Cyrus Langhorne
[After performing a slew of memorable "A Sucker Emcee" New York shows this season, actor/poet Mums gives SOHH readers his take on the state of hip-hop.]
You know what I miss the most? I miss the posse cut. That was something around the mid-90’s where five dope emcees would get on one cut and they weren’t battling each other but they kinda were.
That was about emceeing. That wasn’t about the song being hot so we could dance to it in the club. I did a movie with Busta Rhymes a few years ago and I got a chance to chill with him in his trailer and I was like, “Yo, Busta, I just want you to know that you’re one of my top five emcees. For real.”
Everybody loves Busta but nobody wants to put him in their top five. I think he’s one of the top five emcees. He was like, “Yo Mums, thank-you for that. That’s mad love. You know what? Don’t nobody care if you can rhyme no more.”
When he said that, I swear to God, I literally felt like I saw tears in his eyes. And he’s right. Nobody cares if you can rhyme anymore. It’s all about the hot new stud emcee coming out. Kids don’t even pay attention to if you can rhyme anymore.
That’s why a Rick Ross can have a life. I’m not saying that he can’t rhyme but it’s not the most intricate envelope-pushing, experimental, forward-moving rap. For us, being an emcee was like, “Oh, wow.” First Rakim then LL Cool J then Kool G. Rap. If they could spit 52 bars, they would.
I don’t know if the true emcee died but the last ones were Pac and Big. Of course Nas is incredible but when I say the last great emcees to come out, it was Pac and Big. Big was born to emcee, he was born to rhyme.
There’s a lot of great emcees out right now but the industry filters them and makes them do things that they don’t want to do or not putting the spotlight on lyrical skills.
Kendrick Lamar is the joint but he could still rhyme more.
The kids just don’t understand what it is about being an emcee. The greatest thing about the BET Hip Hop Awards, those cyphers? I was getting a chubby watching those. That’s what it’s all about. I loved it because I got to hear all of these new emcees that people were talking about and I could hear if they had something or not and some of them did. But the moment their product comes out? I’m bored. I’m gone.
That’s why I’m a poet, not a rapper. I’m an emcee but I’m not a rapper. All I care about is 16 bars. 32 bars. 64 bars. I could give a f*ck about a hook. Sometimes I write poetry with repetitive lines but it’s all about the spit.
If you call yourself a poet and can give a fuck about “the hook” you’re an idiot.
Poetry doesn’t have hooks. Hooks are bridges to a song that repeats itself throughout the song. Go find a poem and see if they have hook like structures throughout them. So I don’t understand why you would call him an idiot for saying he’s a poet that doesn’t give a fuck about hooks.
Lol…you playin yaself..show me the hook on a haiku
yeah, there are indeed exceptions to the rule
This nigga said pac and big was the last great emcees to come out smh
Who would you add? Niggas always leaving these half assed responses…smh
Big L, Eminem, can name more but for what..
Big l was out before biggie
Technically no cause lifestyle ov da poor and dangerous drop March 28th 1995 RTD dropped sept 13,1994 bro
Devils son came out in 1993
Party and bullshit came out Iin 1993 on the who’s the man soundtrack.he was in the source unsigned hype column in 1992
The ability for real rap artists/mcs to make money has been altered drastically. The respect level among the newer generation has take one helluva hit too.
LUPE..WALE..JCOLE..SHOOLBOY Q..KENDRICK..DRAKE..CURRENSY,,STALEY AND A COUPLE OTHERS ARE NEW/KINDA NEW CATS THAT STILL SPIT
2pac and big were not the last mc if u talking 90’s. Why did this nigga overlook big pun?? U fucking kidding me??
because when your following a template your gonna mention the ones giving to us.
like Malcolm and Martin………….there was plenty other brothers and sistas in the movement but only 2 is mention
Hitman and Mr. Cee of RBL Posse was dope AF too, and he tripping Ross be fcking wit it
This nigga don’t know wtf he’s talk’n about…
Coming from a jobless loser nigga
He an’t lying.
Booohooo. Busta was always a dick to people – Karmas a bitch. Check his old Nardwuar interview to get a sense of what I mean.
These fags act like someone MAKES them listen to radio rap. Stop whining – almost all your old favorite acts still make music, and I could list 653 dope, lyrical emcess/acts who currently make music. Stop reading XXL, stop visiting WS, quit getting your info from SOHH and you’ll be just fine. I hate how people act like something doesn’t exist anymore. Ohh.. I YERN for this.. when they are too fucking lazy to google search and come up w/ a site like ughh dot com. The REAL problem is “I’m so fucking lazy, and you don’t spoon feed me what I like anymore, so rather than do anything for myself, I’ll instead whine like a cunt because it’s 2014, and I can do that”
Well said! I’m always hear cats saying “hip-hop music is wack now” but have no idea that there is a lot of good quality music being made, So I always make it a point to let them know about Rapsody, Elzhi, Skyzoo etc, sh*t Dj Quick just put out a dope album as well
I heard this song called RAP GOD I thought it was DOPE
I get what did saying,the old cats had no filters, but these rhyming cats still rap with a pretty flow, that swag flow, it doesn’t sound like they going for it. Look at childish gambino, dude has bars but his raps sound like some pretty rap shit, I ain’t trying to hear that because the beats and singing hooks still sound like swag rap with better lyrics! Give me that raw that don’t sound like this pretty shit. Yell
the issue isnt the music. the issue is the categories (or lack there is). alot of the music out is NOT hip hop/rap its black pop music.
if these songs that migos and them is making was categorized as black pop then the 2 forms can live. but naming these non hiphop/rap songs hip hop/rap is whats changing the elements of hip hop/rap.
just like RnB. this ish isnt RnB its more like dance music/ party music. which isnt a problem. but label it that. when songs like loyal get popular and is labeled rNb then it effects the creativity of real RnB artist music cause now the industry wants more loyals and less ballads