rolling regional thug thread 2012

it's so disorienting how his flow is nowhere near the drums. has he not figured out how to listen to the beat on headphones while recording vocals?

maybe he's trying to cop lil b vibes

oh that was years ago

little be vibes, and little were the vibes indeed

this HES MAKING THE NEXT FLOCKAVELI meme should die sooner than later, he's a very different artist & it was a useful pt of comparison early on but its obvious he is musically in a completely different style, probably closer to soulja boy actually

― fanute da croupier (D-40), Monday, November 12, 2012 6:05 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh will you relax already. Please

The Flockaveli approach: young rapper with a distinct aesthetic being allowed to make debut album (originally meant to be a mixtape, JUST LIKE FINALLY RICH), with the producer/sound/crew he came up with, without any unnecessary celebrity guests/remixes/painful attempts at crossover hits/passing of torches.

This may, in fact, be nearly what we get. But the presence of most of these Big Names makes me nervous.

When Keef starts trying to rap like Rick Ross, grunts and all, we can compare him to Soulja Boy. As for now, I'll stick with Waka.

but he doesnt sound anything like waka

Of course he doesn't. That's not the point. The point is the singular aesthetic. No one (since crunk) had sounded remotely like Waka - which is also why the PT feature made sense. This is also the argument for the 50 Cent feature making some kind of sense.

If I were to make an argument for Keef sounding like Waka I would have reached for the pre-Flockaveli early feature days, before Waka got enthusiastically energetic. But I'm not making that argument, since it's not a very interesting argument to make.

W/ Keef they're going for complete crossover star, not small potatoes rap mixtape artist.

Exactly. Why no Kobe though?

W/ Keef they're going for complete crossover star, not small potatoes rap mixtape artist.

― fanute da croupier (D-40), Monday, November 12, 2012 3:26 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark

i'm not quite sure if this is a fair assessment also keef will be luck to have a crossover hit as big as "no hands"

That's Hate Being Sober for you.

we'll see... i think ppl forget just how ubiquitous "no hands" was

Definitely. I think the biggest problem with the "complete crossover star" theory is that Keef just isn't very good with publicity and such. He'll never be a Snoop or a 50 or a Kanye or a Wiz.

Definitely. I think the biggest problem with the "complete crossover star" theory is that Keef just isn't very good with publicity and such. He'll never be a Snoop or a 50 or a Kanye or a Wiz.

― weak willie (longneck), Monday, November 12, 2012 2:46 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i'm talking about what they're aiming for, not whether or not they will succeed. yeesh you guys

like, 'no hands' was a complete accident in waka's career that relied mainly on roscoe dash for hit making. keef does his own hooks so i'd say his potential ceiling is higher than waka's

Definitely. I think the biggest problem with the "complete crossover star" theory is that Keef just isn't very good with publicity and such. He'll never be a Snoop or a 50 or a Kanye or a Wiz.

― weak willie (longneck), Monday, November 12, 2012 2:46 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i dont think you remember what it was like when any of these artists first emerged (or for shits sake lil wayne)

this is, like, in snoop's career equivalency, around the time he was arrested for murder

and again i'm not saying keef is the next wiz/kanye/50/snoop/wayne at all -- just saying this is the career trajectory his label (& he himself) are aiming for

i'm talking about what they're aiming for, not whether or not they will succeed. yeesh you guys

― fanute da croupier (D-40), Monday, November 12, 2012 8:50 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, I was assuming you were right about their intentions and was criticizing their analysis, not yours. The thing is that Keef seems really uncomfortable around other people than his crew. Most of these stars manage to give off the impression that they're on top of things somehow. Keef seems kinda autistic.

