Is Hip Hop The Only Hope For Urban Music?

[hiphophova]

Over the past couple of years, it seems like other aspects of Urban Music has had less and less of an impact and presence. A large part of is because of several factors:

1) The decline of Hip Hop producers producing for other genres within Urban Music. Remember when Jermaine Dupri (Usher, Mariah, Xscape, Jagged Edge), Diddy & The Hitmen (Mary J. Blige, Total, 112), Organized Noize (TLC), Timbaland (Aaliyah, Ginuwine, Tweet), J. Dilla (Erykah Badu, D'angelo) were helming albums for R&B and Neo-Soul artists? It has declined greatly over the years. Sure Kanye, Just Blaze, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, and Polow Da Don pop up randomly on R&B albums these days, but it's rare that they do entire albums.

2) More Urban artists crossing over to music that sounds more Gaga and David Guetta inspired than it does Urban. For example, Usher's latest singles and collaborations and most of Chris Brown's last album had that sound.

3) No distinction between the sound of other genres of Urban Music and Hip Hop. Of course, other genres of music has had a Hip Hop feel since the late 80's/ early 90's, but today there's less singing and more rapping from the other genres.

4) With a few exceptions, radio doesn't even mess with R&B and Neo Soul unless a rapper is featured. Sade, Maxwell, Monica (well, before she dropped the song with Ross and Kim), and Jill Scott are the only artists in Urban Music that I can think of that moved units without relying heavily on rap features.

Without Hip Hop, where does that leave our music?

This shit right here, this shit right here.

everybody want to be euro dance house artsy fartsy, black music has always been the fore runners of hip and cool ....... now the top guys like wayne,kanye,jay, dont want to stand next to it .... posters say they 'transcend hiphop' but same thing with B,rihanna they wanna be lady gaga and down with artsy fartsy euro house shit.

good post, im out to eat but i make sure to check other messages in this thread.

+ to answer your question, NO .... the new kids coming up going to do something big its been coming. hiphop can die for all i care, they going to take rhyme patterns mix it with some shit and come with some new ill sound.

I faith in these new youngsters, they can seperate that butter soft shit from the leather on the fonze.