Hip-Hop Gone Emotional Part 1 of 2: Age and Autotune

Good afternoon ladies & gentlemen... and lowlifes

I'm still checking the feedback from my last blog. Didn't know you guys would feel so strongly the Music City. In other Hip-Hop news, Max B was found guilty on 9 of the 11 charges he faced... Yes it was murder, and yes his prostitute, I mean, girlfriend testified against him. Although I've been seeing Free Max B shirts, I can't find any reason to show support, but instead to not trust the women you sleep with.

Now onto the topic.

How many of you heard Jay-Z's new single? If you haven't, it's called D.O.A. (Death of Autotune). Jay put it out last week, and it's fuego in my opinion. Ironically, the Best Rapper Alive got some less than warm feedback from it. DJ Webstar (Remember him? Chicken Noodle Soup?) was the first to speak out against it, and he'll be the first I'll address.

Webstar went as far as to call Jigga out on his age and saying how a 40-year old can't relate to a 17 or 22 year old. He even talked about "lettin' the young niggas eat" or some bs. Ron Browz and T-Pain also addressed the song; however, T-Pain felt honored about it, and Ron Browz's response simply said that the streets should decide if autotune on a track is hot (which I agree with). Other people have chimed in saying the song was wack or whatever. Honestly, I think they're more offended than anything.

I find it ironic how even after American Gangster dropped, people still hailed him as the greatest rapper... ever. People were jocking Jigga so hard, claiming he beat Nas in that legendary beef, and basically everything he puts out is gold and no one could touch him. Now that he dropped D.O.A., people wanna say he's "old" and "irrelevant". He's been "old" and "irrelevant". He's a 40-year old multimillionaire that people like us can't relate to. Now I'm not gonna use that against him.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a Jay-Z fan (though there were some times I hated him), but it seems like Jay's getting the Nas treatment now. Think back to 2006-2007 when Hip-Hop Is Dead dropped. All of a sudden, Nas wasn't a good MC anymore. He was just old. That's what's happening to Jigga anymore. This brings up a question: Does Hip-Hop have an age limit? Think about it.
Even though the younger generation are the primary consumers of Hip-Hop, rap music has been around since the 70s. There are people in their 60s rappin' now (sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's sad). My point is since when did age mark relevance? I understand that people of different generations are out of touch with each other, but how many of you guys can relate to Lil' Wayne? to Rick Ross? to Kanye West? Hell, to Gucci Mane? These are people of our generation and I can't relate to any of them. I don't have money. I'm not famous (in my mind at least). I'm not a dope boy, and I'm not on drugs. All I have to say about it is the oldheads have stories to tell that we could all use, but don't use someone's age as a reason not to listen to them. Chances are, they went through what you're going through. I'll go into detail on that another day though

Another question: Why are only the MCs of yesterday making statements that everyone's thinking? Nas said Hip-Hop was dead 2 years after people all over the streets and the Internet were politicking saying it was dead, but the mainstream said he was old. When Jay-Z said R.I.P. Autotune, people were already annoyed with the oversaturation of the autotune use (It's not for everybody so stop it). In my opinion, this generation has no leaders in the mainstream, just followers who call themselves leaders. People are afraid to stand up for something and are willing to sell their souls if it means they'll get a fast buck. To all you so-called rappers who call themselves the voices of the streets or whatever, if you really wanna be the voice of the streets, play your position and tell what the streets is thinking and what they're going through, not how fly you are or whatever.

Now to address the whole Autotune thing.

First off, in response to Webstar, I think we gotta worry more about Gucci Mane, Soulja Boy, and OJ da Juiceman as far as people who don't "let the young niggas eat". Ron Browz is right. The streets should judge what's hot and what isn't. Autotune's ok when used moderately. Zapp & Roger revolutionized it. T-Pain made it cool again, and Lil' Wayne made everyone else think they could use it. I like Z&R, and I liked T-Pain's use of it. Even Kanye's was tolerable, but when everybody and they're mama uses it, that's when I get a lil' disturbed. I mean, Young Berg, Baby, Lil' Kim and R. Kelly (The so-called King of R&B, the @#$%&?+ pied piper of R&B) were just examples of the overkill in autotune. some say people who can't sing shouldn't use it. I say if you can sing, why use it? Also, not everyone sounds good on it. Others just don't know how to use it. And for the record, I have no plans on using Autotune. I'm not a singer, but even if I was, I'd rather rely on my natural voice (unless the music's that trippy lol)

To sum it up, autotune's not for everybody, or everything. Unless you're seriously skilled with it, don't use it. And also, when you talk about a rapper's statement, don't always rely on age. Sometimes it's valid; other times it makes you look ignorant.

I'm done for today. Peace

Next: Hip-Hop Gone Emotional Part 2: The J in J Dilla Stands for Jesus


Just for laughs, but T-Pain wins the Guiness World Record for pushing black people back the furthest by pushing us back to the stone age, beating out Soulja Boy's record which only pushed us back to the pyramids

Music City Blues

I hope I don't offend anyone... On second thought, I don't care if I do. I got some things to get off my chest that I've been thinking about for a long time. I'm constantly confronted with the question as to why Nashville's never on the Hip-Hop map. As Nashville's Native Son, I figured it's only right to address the so-called city of music. This is coming from the perspective of an aspiring artist, college student, and observant resident.

