'In America in the 1990's mid-tier drug lords would signal how dangerous they are by composing and reciting complicated rhymes' is a really amazing fact when you reflect on it
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"the dozens" is also a cool think to look into! These forms of "competitive" art have some of the best songwriting. Although not all 90s era hiphop was drug bars. But I get you're just highlighting the phenomenon so I'm not pressed about it.
Yeah, nothing like being forced to grow up in poor communities, where the easiest way to support yourself, your family, and your community is through drug money. Those kids in the 90's clawed their way into stardom through hip hop and turntablism.
This is a tiresome point of disagreement on my part either way, since they were almost universally drug dealers, but there are a lot of gals who've wound up naked in front of two dudes and a camcorder in a motel room in Van Nuys.
But let's table this, pending further fallout from the Diddy case...
I always end up concluding that surely the gangster rap wasn't actually written by actual gangsters, right? They would've been way too busy doing gangster stuff?
The best rappers aren't the best drug dealers and vice versa, but the key is that doing a mediocre job of saying rhymes over a beat and selling small amounts of highly addictive substances in both cases involves a low barrier to entry and minor mininum time commitment.
rappers distributed patronage to often gang-affiliated "weed carriers" (people dismissively referred to because their 'true' job was to be the one arrested with narcotics if the cops searched them). the weed carriers would rap on forgettable posse cuts
occasionally a weed carrier would outshine their superior. one of nas' weed carriers infamously rapped better than him on the atrociously bad sex rap "oochie wallie"
its more the case that they were *adjacent* to people who were, much in the same way the mob had pull over large sectors of entertainment industry in mid 20th century
I think this came from the fact that the Mafia needed Las Vegas to be legit successful for it to work as a money laundry, so they cozied up to singers and comics to get acts for their casinos.
yeah, and its kind of ironic given how chill he is in so many of his songs. whereas ice cube and other aggro rappers always massively exaggerated their gang ties
I always wonder this with Young Thug, an absurdly prolific rapper before his 2 years locked up awaiting trial for running a Bloods set in Atlanta: if true how the hell did he find the time? How many hours a week *does* a gang leader spend “on the clock”?
Imagine a city where every every poet is an outlaw and every outlaw is a poet, each one vying to outdo the next with a devastating couplet but ready to cut another man down over their poetic rivalry no its not Hemingway's Spain or Borges' Argentina actually its Queens
Thats not really true. Drug money has had an impact on music but most dealers arent musicians or artists. They are businessmen. And most artist arent mid level dealers. Thats the image that sold best to suburban markets. Its a stereotype.
Haldor Laxness's Independent People features gruff, dirt poor sheep farmers who meet up to basically do poetry battles referencing centuries old sagas and verse.
From what I’ve read/heard this tradition was still going strong in Chicago & Atlanta at least in the years leading up to Covid. Maybe a bit quieter the last couple years now though
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Thark so weak, he antelope prey
It is being written by a medium who learned the trade of Chico Xavier.
Pharsyde
KRS-1
Diggable planets
Alot of palm colored people haven't got the broadest taste in hip-hip unfortunately.
Suge and Diddy had to contract people to do it. If Hammer wanted you dead in the East Bay in 1988, you were going to die.
I did hear that Hammer burned through all his money because he was too generous helping out family, friends, old acquaintances, et al(?)
But let's table this, pending further fallout from the Diddy case...
What you describe matched exactly with Attenborough's observations in New Guinea in the 1960s
I always end up concluding that surely the gangster rap wasn't actually written by actual gangsters, right? They would've been way too busy doing gangster stuff?
there were SO many shootings
https://x.com/jake_j_jung/status/1522263623984304133
They’d be too busy to sing
🎤 the singers wished they were more than informants
I think Phillip Low has thrown down.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-philip-low-b742ba_i-have-known-elon-musk-at-a-deep-level-for-activity-7288439915485315072-29fb?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android
Fascism is about participation, not about some core belief. Fascism is an ideology of action.
M*sk is a fascist.