It depends on what you mean by "back." If you mean "back" in terms of mainstream-style success like the Mobb sound had during the 1994-96 era, probably not.
The thing is, once a particular sound or style fades out in terms of mainstream-sized sales (or gets shut out), major labels tend to look at the just-faded style (whatever that style is) as a "thing of yesterday" and won't sign any new groups or rappers who still perform in that style. This is because (as the majors see it), the mainstream listeners may not be buying the once-big-but-now-fading-out style in huge enough numbers anymore, and remember: for major labels, just going gold or below that sales-wise is often considered a "flop" (depending on how much a major spends to put a release out), even though independent artists might be satisfied w/ selling, say, 30, 000 or 150,000 copies.
Also, the mainstream media and the major labels have MUCH more control over Rap music today than they did in the early/mid-1990s'. It was easier for a diversity of styles to flourish back in the 1990s' because independent labels still had room to breathe, and the majors who signed independents (i.e., Jive w/ Sic-Wid-It, Priority w/ Get Low, etc.) weren't all up in their grills trying to censor and control every little thing the way they do now. In other words, you could make a radio song about the streets (like 40 did w/ "One Luv" and Celly Cel did w/ "It's Goin' Down") and still stay real--the only difference was that you just had to refrain from swearing to get on the radio, which wasn't so bad. Now, you can't even do that; the majors can basically say, "we don't care if you cut a clean version of this ghetto song; you're talking about street problems, crime, and we don't want to put that out. You WILL do a clubbin' song or a love song or a chanting song or a (fill-in-your-own) or we just won't put your CD out!" And once you sign their contract, they've pretty much got you by the nutsack.
So, I think the Mobb sound will always be around in some form, even it's only in the underground scene, but if the Bay does get big again mainstream-wise, it probably won't be w/ the street shit; it'll be w/ the hyphy shit (maybe), or something else the majors deem as "new..." Just my view, though.
PEACE!
The thing is, once a particular sound or style fades out in terms of mainstream-sized sales (or gets shut out), major labels tend to look at the just-faded style (whatever that style is) as a "thing of yesterday" and won't sign any new groups or rappers who still perform in that style. This is because (as the majors see it), the mainstream listeners may not be buying the once-big-but-now-fading-out style in huge enough numbers anymore, and remember: for major labels, just going gold or below that sales-wise is often considered a "flop" (depending on how much a major spends to put a release out), even though independent artists might be satisfied w/ selling, say, 30, 000 or 150,000 copies.
Also, the mainstream media and the major labels have MUCH more control over Rap music today than they did in the early/mid-1990s'. It was easier for a diversity of styles to flourish back in the 1990s' because independent labels still had room to breathe, and the majors who signed independents (i.e., Jive w/ Sic-Wid-It, Priority w/ Get Low, etc.) weren't all up in their grills trying to censor and control every little thing the way they do now. In other words, you could make a radio song about the streets (like 40 did w/ "One Luv" and Celly Cel did w/ "It's Goin' Down") and still stay real--the only difference was that you just had to refrain from swearing to get on the radio, which wasn't so bad. Now, you can't even do that; the majors can basically say, "we don't care if you cut a clean version of this ghetto song; you're talking about street problems, crime, and we don't want to put that out. You WILL do a clubbin' song or a love song or a chanting song or a (fill-in-your-own) or we just won't put your CD out!" And once you sign their contract, they've pretty much got you by the nutsack.
So, I think the Mobb sound will always be around in some form, even it's only in the underground scene, but if the Bay does get big again mainstream-wise, it probably won't be w/ the street shit; it'll be w/ the hyphy shit (maybe), or something else the majors deem as "new..." Just my view, though.
PEACE!
