IF a SAN DIEGO artist......................
- Thread starter I-ROCC
- Start date
good question....i was thinking about this the other day...I been a big fan of San diego rap for years..at least since 91...and Im finding myself liking dago rap less these days..why?..because to me dago had a certain style/flavor..to me it was a hybrid mix between L.A. and the old bay....today..i see alot of rappers look like they going dumb and getting hyphy...If I want hyphy music Ill get a abay area artists/ If I want a new york type c.d Ill get an East coast artist..just like iF i want mexican food..i probably wont go to the korean guy cooking tacos...I want the real authentic shit..dago was 100% authentic....there are still some artists out there who are..but that numbers decreasing.I cant blame the artists as a whole cause the industry dictates whats hot,and everyone follows suit to try and get that deal...
I aint gonna mention no names but i was impressed by a certain dago c.d..100% dago production...the new c.d features more outside production.......and..I guess what Im saying as a whole is
WHEN DAGO ARTISTS START SOUNDING LIKE A DIFFERENT REGION.THEN DAGO NO LONGER HAS ANYTHING UNIQUE TO OFFER.
I aint gonna mention no names but i was impressed by a certain dago c.d..100% dago production...the new c.d features more outside production.......and..I guess what Im saying as a whole is
WHEN DAGO ARTISTS START SOUNDING LIKE A DIFFERENT REGION.THEN DAGO NO LONGER HAS ANYTHING UNIQUE TO OFFER.
i just want someone to be more san diego oriented if they blow up
and by that i dont mean say "DAGO DAGO DAGO DAGO" 7,000,000 times until someone hates the city
(no offense to anyone who does this)
what i mean is...when you look at all your favorite albums...they more than likely sounded like a soundtrack of that certain geographic..i want someone who blows up to really paint how san diego is and how san diego people sound...we sound different than everyone else. weve got a trolley, all types of shit that makes san diego what it is and people need to touch on all that in songs. but more than touch on it, explain the experience in sound or in a skit or something.
how do i know about hopping turnstyles, and third rails on subway cars and all that bullshit in new york? because someone explained it. and more than just saying it theres skits where you hear the sounds or the whole experience. we need more of that. and theres alot of that in san diego. but im not paid to do all this.
i think its more than just screaming southeast and all that. its gotta be painted better.
and one more thing i wanna add to that before i close
san diego isnt baghdad. sure, weve got some bad apartment complexes, 'projects', and neighborhoods, crime like everyone else, but its really not as bad as some of these rap songs are claiming. a person might be involved in the dope game or cappin niggas or what not but...that aint got shit to do with san diego to me.....its not like if i walk through the dip or east dago or in meadowbrook im going to get capped on site...or dozens of people selling crack swarm me...its just not that bad.
it once was, but whats the fucking point of still rapping about 1993 when you didnt have kids, responsibility and were active? im sure theres a gangster rapper out there that shot like one nigga and bragged about it on 16 albums.
shit is getting burnt. half these muthafuckas had it good even when they had it bad. so what you saw a few killing and drugs and shot someone when you were 14 and went to jail. id just like someone to seperate themselves from everyone elses dick and dont forget your home.
i dont really care about that one person, technically..its like setting up dominoes straight so they can tip eachother over..you need more than one...you need alot of them to keep it movin'....its gonna take alot more than that to be on the map... so they might as well keep it real and just hope it works out..
sorry to type so much irocc.
and by that i dont mean say "DAGO DAGO DAGO DAGO" 7,000,000 times until someone hates the city
(no offense to anyone who does this)
what i mean is...when you look at all your favorite albums...they more than likely sounded like a soundtrack of that certain geographic..i want someone who blows up to really paint how san diego is and how san diego people sound...we sound different than everyone else. weve got a trolley, all types of shit that makes san diego what it is and people need to touch on all that in songs. but more than touch on it, explain the experience in sound or in a skit or something.
how do i know about hopping turnstyles, and third rails on subway cars and all that bullshit in new york? because someone explained it. and more than just saying it theres skits where you hear the sounds or the whole experience. we need more of that. and theres alot of that in san diego. but im not paid to do all this.
i think its more than just screaming southeast and all that. its gotta be painted better.
and one more thing i wanna add to that before i close
san diego isnt baghdad. sure, weve got some bad apartment complexes, 'projects', and neighborhoods, crime like everyone else, but its really not as bad as some of these rap songs are claiming. a person might be involved in the dope game or cappin niggas or what not but...that aint got shit to do with san diego to me.....its not like if i walk through the dip or east dago or in meadowbrook im going to get capped on site...or dozens of people selling crack swarm me...its just not that bad.
it once was, but whats the fucking point of still rapping about 1993 when you didnt have kids, responsibility and were active? im sure theres a gangster rapper out there that shot like one nigga and bragged about it on 16 albums.
shit is getting burnt. half these muthafuckas had it good even when they had it bad. so what you saw a few killing and drugs and shot someone when you were 14 and went to jail. id just like someone to seperate themselves from everyone elses dick and dont forget your home.
i dont really care about that one person, technically..its like setting up dominoes straight so they can tip eachother over..you need more than one...you need alot of them to keep it movin'....its gonna take alot more than that to be on the map... so they might as well keep it real and just hope it works out..
sorry to type so much irocc.
