I think all this being hard shyt os getting played out real fast...Niggaz in every city slang dope..there is hard niggaz in every state...the Bay and the whole west coast needs to bring back the FUN music...Have fun like it was the early 90's...have fun but at tha same time keep it Gangsta and Playeristic!
WHAT DO U THINK BAY ALBUMS ARE MISSING?
- Thread starter BALANCE 2K2
- Start date
what up balance. i'll tell ya what we really need.
1)first and foremost we need production. i got mike mosley back in the studio as we speak workin on the new rob base record as well as other shit. cats like rob lo, rhythmx, versatyle and rick rock are all makin serious slappers.
2) some radio friendly shit that will spin even outside the bay would be nice.
3) cleaver hooks like keak did with super hyphy would help. all them southern cats who are blowin up like mike jones, paul wall all have catchy hooks. even p diddy will tell u, if u aint got a hook get the fuck out of my studio. ask kanye about hooks.
4) a story or 2 would be dope. bragadoshio raps and punchlines are cool, but a storyline is always a way to sell records.
5) when cats in the booth go into the booth they need to think bigger than just their block like: "this is for the 707, but i hope cats in jersey like it too"
6) can anyone tell me that GAME is doper than messy, or quinn, fab or hus? hell naw, but he knows how to make songs that are bigger than compton. of course it dont hurt to have dre, kanye and scott storch makin ya beats.
7) creativity. sometimes we get lazy and just try to throw shit on a cd to meet a deadline.
8) they have these new things out that help people all over check out your music right thru their TV sets. they're called videos. WE NEED VIDEOS. i know they aint exactly cheap, but turn on BET uncut and u see 300 cats from the south who u never heard of with their videos all over the place. my newest artist GONZOE from the outlawz/regime had his lady shoot his video for him and that shit is hot, check it out at www.blocwize.com. it aint gonna win no mtv video award, but you gotta start somewhere.
with all that said, i love shit the way it is right now and the way it has always been in the bay. none of those ideas were directed at anyone, because i think that the bay has the greatest talent on the planet as is. we will blow up together and you'll see every major label come pick our talent one at a time till the bay shit we love is watered down and only a memory.
by the way BALANCE i'm watchin you and i think you have a great future inside and outside of the bay.
now i know alot of cats have different opinions than me and thats cool. but i dropped my first record in the bay (707 beeeotch) in 1985 with mike mosley when the only other rapper in the bay i had even heard of was too short who was my idol at the time. i've doin this bay shit for 20 year and i aint made it yet, but i aint about to throw in the towel at this time. i like to think i learned a lil somethin somethin in the last 2 decades. sorry this is a lil long, but old men like dj pimp have lot of time on their hands.
1)first and foremost we need production. i got mike mosley back in the studio as we speak workin on the new rob base record as well as other shit. cats like rob lo, rhythmx, versatyle and rick rock are all makin serious slappers.
2) some radio friendly shit that will spin even outside the bay would be nice.
3) cleaver hooks like keak did with super hyphy would help. all them southern cats who are blowin up like mike jones, paul wall all have catchy hooks. even p diddy will tell u, if u aint got a hook get the fuck out of my studio. ask kanye about hooks.
4) a story or 2 would be dope. bragadoshio raps and punchlines are cool, but a storyline is always a way to sell records.
5) when cats in the booth go into the booth they need to think bigger than just their block like: "this is for the 707, but i hope cats in jersey like it too"
6) can anyone tell me that GAME is doper than messy, or quinn, fab or hus? hell naw, but he knows how to make songs that are bigger than compton. of course it dont hurt to have dre, kanye and scott storch makin ya beats.
7) creativity. sometimes we get lazy and just try to throw shit on a cd to meet a deadline.
