I’M SO 3000 AND 8 YOU SO 2000 AND LATE!

I keep telling people ‘life moves fast, you gotta move with it or get left behind.’ Some people can’t move forward they like to live in the past and if you do that you get left in the past!!!! Some people just don’t adapt well to change, it is what it is.

I think your absolutely right. there are too many people out that are waiting for old things to go through a resurgance again. take Roc-a-fella for instance, It was great when it was here but if it were to come back today it would be a weak movement. it would never be great as the original. if the dynasty is dead, then it died! but you move on from that and create a new definition of what the company stands for.

Hip-hop seems to be on the up and up, cause new artists are taking diverse chances with there music. Artists like kid cudi, big sean, and drake bring great hope for hiphop in the coming years.

I believe that if you dwell in the past, thats exactly where you’re going to be stuck. Life is about change and making new history. If we can’t honor the past, live in the present and look forward to the future then what are we here for?

It’s like everything else in life. You have to adapt and progress with the times or you’ll get left behind. Those individuals that want to be stubborn in their ancient ways will not make it. For me personally, i still define a freestyle as going off the top of the dome without any pre-written material. If some cats want to think other wise then fine that’s their opinion and i don’t see any problem with it. Do what you do!!

The white kids were always trying to be like the black kids before and now its the opposite away sort of. Now you see hood niggers wearing Abercrombie & Fitch. A few years ago you wouldn’t never have seen that. Black people are wearing Vans, DC, American Eagle, Ed HArdy, and the list goes on. Back in 2000 you wouldn’t have seen that at all. Everybody was on Girbaud, Akademiks, Southpole, FUBU, and shit like that. When the last time you seen somebody wear Girbaud or FUBU. I dont even think FUBU is in business anymore. Girbaud jeans going for like $9 now at Dillards.

Point is that you have to adapt and move with the times. If you don’t then you wont last and your going to spend most of your time beating yourself up about it

—Jizzle

TELLEM JD, HIP HOP OVER THE YEARS HAS HAD SUCH AN INFLUENCE ON ROCK, SO THERES NO WAY PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE SAYING THEY DONT LIKE SOME ROCK. IM FROM WASHINGTON STATE THIS SHIT IS ONE BIG MELTING POT, WE GOT DAMN NEAR EVERY RACE HERE. I REMEMBER I WAS ON THE BUS ONE DAY AND THIS DUDE WAS TATTED HEAD TO TOE HUGE GAGES IN HIS EARS AND TOTAL PUNK ROCKER WHEN I SAT DOWN I REALIZED I KNEW ALL THE WORDS TO WHAT HE WAS LISTENING TO, IT WAS LIL WAYNE. I DONT KNOW ABOUT OTHER STATES BUT LIL WAYNE HAS A HUGE ROCK AUDIENCE OUT THERE AND THERES NO WONDER HE WANTS TO CROSSOVER THATS AN UNTAPPED MARKET. WE CANT BE ASHAMED TO TRY NEW THINGS.

AND IF A NIGGA SAY HE SPITTIN A FREESTYLE AND IT AINT COMIN OFF THE TOP RIGHT THEN AND THERE THEN HE JUST SPITTIN A VERSE. DAMN IM HAPPY IMMA HIP HOP HEAD, SOME PEOPLE MY AGE AND YOUNGER DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT HIP HOP. REAL HIP HOP HEADS MAY NOT LIKE SOULJABOY BUT THEY GET HIS HUSTLE AND UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS A PRODUCT OF SOCIETY, AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM, THE SAME WAY HIP HOP WAS A PRODUCT OF DRUGS AND FATHERLESS HOMES.