I think you're underselling Waka though. It's really sad that he missed the mark with Triple F Life. If we're talking about a potential new Snoop in this generation at all I would probably place have placed a small bet on Waka being it, even though his albums aren't selling nearly enough.

we'll see... i think ppl forget just how ubiquitous "no hands" was
Still is.

xp "Savage" is unlistenable IMO

Yeah, I was assuming you were right about their intentions and was criticizing their analysis, not yours. The thing is that Keef seems really uncomfortable around other people than his crew. Most of these stars manage to give off the impression that they're on top of things somehow. Keef seems kinda autistic.

I think you're underselling Waka though. It's really sad that he missed the mark with Triple F Life. If we're talking about a potential new Snoop in this generation at all I would probably place have placed a small bet on Waka being it, even though his albums aren't selling nearly enough.

― weak willie (longneck), Monday, November 12, 2012 3:00 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah i just completely disagree w/ your analysis. on nothin but a g thang snoop couldnt even look into the camera. its about age & exposure, and waka never was going to be a crossover star like that

waka is more media friendly than ever but his profile's at its lowest point since he first blew up

i put this in the spotify thread a long time ago, but i made an 8 hour old school(ish) hip hop mix on spotify! 8 hour of funky fresh shit, if any goons are interested

http://open.spotify.com/user/matthelgeson/playlist/6AlIAYIy9IHjExfSK1MQ8h

nice thnx

most of it is kinda obvious stuff but there are some deeper cuts here and there

Why weren't Waka ever going to be a crossover star like that, though? And what is it about Keef that makes you think he could be That Guy? Kids making youtubes right now don't count. We're talking longievity.

based on the evidence, keef has inspired four new songs that were so terrible i couldn't make it through the second verse

i guess D-40 is saying only Keef and the people who signed him thinking he could be That Guy? which is really just saying he's every other rapper who's ever been on a major label.

But if that's Jimmy Iovine, his gut feeling might be good.

i guess D-40 is saying only Keef and the people who signed him thinking he could be That Guy? which is really just saying he's every other rapper who's ever been on a major label.

― my hands tra cer (some dude), Monday, November 12, 2012 9:44 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

My gut feeling is that D-40 thinks Keef could be That Guy. I may be wrong though.

i think he could be, i have no idea if he'll manage it, i do think he has a much better shot than waka did

based on the evidence, keef has inspired four new songs that were so terrible i couldn't make it through the second verse

― mh (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, November 12, 2012 3:36 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

those were examples of people biting him directly to show that his influence is pretty significant, i'm not saying everyone biting him is gonna be dope!

how big are we talking here. in contemporary last-five-years terms, not snoop in the 90s or w/e.

bigger than waka? soulja boy? i don't really know, i don't think anyone does, i think he has more charisma & star power than Waka though

i mean look at that last video i posted-- kids arent just obsessed w/ his music, they're obsessed w/ him, the person, & what he represents. waka made crazy music but i don't think people were connecting with him the same way

yeah i mean it's been so long since there's been like a real gangsta rap superstar that it's hard to think of what major success for a guy like him would mean -- as big as Drake? Meek Mill is more 'marketable' than Keef and he seems to have hit his ceiling already somewhere in the middle. big sales w/o radio saturation like Kendrick?

i think it depends on how big his singles get (particularly 'hate being sober' which def seems like the closest possibility). Meek has trouble with the singles, I think a lot of people perceive that Keef has an immediacy / ear for hooks that Meek doesn't have, even though Meek definitely has the intangible / identification thing completely locked down. If Meek gets an out-of-the-park hit (as opposed to "Amen" being a solid rap radio hit) I think he would have done a lot more

we're definitely in new territory here which is part of why i wouldnt make any predictions

i do stand by calling love sosa a game changer tho

Meek and Keef have similar problems though.

Meek *made* Ima Boss into the monster hit that it became. Yet as early as with House Party it began to become evident that he might have problems making hit songs that don't hinge upon him screaming energetically over really hype tracks.

Keef has similarly had success with doing things his way - Love Sosa is this year's Ima Boss, more or less. But there's nothing about him that even remotely suggests that he'll be able to make other types of songs than the one he's mining now convincingly.

