DECEMBER IS HERE 2008 COMING TO A CLOSE

What a year..nothing really monumental to recall off hand. A lot of hype, and some big disappointments but what else is new. As I look ahead at 2009, what do we have to really look forward to in hip-hop music? I would love to see respect come back to the game and a code of ethics enforced. Am I crazy?? The answer is yes I guess.

In my opinion you look at shows like TRL and RapCity all going off the air..it's a result of garbage music being forced out, and the majority of real listeners are fed up. It's apparent more than ever that corporate America is behind the scenes controlling hip-hop and not giving balance to the game as a whole. I remember tuning into Yo MTV Raps or Video Juke Box and getting the opportunity to see real hip-hop music in effect, from the real deal, underground, to commercial styles all mixed up giving balance. But now..money is being pumped into the projects like T-Pain, Lil Wayne type styles etc, leaving no room for more legitimate styles of hip-hop to get any airtime.

So what does that leave for 2009? Is there really going to be room for legit hip-hop to have a space in the game. Don't get me wrong..I know real shit is going down and getting released..I'm just talking about seeing and hearing real hip-hop on a large scale. I'd like to see a Gangstarr re-union to crack off 09 for starts..and see real producers like Dj Premier, Alchemist, Pete Rock, Large Pro, etc etc..getting some real shine and working with real mc's putting out quality work and getting some heavy airtime. We need the real cats to finally speak their minds and talk about what's really going down.

Instead of mc's speaking their minds..it seems like they're happy just to be able to have a album coming out. It's sad but true...I heard a incredible new Jada banger I'll put below that is off the meters. I personally think he should have done it solo but you gotta do what you gotta do nowadays to get the rest of the game to open their freakin ears nah mean? Well either way..peace out to 08 and raise your glass for hopefully a more substantial 09.

On a side note: Kool Sphere's "Dream's Don't Die" album is being mixed right now, and I will be meeting up with my man DJ LD from Technicali to be laying the final cuts and scratches down to make things official. Once everything is back, mixed and in place, I will decide on how I will present out previews and shit. Below is a example from the upcoming album...
Kool Sphere "All City" featuring M.C. Reppond


Have a happy Holiday if I don't get back on here and we'll see what time it is.

NEW PERSPECTIVE

So after a looong well deserved weekend in Las Vegas with the fam..I'm back in effect, fresh in the flesh with a new perspective. I consider myself a hip-hop connoisseur..with old school traditions right..I was never a djay, but I followed hip-hop from the 80's to the present, always paying attention to what was going on with the groups and artists I followed.
I became the anti-rap activist playa hating commercial rappers since the mid 90's to...let's say...last week lol. And I think I finally realized that, things aren't going to change. You must adapt to what's going on and realize that you can't go back into time. I remember a interview with Nas a couple years back..saying he won't do another "Illmatic" because he's not the same person he was back then..and life is a progression..you proceed forward not in reverse...he also rapped a verse about it on his new CD "They pray please God let him spit that Uzi in the army linen
That shorty doo-wop rolling oo-wop in the park reclining" (for those that don't get it he's saying that fans from the old school are praying that he takes it back to illmatic days with lines like that off his classic CD)..but those days are gone now. It is a reality that was very difficult for me to swallow but I think I have finally come to terms with it.
Now just to clarify..
I'm not saying that real hip-hop is dead..I'm saying that the music that I loved coming up as a youth hearing it on mainstream radio will never happen again on mainstream radio. Case in point..I was driving with my girl today who is 10 years younger than me..I had Sirius satellite radio on and all of a sudden Public Enemy's NIGHT OF THE LIVING BASEHEADS comes thru and my face lit up..getting goose bumps..remembering the feeling I got hearing Kool Dj Red Alert on 98.7 Kiss FM debuting those joints! or freakin Dj Chuck Chillout on WBL kickin S rockin those live ass joints. So my girl is looking at me like I'm crazy. Like how could they play this on mainstream radio back in the days and have a audience? (trust me she knows the deal with hip-hop..just from a newer perspective)And she's right..how could they have gotten away with this? Because it was new..rebellious music. Djays on the air eager to break new records with new artists coming out from all over the place. A time where you had to step your game up lyrically..had to have a dope beat to even be considered...now today..all of those old school traditions are deader than disco.
Now any dude with a computer is a rapper/producer..watching mtv,bet,vh1 as a influence as to what hip-hop is..not realizing that what is being played is the furthest from the truth. And the cats old school and new that have the format down as to doing hip-hop correctly are completely shunned because the big video shows and FM radio don't want any part of them.
So when you hear people say things like Soulja boy ,Lil Wayne etc are killing hip-hop..they essentially are..not like they're doing this on purpose, its because they are successful at hip-POP and sell millions of records. So as a result..if you make music in hip-hop that doesn't sound like that..your assed out homey straight up and down. that was my scattered rant for today that went all over the place but I think you will get the gist of it.
Final case in point..new records that have recently dropped or about to drop..
AZ "Undeniable" and GZA "Protools"
are new CD releases that are real hip-hop real talk straight talk..instead of following the same ol' wack trends..be a trend setter and check these dudes out!@

Ksph side note: AZ proves you can do marketable music correctly flippin ill vocab keeping street cred fully intact!