8) they have these new things out that help people all over check out your music right thru their TV sets. they're called videos. WE NEED VIDEOS. i know they aint exactly cheap, but turn on BET uncut and u see 300 cats from the south who u never heard of with their videos all over the place. my newest artist GONZOE from the outlawz/regime had his lady shoot his video for him and that shit is hot, check it out at www.blocwize.com. it aint gonna win no mtv video award, but you gotta start somewhere.
with all that said, i love shit the way it is right now and the way it has always been in the bay. none of those ideas were directed at anyone, because i think that the bay has the greatest talent on the planet as is. we will blow up together and you'll see every major label come pick our talent one at a time till the bay shit we love is watered down and only a memory.
by the way BALANCE i'm watchin you and i think you have a great future inside and outside of the bay.
now i know alot of cats have different opinions than me and thats cool. but i dropped my first record in the bay (707 beeeotch) in 1985 with mike mosley when the only other rapper in the bay i had even heard of was too short who was my idol at the time. i've doin this bay shit for 20 year and i aint made it yet, but i aint about to throw in the towel at this time. i like to think i learned a lil somethin somethin in the last 2 decades. sorry this is a lil long, but old men like dj pimp have lot of time on their hands.
Me being a producer I think some of these albums need better production. I get pissed off everytime I buy somebody's cd and the production is weak. Sounding like somebody just started making beats yesterday. It's too much shit clashing in the song and dudes be playing outta key thinking that they are doing something. It's just too much noise. What happened to all of the musically inclined producers like Same Bostic, Femi and Studio Tone. I would like to see certain labels and artists stop being cheap and pay for good quality music instead of going and buying 3 beats for $50.00 from Joe Blow around the corna who can't even show you a C major 7th chord on the keyboard.
i want another In A Major Way...I want another Game Related...I want another AmeriKKKa's Nightmare...albums today are missing unique voices, heavy production (SOLID production, not this two weak tracks then two hot ones then six weak ones, if you only have 12 hot beats make a 12 track album, i dont want 12 hot tracks and 7 wack ones), most of all tho it needs creativity....e40 was creative, spice1 was creative, mac dre was creative, too short did his own thing, make something of your own ideas instead of other peoples
i think we are missing consistant themes for a whole album. The title of the album has no meaning or anthing to do with the music on the album. Noone seems to have just one or two producers making all the music so that the artist developes a "sound". Back in the day you could each part of the bay had its own style of flow, beats, all the shit. But it was all bay music. I would like to see an album not a collection of hot songs that don't have shit to do with each other.
I agree wit getwitit, I think it's too late for these artists to make quality albums anymore, that made them who they are like lynch's season of the siccness, or spice's amerikkka's nightmare...new fools comin up need to start this shit over again...i hope some producers/artists are looking at this thread and my posts...I also don't like when an album has a lot of filler material (skits) and too many features of other cats (when i buy a cd i wanna hear the artist i bought, not a gang of other fools on every track).
What do I think Bay Albums are missing? A lot and I'll start at the top with the labels. How many labels are actually putting money into the promotion and marketing of the albums they release? I don't mean stickers, fliers and van wraps. How many actually KNOW who the target audience is, WHAT they spend their money on and WHAT their *NEEDS* are? Not many.
How many of the labels are actually EDUCATING the artist about paperwork? After all this is the music BUSINESS we are talking about correct? How many of these labels are actually involving the artist in the paperwork process, showing them how to fill out ascap, bmi and S.R. forms? Not many so lets move on to the next in chain of command.
How many bay area "producers" are "PRODUCERS"? I'm not talking BEAT MAKERS banging on motifs and mpcs. I'm talking PRODUCERS that can take an artist, give them a concept for a song, direct the bass player, tell the guitarist to tune to an open E, tell the singer what pitch to sing in and tell the engineer why the chorus needs a plate reverb? Where are the producers that mold the artist or project? Where is the producer with the VISION?