Rap is all messed up right now so its really hard to answer this question...shit jay z probably didnt even turn a profit off his last cd. so to ask what we would like as opposed to what would make you successful puts you in a catch 22...i honestly dont know if the true SD sound(Mitch,Rocc,Ecay,Cricet,Damu) is something that would play well to the current mainstream audience...it would have to be packaged and marketed like they do the Atlanta thing
But to truly answer the question...I'd love to have artists be themselves...dont change to make the same shit as the mainstream...try to make the mainstream change to your shit...thats how we got on top in the first place...Chronic didnt sound like anything else on the radio at the time and it didnt sound like Death Certificate, Death Certificate didnt sound like Music To Drive By and Music to Drive By didnt sound like N Gatz We Truss...and Pac's albums didnt sound like any of the above...less features too...unless its a group album...save the collabos so that it feels special to hear 2 of your favorite artists from different camps on the same song
I said this about Game's first album...whats the use of the west blowing up if we are going to adopt the style of some other region
But to truly answer the question...I'd love to have artists be themselves...dont change to make the same shit as the mainstream...try to make the mainstream change to your shit...thats how we got on top in the first place...Chronic didnt sound like anything else on the radio at the time and it didnt sound like Death Certificate, Death Certificate didnt sound like Music To Drive By and Music to Drive By didnt sound like N Gatz We Truss...and Pac's albums didnt sound like any of the above...less features too...unless its a group album...save the collabos so that it feels special to hear 2 of your favorite artists from different camps on the same song
I said this about Game's first album...whats the use of the west blowing up if we are going to adopt the style of some other region
I think if a Dago rapper went major...he needs to rep himself first...do what he did to get the majors to notice...and the city will shine. The higher ups will be like..."Where's he from again" ...."O.k...lets see what else Dago has to offer". Of course, dealing with a major they are going to want that "Top Ten" or "Number 1" hit. That's what they are in the business for, but at the same time they need not take the artist away from who he is and the main reason they gave him a nod in the first place.
You gotta keep it WESTCOAST, Production and Lyrical wise, that So-Cal $hit. I think it all starts with the production, gotta hook up with a good producer and the rest will fall in place. Learn from Jayo Felony, dude kept it real.
Seriously, aside from a few African American rappers down here, it seems that Chicano Rappers are the only ones keeping it true to that Southern WestCoast vibe, at the moment. What's up with that?
If what you do is good, people will catch on and research you. You don't have to say "Dago" every other verse. The local reppin should be done more in music videos, show SD streets in the background, SD clothing and what not. Bottomline, Rep the WestCoast as a whole, not just SD, you gotta collab with LA/Bay artists as well. Remember, the Westcoast's status as a whole is down right now, not just San Diego, so the WC needs some help, period.
Seriously, aside from a few African American rappers down here, it seems that Chicano Rappers are the only ones keeping it true to that Southern WestCoast vibe, at the moment. What's up with that?
If what you do is good, people will catch on and research you. You don't have to say "Dago" every other verse. The local reppin should be done more in music videos, show SD streets in the background, SD clothing and what not. Bottomline, Rep the WestCoast as a whole, not just SD, you gotta collab with LA/Bay artists as well. Remember, the Westcoast's status as a whole is down right now, not just San Diego, so the WC needs some help, period.
Collaborate with other artists from ur city and from everywhere else. I dont think keeping it westcoast is too important. People will be able to tell anyway. U dont have to have a westcoast sound or beat or throwin up W's every change of camera angles. U dont have to c-walk and be wrapped in bandannas and dickie suits. Just be yourself. i guess it just depends who u are. dont limit urself to being westcoast though.
are you actually serious?? so people that play college football and get drafted tO the NFL are they sell outs too?are do u believe that people should jus go to high school jus to go and never graduate ?or should a nigga jus sticc to pushin bags and never step his weight up?
why if an artist would rather get publishing checks,royalty checks,15,000$ shows instead of little to NO money and just rapping he has to be considered weird?
I think a track or two from him wouldn't hurt any artist. If an artist who want's to be known as west coast, and he is with a major label with bread???...producers like this (XL) need to be brought up in the production talks. As well as Quik, BattleCat, Dr.Dre. Bosko. Also some san diego noteables without a doubt...Ecay Uno, BatKave, etc. Steve Vicious... Cricet...etc. Also what comes to mind as far as memorable WestCoast albums was content, and themed albums...like some of Ice Cubes shit. If just one of the songs was missing it wouldn't seem complete. You don't want to have a disc with songs on it , you want a complete product that meshes together. No fillers. A skit or two wouldn't hurt. I remember peeps complaining about to many skits...hell I wish they were back now... lol. You don't necessarily need every other track to be G-funk to "keep it westcoast" K-Dee, NWA, Too$hort, King-Tee all have songs that come to mind without that Funk...but is still WestCoast to the fullest.