First of all, this one's to the artists... GET OFF YOUR OWN DICKS!!!!!
Now Classic Williams calls himself the Jesus of Nashville, Black Noize is 615's king and I call myself the Music City Messiah... What sets us apart is that we're all trying to build up Nashville as a city completely and not just ourselves. I understand that if you don't believe in yourself nobody will, but if we really wanna make it as a city, we gotta work together and acknowledge the people behind the scenes and the fans. I understand that we all live busy lives and we have needs that we can't handle on our own (art, promotion, etc.) but we gotta show everybody respect, and not let our egos get the best of us, no matter how high up there we are. I was gonna say names, but some know who they are. I know not all of you are like this, but the ones that are are the reason why people don't wanna work with us. Understand that it's not always (actually, it's never) all about you so listen to everyone who approaches you. You may learn something.

In Nashville, everyone's either a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, musician, or all of the above. The problem with that is... Alot of them suck. This is where I get at the artists, and the gatekeepers. I'm the type of artist where I'll work with anyone who's talented, loves music, and is willing to work with me. There's alot of artists that are just as talented and they're willing to work with me... for a price. This is a problem not just in Nashville, but probably worldwide. people are only willing to work with you if you have something to offer. I've also noticed a rising trend of garbage rappers getting on songs and tapes with skilled, acclaimed artists and DJs. Ron Artest got a Gangsta Grillz mixtape... smh. Now I'm not saying don't work with someone who sucks, but don't take their money and do something with them, knowing they're garbage. That just sets them up for failure (Except Lil' Goonie. That track set him up for a record deal).

As a broke college student, I've seen the worst come out of people due to money. All I can say is that we're in a recession and this is the only business where people are still raising prices and not cutting deals to work with the artists. I know that we all gotta make our money, and I won't knock that at all, but the job market is too competitive to the point where you gotta know someone just to get a job at McDonalds. Screw the backhanded deals and I.O.Us, but something's gotta give, especially when we all know the artists are the last to get paid.

This next one's for Music Row. First of all, I'm shocked because I'm am one of the few, if not only, Nashville natives on Music Row. Almost everyone out here is from a different state. Another thing that's killing Nashville Hip-Hop is the stereotype. one side is that Nashville is nothing but country. I admit our country music roots are deep, but that's not the only thing we're known for. I told an MC from NY that I was an artist (not rapper, but artist) from Nashville and the first thing she asked me was "Are you a country singer?" Now I was ten seconds away from e-slappin' her for that, but that's the image that was put on us. Music Row needs to reach out to its urban environment because we are terribly underrepresented. Our urban environment also needs to stop acting like ignorant niggas, because that just makes us look bad. It's sad that Colton Entertainment LLC is the only company on Music Row that is willing to work with urban artists on a major scale.


To the listeners and fans, stop hating on artists and listen to them. I know alot of them suck, but you can relate to alot of them. People in Nashville have a tendency to only pay attention to big names. You're garbage if they haven't heard of you. What makes it more difficult is the fact that we only have two urban radio stations and only one of them plays Hip-Hop and appeals to the younger audience... and that radio station is owned by Clear Channel.

Nashville is notorious for its crab mentality. Nobody wants to work together. There's alot of hate in the city. There are too many cliques that call themselves movements, and they stand for nothing. It's really disturbing.

So this is what I'm suggesting: First, we stop hatin' and start working together. Also, we stop bragging about how great we are and listen to each other. Third, we come together (all our cliques or whatever, artists, businesses, etc.) and take on Music Row as well as the streets. We also need to stop jocking Atlanta. That's just irritating.

I'll do my part as well. I'm willing to work with any artist who's talented and wants to help build up the city as a whole to put it on the map and expand our Hip-Hop scene. All I ask for in return is studio time :-P

We complain alot about the problems in Nashville, but I don't see too much action. The action I do see is too spread apart. We also gotta inform each other about some things. Becky the Great mentioned the first annual Tenn Hip-Hop awards and how few Cashville artists showed up. Honestly, I didn't even know about it. I saw nothing in the press or anything. This city's got to do better if we really wanna call ourselves "The Music City".

Before I finish, I wanna give love and shouts to these guys. They're on their way and have (or would have) held me down without asking for much, if anything.

• DJ Legacy
• KDV
• Black Noize
• Soundmind
• J. Roca
• Becky the Great
• Jeremy Mr. Nashvillekickit.com Jones
• Bunks Muzak
• Streetlight Allstars
• I.V.Y. League
• Mario Moore
• Word Up!
• Jaque Lewis
• Big Fella
• Ashthon Jones
• Classic Williams
• Blu P.
• F.A.M.I.L.Y
  
• The whole Cashville Hip-Hop Movement
  

There's alot more, some fans, some artists, some just do everything, but it's all love for these guys.

One more thing: stop shootin' shit up. How are we supposed to better ourselves if every party/club/open mic we go to gets shot up? That's why Forbes made us the #9 most dangerous city in USA.

I'm done ranting. Peace.
MTK