Hey slow down man i'm not saying wayne is on that level but he deserves a little bit more credit than people give him. The rap game is a business like anything else and to stay afloat you gotta be doing something right. He's more versatile than a lot of 90s rappers too infact. He has a longer collection of songs than most 90s rappers besides jay z. Nas is arguably in the top 10 but he fell off. He ain't has versatile has wayne. Not saying Wayne is better but yet again he gotta be doing something right.
that's because the masses are brain dead and buy his music because it's pushed in their faces by MTV and the radio. if artists with actual substance in their lyrics got the same promotion im sure they would sell records too. and i recently saw an article that said Lil Wayne just reached 15 million records sold over his entire career. there have been much more respectable artists like Nas and 50 Cent (not really a fan of him either but he is certainly better than wayne) who have sold 15 million copies of one album. it's as if lil wayne has a ton of fans but deep down they know he is really crap so they don't bother to support his music. which i wouldn't blame them.
I won't argue against his marketing skills. He definitely has that down. But that's a completely separate talent from musical ability.
I agree with you completely except for the individuality part. Wayne got his own style, his own flow, his own voice, etc. We can say ja rule sounded like DMX and wore bandanas like 2pac. But I couldn't think of anyone like wayne before he came out. Dude got signed at 14 that's gotta say something. But everything else is true. Rap now lacks that essence that it once had. Even though im an underground head now it still ain't the same.
cmon just give the dude props. i'll delete this shitty thread if you admit that he's not all that bad!
he raps about drugs, cars, clothes, jewelry, sex, etc....just like all the other mainstream people. that's not individuality. i don't know about you but i can't relate to driving around a Bugatti sticking my diamond encrusted wrist out the window.
Because I like old school. People used to rap and sing about real things, love, life, struggles, addiction, and hardships. Now it's about pussy cars and money. My theory with all music is it should be a way to get out feelings, you shouldn't just write a song to write a song. You should write a song if you have something to sing about. Reggie Watts is more real than little wayne when it comes to modern music. Tupac, shortie wanna be a thug is probably my favorite rap song because it's about real problems we have, kids that just want to be a thug to get the respect. Krispy Kream has better lyrics than lil' wayne. At least he writes them all. Imho, i would rather listen to old snoop, eminem, tupac, anthony hamilton, the temptaions, hell slipknot or pearl jam.... really almost anyone else. Here's some real rap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZQvm58f09w
I can't say that a made man should be suffering from a 'crippling syrup addiction.' Anyways everything you just said about Lil Wayne is what I dislike about him for the most part. Sure he makes lots of cash but he is also the record labels bitch. Whatever they say he does. Welcome to the music industry, it is called an industry for a reason. This is because it exploits individuals and musicians by forcing them into ridiculous contracts with hidden twists that they can't get out of. It also exploits the listener by over-hyping crap music and turning it into trends rather then music.
Not really. To market your stuff you have to have something that the people will listen too. Im gonna put it like this. There is two types of rappers. The Busy Bee and the Kool Moe Dee. These two had completely different styles and battled up in harlemt world back in the 80s. Busy Bee was essentially the old school type rapper who rocked the crowd with dumbed down lyrics even some he stole while kool moe dee came more has a battle rapper and rocked the crowd with his lyrics. Wayne is the busy bee. Wayne is pretty much that old school rapper.
Idk about the own voice thing... pitch shift and autotune is pretty common these days and that is virtually all his voice is. I can create that effect with some shitty free software if I wanted haha.
There ain't really no individuality in rap. Rap is suppose to connect with the people. Whether it be the party atmosphere or sharing your hardships with people who experienced the same. People bash wayne for shit rappers been doing since the incarnation of rap lol.
i will give him props the day he drops at track that takes some dissecting and has some deep meaning. i have yet to hear a song by him that can't be completely understood with one listen through. then again i only listen to him when im forced to by people i know who actually listen to that crap. most of my friends are metal heads who don't even really care for hip hop, but when they do want to listen to hip hop they hit me up for advice on what to check out because they know i dont listen to the radio's bubblegum bullshit.
I guess but what I mean is he's one of those people that you don't have to see to know who it is. Like Snoop. You here snoop dogg talking you know it's him lol.
It is impossible to relate to lyrics with no feasible meaning though... I seriously have no clue what lil wayne is even talking about.
to make money and sell out shows for tours those "Mainstream" rappers need a single. J.cole is raw as fuck but by your definitions i guess he's bubblegum too. So is kendrick. fuck even joe budden has had a radio single. pump it up i guess that means he's a fuckin bubble gum rapper too. gtfoh
In the words of Cassidy, Lil Wayne could sell salt to a slug. There are better rolling papers than Zig Zags, but their marketing has them known everywhere. Rick Ross is an ex-CO name thief, but he still has the marketing ability to convince people that he's some Tony Montana character.
It all depends on the person. I listen to every type of American music except country music(even though that shit is funny as fuck.) Sometimes I wanna bump some meaningless shit cause i'm in a meaningless mood. Not saying that's how I feel but that's how a lot of people do it.