You know JD. One thing that ppl want is to stay here forever. I think that ppl like to dwell on the past it’s because, In the past hip hop music was still growing, In the past this thing was still about as young as we were. Talking about partying and shit . Yeah we had our swaggers then too. Big Daddy Kane,Dana Dane and Also Slick Rick. Whet we don’t need to do is be Ambassadors and be like,”This is ours you can’t have it.” We ned to embrace the new cats out here. But with the young guys and girls comming up on Lil Wayne and such. We as the ones who saw this come up from the ground think that “Man, if these are the ones who are gonna take the torch then we might as well blow it out.” I’m down for change just keep the machine of Hip Hop runnin with good music.

J ROC

Yes I agree that we need to be opened to a lot of things… for instance, I notice that when I’m at a club that’s primarily for a black crowd, you only hear Hip Hop, R&B, Soca and Reggae…but as soon as you put on a pop song the crowd gets a lil irritated. However, when I go to a club that has a more mixed crowd and urban music is played…the white people go crazy, they love it, they sing along and they dance and have a good time…I saw this at the Harrah’s in Atlantic City and I loved it..like wow white people have no rhythm but they sure know how to party LOL.. I for one listen to all types of music now…I was hooked on Pink ever since her first single…Avril Levine I like too…so some of us are moving with the times and starting to be open minded but there are some who do not want to engage in that and its sad….

I agree but at the same time you are asking people to do something that they have no clue about. Every DJ doesnt have a diversified taste in music even though they should. So to expect them to pull out some coldplay when they dont even listen to that is crazy. Pharrell and Kanye have done alot to break down the separations but its gonna take alot more work. I thought we were on the path when Eve made that song with Gwen Stefani but nothing really came of it. It dont matter to me cause I dont go to the clubs no more anyway. At a certain age you should stop but some folks dont. My musical taste is CRAZY. I listen to Kanye, Usher, Johnta, Michael Buble, Solange, Maroon 5, Gym Class Heroes, Green Day, Diana Krall and the Dixie Chicks and so do my kids cause I refuse to sit in the car for more than 5 minutes getting my swag on!

I agree, you cant live in the past, you’ll miss the future. i think people hold on to the past because they are afraid of change. which is understandable. not all change is good change. but in this case people should give it a shot. yea them parties back in the day might have been live as hell. but times are different now. styles have changed, the music has changed. you gotta go with the times. there really shouldnt be different clubs for different races tho. thats something we all need to work on to fix.

YOU HAVE TO RESPECT HISTORY.to know where you headed next…what we are seeing is a return to the 80s vibe…go watch puple rain..or breakin….the clubs had whites and blacks in the crowds…there was no black or white music ..it was just pop music…..THE ISSUE…with things like redefining things to fit you your liking is wrong .99% percent of the new rappers in the world cant freestyle..so instead of developing the skills and the talent…lets take a shortcut and change the meaning of a freestyle……..IF THIS NEW GENERATION HAD THEY WAY THERE WOULD NOT BE NO AMATEUR AND PRO RANKINGS….cuz they dont wanna put in the work to be called a professional…they buy fruitloops make 3 beats and now they call themselves a producer..JD you was around the music business growing up so you had some kind of real experience and mentorship in some form…your knowledge is to be shared and taught to next generation…..EACH ONE TEACH ONE…..we still respect the young movements but also help them…JUST AS IN THE NBA VERTERN PLAYERS ALWAYS EMBRACE AND MENTOR THE ROOKIES..THOSE ROOKIE THAT WERE NOT MENTORED HAVE ESTRANGED NBA CAREERS….look at no id and kanye….

kanye and no id….mentoring …..NEXT THEY ARE GONNA CHANGE WHAT THE DEFINITION OF A PRODUCER IS…..WHEN I WAS FIRST CALLED A BEATMAKER…MY EGO WAS BRUISE BUT THEN I SOUGHT OUT ALL THE INFO AND SKILLS I NEEDED TO BE CONSIDERED GREAT..MEANING I STARTED STUDYING AND WORKING WITH THOSE PRODUCERS..ENGINEERS…MUSICIANS THAT WORKED ON CLASSIC SO THAT I MAY HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM…..I WORKED WITH BOW WOW BACK IN DA DAY..WITH KURUPT ON A RAP SONG CALLED AFTERSCHOOL…..BOW WOW WAS A STUDENT OF THE GAME AT 6 YEARS OLD…THAT WHY HE LEARNED FROM YOU TOO…

