Knives Amilli
New member
The "dethugification" of Hip Hop allowed a lot more talented acts to come into the game (like it or not Big Sean is nicer than at least 80% of the acts to come out in the last 8-10 yrs)....
However only a certain amount of niggas can come into the game without stepping on each others toes.
Big Sean, Wale, and J. Cole will never see A List status till they learn the value of selling a narrative+ back story+definitive image. Wale and Big Sean are NEARLY the same rapper and J. Cole tries to play both sides (be the substance guy and spitter with swag) without being too great at either one.
Look at the greats: They gave listeners pathos to invest in. Em=the angst, black humor, and anger of the ugly side of White America distilled in Hip Hop Form. Pac=the nihilism of the inner city Black Male with socio political awareness (same could be said for Cube as well). Kanye=The frustration of "unappreciated genius" + tragedy+sociopolitical awareness (again), decadence.
Even Drake has a "theme": the pros and cons of newfound celebrity, lost love and moral decay as a result of "the life"....you have to sell something of substance to your audience to be great.
Had Finally Famous had tinges of something deeper than swag rap and the obligatory "I made it/came from generic struggle/rep my city" subject matter, it would have been a great debut to get audiences familiar with Big Sean. But it came across as an album ANYBODY could've made and people aren't interested in cookie cutter acts. Especially in a genre like hip hop where personality is often time the biggest selling point.
Tl; DR version: Sell substance first. Sell out later.
However only a certain amount of niggas can come into the game without stepping on each others toes.
Big Sean, Wale, and J. Cole will never see A List status till they learn the value of selling a narrative+ back story+definitive image. Wale and Big Sean are NEARLY the same rapper and J. Cole tries to play both sides (be the substance guy and spitter with swag) without being too great at either one.
Look at the greats: They gave listeners pathos to invest in. Em=the angst, black humor, and anger of the ugly side of White America distilled in Hip Hop Form. Pac=the nihilism of the inner city Black Male with socio political awareness (same could be said for Cube as well). Kanye=The frustration of "unappreciated genius" + tragedy+sociopolitical awareness (again), decadence.
Even Drake has a "theme": the pros and cons of newfound celebrity, lost love and moral decay as a result of "the life"....you have to sell something of substance to your audience to be great.
Had Finally Famous had tinges of something deeper than swag rap and the obligatory "I made it/came from generic struggle/rep my city" subject matter, it would have been a great debut to get audiences familiar with Big Sean. But it came across as an album ANYBODY could've made and people aren't interested in cookie cutter acts. Especially in a genre like hip hop where personality is often time the biggest selling point.
Tl; DR version: Sell substance first. Sell out later.
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