As far as INSTRUMENTATION is concerned you don't hear a lot of REAL instruments in bay music. The majority of it is synthesized music and stock preset patches from the modules or machines. How long does it take to tweek a sound? 1 SECOND. Turn the various knobs on the machine and your sound will change. I can hear shit from bay artists and tell you EXACTLY where the beat maker/producer came up with the sound. Thats not good. People from all over the world have the same keyboards and modules, but its on the person playing to flip it. Listen to the hooks these guys come up with. WOW! One new sound in the hook, no chord progressions, no crescendo no tension or release, no leggato. NOTHING. Another thing is the "GOOD OLE BOYS" network going on. In fact thats another topic for another time.
A lot of bay music lacks sound quality and you can blame the engineers or whoever is telling them to turn the knobs. If you listen to classic albums they sound the way they do for a reason. They are not over compressed and limited to where the DYNAMICS are removed from the music and the songs are too loud. Not only is the overall volume too loud, but the BASS is too loud. I understand bass is probably the main emphasis of rap (besides the lyrics) but when you concentrate on making it hit hard instead of concentrating on a balanced mix you will loose out. I'm not saying you need to mix on a ssl or neve or dump to 2 @ 15ips. What I am saying is to get the right people on the mixes.
UNREALISTIC GOALS PREVENT BAY ARTISTS FROM REACHING THE TOP. I'm not going to crush the next mans ambitions or dreams, but not everyone is going to go platinum or become rich. Honestly look at the bay right now and tell me how many people involved with bay rap are EATING? By eating I don't mean a car with nice rims or the ability to cop and blow a zip. I mean EATING as in networking with MILLIONAIRES, owners of COMPANIES and CORPORATE MONEY? This brings me to my next point. Bay artist and labels are not marketing their BRAND. Some of them are starting to, but take a look at damon dash or jay z. Prime example of BRANDING.
Bay albums are also lacking reality. Anytime you get beat up at your own show something is wrong. Anytime your crew leaves you or your man watches you get stomped out something is wrong. STOP RAPPING ABOUT SHIT THAT IS GOING TO GET YOUR GRILL REMOVED, GET YOU STRETCHED AND HAVE YOUR MAMMY WEAR A BLACK DRESS. When someone stomps your teeth down your throat you will be the first one saying "it was only entertainment". People WILL call you on that shit and when you go out of state some will REALLY call you on it. If you were a weenie in the streets shut the hell up about bodies and guns. If you never sold a rock shut up about how many zips you flipped. You are artifical and your heart pumps sugar water.
Bay albums are not cohesive and sound like fools recorded 50 songs and picked the ones they thought sounded the best. Strive for a cohesive product and ARRANGE it properly. Come with something commercial. By commercial I do NOT mean cheesy pop, nursery rhyme boo boo. I mean commercial as in
"can be marketed and SOLD to a target audience or has MASS APPEAL". After all you are trying to make money right? I tell people this over and over. When your album is in stores and someone walks in with $20 to spend, the competition for that $20 is not limited to rappers from your area. The competition is not limited to the rap genre in fact your competetion is not limited to music. Rasputins, tower, wal mart, amobe etc all carry videos, magazines, books etc. What do you have that makes the consumer think "HEY I *NEED* THIS NEW CD!" and makes him spend his money on your shit instead of spending it on some dvd in the store?
Finally I will sum it up with this. A lot of bay area people are content with where they are. Ok we were the first to do the independent game. Big deal. You have people doing the CORPORATE GAME and are now owning NBA teams and selling bottles of vodka with their BRAND on it. Is this the ONLY place in america where OUTSIDERS can come in, soak game, make millions and leave the people broke and unhappy?
:HGK:
PS I type fast.
How many of the labels are actually EDUCATING the artist about paperwork? After all this is the music BUSINESS we are talking about correct? How many of these labels are actually involving the artist in the paperwork process, showing them how to fill out ascap, bmi and S.R. forms? Not many so lets move on to the next in chain of command.