SOMONE HAS TO START A NEW 80S TYPE CLUB..CALL IT PURPLE RAIN…..A PLACE WHERE U CAN HEAR FROM COLDPLAY TO PRINCE…PRINCE TO KANYE/..KANYE TO S BEEZY..ON AND ON…..AND NOT JUST PLAY RADIO SINGLES..PLAY OTHER SONG OFF PROJECTS…….SEE IVE DJED BEFORE AND WHAT I FOUND OUT ABOUT US BLACK FOLKS…IN A CLUB WE ONLY RESPOND TO MUSIC WEVE HEARD BEFORE…WE DONT GET ON THE FLOOR FOR A NEW SONG EVEN IF ITS HOT….THATS NUTS TO ME….I WENT TO CLUB SPACE IN MIAMI AND DIDNT KNOW 80% OF WHAT I WAS HEARING AND STILL HAD A BALL CUZ I GOT INTO THE ENERGY OF THE CLUB

am i wrong for missing straight up baggy jeans, hoodies and straight hip hop at the clubs/house parties/bbqs?

and if you’re not east coast, fill in the blank for how 90s hip hop was……

all this “black boy / white boy” swag is getting out of hand, and i’m confused on whats really hot, and what seems to be the “popular in thing”

i’m tired of it……

I feel what your saying about people being more diverse and realistic about what is going on with todays youth and entertainment arenas (clubs), but a FREE-STYLE is a FREE-STYLE. whats soo free about writing to someone elses beat and calling it the same? they might as well label it what it is, its a versus, its a mixtape track….Now if todays youth is calling a freestyle a written on someone elses track, then what is a real freestyle called? lol …most of these younger cats dont need to now how to do that in order to make it in the industry. Real freestyling should be an industry standard, dont cha think?…when peeps go to 106&Park or The Deal and they are spitting something that we all know isnt a freestyle, they get talked about on the blogs, on the radio, etc. For the most part the artist never finds out cuz its not that serious depending on how one views it….jus food for thought

this statement goes against the whole run dmc comments you made, you was saying how it was important to have mentors and how it would be if they were still making music, that was the past so should we just leave there legacy in the past and move on like your saying we should with the true meaning of freestyling. i agree as time goes on things are gonna change and possibly improve or not, but when people spit on other peoples beats why not call it something else, instead of a freestlye, Freestlying is an skill that should be valued and appreciated, i know when a person is able to freestyle i respect them much more then artist, because a-lot of people can sit down and write a verse. to beable to pull of a good freestyle it takes time, practice, and dedication. i dont think its up to you to change it, if anything i use to get frustrated with djs thats been in the game for 2 decades, calling it that, there the ones that know better. thats like the word nigga we know we shouldnt be calling another black person that, but we do and try to find ways to justify that bulls**t

I think change is a good thing as long as there is still respect for the art form and those that paved the way. Music has to evolve as people evolve. It’s a natural progression and I’m cool with it. I enjoy some of the new stuff that’s out. With that said, to me, a freestyle in its true meaning will always be someone rhyming off the top of their head. That’s something that’s forever etched into my brain from the countless block party and lunch time battles that I witnessed growing up. Freestyles may not be respected today, they way they were back in the day…I’m a child of the 80s and I loved the music scene back then. Hip hop and punk scenes were mixed and we seem to be revisiting that era now. I know here in NY, we listened to all kinds of music back then (From Run DMC to Kurtis Blow to Slick Rick to KRS-One to Pat Benatar to Cyndi Lauper to Wham to A Ha…the list can go on and on). I embrace change as long as the creative vibe is order.