"I Don't Like"? "Kobe"? "Hate Being Sober"?

what are you even talking about? I'm A Boss is a hit because of the beat, not because of Meek's voice

But there's nothing about him that even remotely suggests that he'll be able to make other types of songs than the one he's mining now convincingly.

― weak willie (longneck), Monday, November 12, 2012 4:46 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is otm

"I Don't Like"? "Kobe"? "Hate Being Sober"?

what are you even talking about? I'm A Boss is a hit because of the beat, not because of Meek's voice

― fanute da croupier (D-40), Monday, November 12, 2012 10:51 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol. What am I even talking about? Are you really saying that Keef's songs are remarkably varied? That he has a number of approaches to writing and delivery? A wide range of subjects to tackle?
His aesthetic is pretty narrow, man. And Kobe and Love Sosa are both kinda derivative of Ross's BMF/MC Hammer phase, while Don't Like is clearly a one off thing. But it doesn't matter since it works right now and that is all that matters.

Also, Meek made Ima Boss. The beat certainly helped. But Meek took it over the top.

'kobe' is closer to a gucci song than anything bmf related; 'love sosa' sounds absolutely nothing like it. 'don't like' is closer to that kind of luger sound. have you actually heard his mixtape?

it's esp ironic to see matt "i like all 3rd generation roc marci knockoffs' h3lg3son weighing in on keef's supposed lack of diversity tho

i mean seriously guys, you could say the same thing about snoop on doggystyle, what kind of 'diversity' are you looking for? he's not nearly as narrow in scope as you're making it out to be

what is the precedent for 'love sosa' ? serious q

Also, Meek made Ima Boss. The beat certainly helped. But Meek took it over the top.

― weak willie (longneck), Monday, November 12, 2012 5:00 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i agree that meek is critical to the song being dope but he's got nothing to do w/ it being a catchy hit; that's all the beat

The thing I keep going back to when hearing GBE songs is this:

I know what I'm doing. I mastered it. And I don't even really use metaphors or punchlines. 'Cause I don't have to. But I could. People don't want me to start doing it. But I don't like that. I think that's doing too much. I'd rather just say what's going on right now. Real talk, you know? Like, what's going on. I don't really like metaphors or punchlines like that. I'll leave it up to them, people who do that. It's good for them. But as me doing it, I don't do it. I could, though. I used to, when I first started rapping, coming up. I did, I done it before but then I slowed down like 2008, 2009. I slowed down with that punchlines and metaphor.

Pop rap is so much about clever punchlines and metaphors (Drake's verse on "Us" is a perfect example) that it makes sense that it's time for someone to run the opposite way. That's why I say (in the Chief Keef thread) that I hope he doesn't give up the no-punchline no-clever minimalist manifesto style for songs about shopping.

it's esp ironic to see matt "i like all 3rd generation roc marci knockoffs' h3lg3son weighing in on keef's supposed lack of diversity tho

my govt name just got called out things are serious!

dude ppl know i just like that kinda stuff! i admit it's not even that fresh but it's what i like, i'm not a hip hop tastemaker like yrself....i post like 5 youtubes a year and you guys p much just politely ignore them which is fine

but if you deny that keef has an extraordinarily limited range then well i don't even know what level of emperor's new drill we are operating on

i mean its evident that keef's stuff is more focused on a singular aesthetic than, like, the kendrick record. But i don't see how that's supposed to be somehow in opposition to him becoming a crossover success. It's not like there was some huge thematic variation in 'get rich or die trying' or 'doggystyle' either (which again i don't think this will touch those in sales, for obvious reasons not to mention the current state of the industry, but i'm talking purely in terms of the aesthetic range)

matt i enjoy your youtubes

did that new roc album come out yet? i heard jordan saying he'd heard it a while ago

Drake = Fitzgerald (literate, heartbroken. aspirational), Keef = Hemingway (lack of ornamentation, violence). Faulkner = ?