How many bay area "producers" are "PRODUCERS"? I'm not talking BEAT MAKERS banging on motifs and mpcs. I'm talking PRODUCERS that can take an artist, give them a concept for a song, direct the bass player, tell the guitarist to tune to an open E, tell the singer what pitch to sing in and tell the engineer why the chorus needs a plate reverb? Where are the producers that mold the artist or project? Where is the producer with the VISION?
As far as INSTRUMENTATION is concerned you don't hear a lot of REAL instruments in bay music. The majority of it is synthesized music and stock preset patches from the modules or machines. How long does it take to tweek a sound? 1 SECOND. Turn the various knobs on the machine and your sound will change. I can hear shit from bay artists and tell you EXACTLY where the beat maker/producer came up with the sound. Thats not good. People from all over the world have the same keyboards and modules, but its on the person playing to flip it. Listen to the hooks these guys come up with. WOW! One new sound in the hook, no chord progressions, no crescendo no tension or release, no leggato. NOTHING. Another thing is the "GOOD OLE BOYS" network going on. In fact thats another topic for another time.
A lot of bay music lacks sound quality and you can blame the engineers or whoever is telling them to turn the knobs. If you listen to classic albums they sound the way they do for a reason. They are not over compressed and limited to where the DYNAMICS are removed from the music and the songs are too loud. Not only is the overall volume too loud, but the BASS is too loud. I understand bass is probably the main emphasis of rap (besides the lyrics) but when you concentrate on making it hit hard instead of concentrating on a balanced mix you will loose out. I'm not saying you need to mix on a ssl or neve or dump to 2 @ 15ips. What I am saying is to get the right people on the mixes.
UNREALISTIC GOALS PREVENT BAY ARTISTS FROM REACHING THE TOP. I'm not going to crush the next mans ambitions or dreams, but not everyone is going to go platinum or become rich. Honestly look at the bay right now and tell me how many people involved with bay rap are EATING? By eating I don't mean a car with nice rims or the ability to cop and blow a zip. I mean EATING as in networking with MILLIONAIRES, owners of COMPANIES and CORPORATE MONEY? This brings me to my next point. Bay artist and labels are not marketing their BRAND. Some of them are starting to, but take a look at damon dash or jay z. Prime example of BRANDING.
Bay albums are also lacking reality. Anytime you get beat up at your own show something is wrong. Anytime your crew leaves you or your man watches you get stomped out something is wrong. STOP RAPPING ABOUT SHIT THAT IS GOING TO GET YOUR GRILL REMOVED, GET YOU STRETCHED AND HAVE YOUR MAMMY WEAR A BLACK DRESS. When someone stomps your teeth down your throat you will be the first one saying "it was only entertainment". People WILL call you on that shit and when you go out of state some will REALLY call you on it. If you were a weenie in the streets shut the hell up about bodies and guns. If you never sold a rock shut up about how many zips you flipped. You are artifical and your heart pumps sugar water.
Bay albums are not cohesive and sound like fools recorded 50 songs and picked the ones they thought sounded the best. Strive for a cohesive product and ARRANGE it properly. Come with something commercial. By commercial I do NOT mean cheesy pop, nursery rhyme boo boo. I mean commercial as in
"can be marketed and SOLD to a target audience or has MASS APPEAL". After all you are trying to make money right? I tell people this over and over. When your album is in stores and someone walks in with $20 to spend, the competition for that $20 is not limited to rappers from your area. The competition is not limited to the rap genre in fact your competetion is not limited to music. Rasputins, tower, wal mart, amobe etc all carry videos, magazines, books etc. What do you have that makes the consumer think "HEY I *NEED* THIS NEW CD!" and makes him spend his money on your shit instead of spending it on some dvd in the store?
Finally I will sum it up with this. A lot of bay area people are content with where they are. Ok we were the first to do the independent game. Big deal. You have people doing the CORPORATE GAME and are now owning NBA teams and selling bottles of vodka with their BRAND on it. Is this the ONLY place in america where OUTSIDERS can come in, soak game, make millions and leave the people broke and unhappy?
:HGK:
PS I type fast.