I seriosly think people need to let go we do histroy so we learn for our ancestors to make the same mistakes its simple things oh u black so u need to dress like this act like it a taboo to date a white man WAT I go to all asian college live in a all white area and some black peolpe at my college the fact that a I have mixture of friends dat ain’t ryt we are the future we need to make pave it for the next generation things that happend in the past needs to be let go period

I love blogs because what you write stays on the page… I am going to make a prediction, and I consider myself a production because you can put me in any studio in America and I can come out with a finished product. I agree this shit is going back to the 80’s… And Bass music is coming back. I just talked to the guys from Nuclues the ones that made “Jam on it” and they gave me all the instruments that they used from back in the day. It’s already back in Alabama, watch what I tell you. The same sounding stuff from the 80’s is coming back. That’s why that snoop record by Shawty Redd fell right in line..

Spock…

I totally agree with you JD. As a youth myself I can honestly say its hard when people try and be your voice or when they just simply ignore how you feel and what you stand for. Now as far as the past and present; not saying you should just forget about the past because it makes us all who we are. And you have to have respect for all the icons of our past. But you can’t get tomorrow back, so all you can do is focus on today and how you’re going to make tomorrow even better. Several people put down new artist for trying new things or being different. What they don’t get is everything changes, whether it is music, clothes, or styles. Either you accept it and keep it movin’ or you just stay stuck in the past (lost and confused).

I was the Somebody that asked you the question on Twitter. Though I agree with some of what you have said, I think you may have miss understood my point. You did answer my question by saying A “Freestyle” is off the top. Then you say some of today6’s new artists view it another way. This is all kool, to each their own. I just feel that the definition of “Freestyle” should remain the same, an artist that can spit of the top and be just as dope as the next dudes writen, has always been praised for that “SKILL”. When i said you need to teach these young niggaz what I meant was, if your definition is what you said it is, and they spit a writen and tell you to put that out as a “freestyle”. School them on what it is.

They will have their own defintion if they choose, I just feel That the term was created and best represented by those that can really spit off the top. By allowing people to spit what they wrote and call it a freestyle is a disgrace. Though they may be very talented with what is writen, to call it a FREESTYLE, in the words of Intynational ” THAT AINT IT:…

A Lifer 4 Real!

I agree that the youth are the future and can define some things as they see it. But I also think that respect should be given to what has already been established because it provides the foundations on which they stand. A freestyle is rhyming off the top of your head, period. And when it’s done right, it’s a beautiful thing that showcases ones talent and skill. I’ve never knew it to be anything else and I don’t feel it should change.

As far as the black club white club thing. You pointed out that black kids are taking on rock, punk and skateboarder culture today and that’s true, to a point. But when white kids took on hip-hop culture that didn’t cause the clubs to become more intergrated. Why? Because blacks and whites still live in different neighborhoods in this country. Especially those in lower socio-economic classes. Yeah, we listen to each others music and exchange styles, but all of us aren’t directly exposed to other cultures on a regular basis. I’m around teenagers everyday. Some listen to all kinds of music and others listen to rap and R&B only. There is a divide between those that listen to an array of music and those that are strictly Hip-Hop. I don’t know how it is in ATL. But in NYC (and I’m sure you know this) if you listen to all kinds of music you can easily make your way to a club that plays different types of music. If you are interested in strictly Hip-Hop you can find clubs for that as well. People find the type of crowds they like and people are free to mix and mingle as they choose. Most just choose not to or have never considered it to be a possibility. I go to any club because I love music and I find more blacks in white clubs than I find whites in black clubs.

I agree 100%. I only go to diverse clubs that play EVERYTHING…because
A. I am a MUSIC LOVER..everything from Otis Redding to The Eagles, to The Fray, to Wayne..etc.
B. I love to be around diverse people. Well rounded accepting people.
C. It’s time out for the ish…like you said!

