammer, who most true rap fans grew to despise after their first couple of albums. Back then it seemed more regional in nature.
Houston, with Rap-A-Lot records, had of course the Geto Boys, but also Def IV, Raheem, Gangster Nip, Too Much Trouble, and solo releases from Willie D and Scarface.
Miami was mostly bass music with Magic Mike, DXJ, MC Ade, Gigolo Tony, Disco Rick and the Dogs, Clay D and of course the 2 Live Crew. Luke Skyywalker Records also had some acts I thought were terrible: LeJuan Love, Anquette, Tony Rock.
Philly, besides the aforementioned Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, had must better acts like Schooly D, Steady B, Cool C, and Tuff Crew.
None of these acts even got so much as a sniff from Billboard, but now if I look at the Billboard Top 100, in most weeks there are 5-10 rappers in the top 25. I guess commercially it has come a long way, but artistically I don't think it is even in the same neighborhood.
So, to sum it up, I'm ****ing old.
Other than Run DMC and The Fat Boys, LL Cool J, Whodini and the Beastie Boys, it was nearly impossible to acquire rap cassettes during that time. I went to a high school with a large number of Army brats, who had families all over the country, and we used to buy mix tapes from a couple of them for $5 a pop. They weren't actual dubs of tracks pulled from albums either; most of them were just taped broadcasts of "Mr. Magic's Rap Attack" and DJ Red Alert's Saturday night mixes from 2 weekends prior.
Even after rap became more popular, it still had an underground feel to it, other than 4 or 5 "commercial" acts like Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince or MC Hammer, who most true rap fans grew to despise after their first couple of albums. Back then it seemed more regional in nature.
Houston, with Rap-A-Lot records, had of course the Geto Boys, but also Def IV, Raheem, Gangster Nip, Too Much Trouble, and solo releases from Willie D and Scarface.
Miami was mostly bass music with Magic Mike, DXJ, MC Ade, Gigolo Tony, Disco Rick and the Dogs, Clay D and of course the 2 Live Crew. Luke Skyywalker Records also had some acts I thought were terrible: LeJuan Love, Anquette, Tony Rock.
Philly, besides the aforementioned Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, had must better acts like Schooly D, Steady B, Cool C, and Tuff Crew.
None of these acts even got so much as a sniff from Billboard, but now if I look at the Billboard Top 100, in most weeks there are 5-10 rappers in the top 25. I guess commercially it has come a long way, but artistically I don't think it is even in the same neighborhood.
So, to sum it up, I'm ****ing old.