I think that this just might be my favorite post thus far! KUDOS!

time is motion, we moving and they wasting,the days of old are gone,you must add on and elevate to bigger and better.I dont listen to much music of this era i will admit im stuck in the 90’s but will never dis the youth.Music is made for the purpose of entertainment if you dont like it its not meant for you.

I am so glad you wrote this JD!!! Man I grew up in Connecticut and before BET was broadcast in our neighborhood all we had was my moms vinyl and whatever was on MTV. My crew consisted of a Cicilian, Italian, Puerto Rican, Black , Mashantucket Pequot Indian , Greek and white girls.

We rolled deep. We listened to everything from Guns and Roses and Roy Orbison to Biggie, Mobb Deep and TuPac . We didn’t care about our different cultures we wanted to learn about each other. That is how these kids are now. They are exploring each other and discovering that every thing that their parents and grandparents said just isn’t true.

It’s beautiful.

They are coming together through music. Fusing all these different styles and I think it’s cool.

I love all music. I am a lover of sound and it’s ability to change moods and emotions.
The power it has to make people move either all in one direction or in a combination of different moves. It can make you feel strong as a mountain or make you feel like complete shit.

Whether you get it from Frankie Beverly and Maze, ColdPlay, Hi-Tek, The Used, Sade, The Roots, R-LES ,RaHeem DeVaughn whoever takes you there.
We have to stay away from that US and THEM type stuff. If it speaks to you let it be your guide.

NOW I ALMOST MUST SAY IF YOU ARE CLAIMING THAT YOU CAN FREESTYLE AND YOU DIDN’T START OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD WHILE STANDING OUT ON THE BLOCK,STOOP, AVE, RD OR IN THE HALL, ELEVATOR, BUILDING, RIDING THE TRAIN OR BUS……..

YOU MY FRIEND ARE NOT FREESTYLING.

actually we can all learn our musical history and embrace it. that includes where rock and roll came from and not just who does it now. I am an 80’s baby and proud of it. Matter of fact, my friends and i were just talking about the family;”screams of passion” earlier today. i may be the lone person here but while I can appreciate what the newbies are trying to do, i don’t accept much of it because there is hardly any talent.my best days are listening to old skool and reflecting back to when music was real regardless of genre..when the clubs had everybody jumping and the wall wasn’t heard of..when a celeb ran thru and u were actually partying with them..not simply looking up at them in their VIP area while they look down at you..so yes i dwell in the past every chance i get, and i’m NOT leaving..maybe if the new ones checked out the old ones..if the machine really gave a damn..then this post wouldn’t have been needed..just my personal two cents

Ok this is a good topic of discussion. Honestly, as long as the music is good I don’t really care whether it’s a mixed club or not. Here in LaLa land, there really isn’t a black club except Savoy and that nearby whole in the wall in Inglewood. So you have to get out of your comfort zone as black folk accustomed to only black clubs. Like one Lifer said DJs play what they THINK the crowd wants to hear. Black clubs especially cater to just black music. I have to say at least with the mixed clubs there’s a better cross section of music which as a music lover introduces me to songs and artists I wouldn’t ordinarily hear. But most go to the club NOT for music but for the atmosphere and the chance of a hookup or a date. Music is just the soundtrack to the conquest. So black folk often stick to black clubs because they want to meet other black ppl to potentially date and the same with other cultures. This current generation is seemingly more open to interracial and cultural experiences which is a good thing. But I don’t think the need or desire for clubs catering to a specific cultural group will ever totally cease. The average mixed club isn’t going to play Frankie Beverly & Maze’s “Before I let Go” nor Rare Essence’s “Booty Call”, nor even Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s “Reminisce” and the crowd TOTALLY lose their damn mind dancing to it because of the memories they bring. But then again that’s a generational thing not just cultural.

Freestyle…no music, mic optional… lyrical content, real “spit”, and a poet’s spirit required.