XXL curses another 10 careers.
Have you heard Blu’s latest single? How about B.O.B.’s latest radio interview. Have you seen that video with curren$y or getting ready to buy Kid Cudi’s next album?
In November, XXL Magazine brought us the ten up and comers that they are assuming will dominate the rap in 2009. But have these youngsters been given too much too fast? Some of them didn’t even open their myspace accounts until a few months ago, and now they’re on the cover of XXL magazine. By gracing this cover so soon and early in their careers, most of these kids are writing checks that they won’t be able to cash.
For most of these kids, not much is lined up that would indicate superstardom in 2009. No radio singles, no widespread music videos, no tours, no nothing. Just a few mixtapes, maybe a feature, and a myspace page.
Don’t believe me? Just check the same XXL spread from the previous year, “Leaders of the New School”. Here, we were told that Saigon was gonna take over the rap game, Papoose was going to become the lyrical giant of the mainstream, and Lil Boosie would be dominating the radio. Saigon? Papoose? Lil Boosie? Where are they? I honestly couldn’t tell you. Have you heard one new track from any of these guys? And for the love of God, will someone please tell me who Gorilla Zoe is?
Even XXL in their “Graduation” segment one year later checks on the status of these guys, and admits that the all of them except for Lupe and Plies were unable to put out successful content this year.
The lazy crop of 2008 that failed to make an imprint.
And at best, Lupe was able to put out good single, and plies stayed in the mediocre lane with some barely noticeable collabos. Plus, 2008 ended up being for Lil Wayne, Kanye, and T.I., while XXL’s “Leader’s of the New School” failed to make more than an imprint.
What it did do, however, was drive up irrational expectations for these artists to deliver. Saigon’s The Greatest Story Never Told is still being withheld by Atlantic records, Papoose’s Nacirema Dream is in the same predicament, and lord knows what’s going on with the rest of these guys.
So if the same curse of the November’s XXL cover holds true, the future of hip hop’s class of 2009 doesn’t seem so magnanimous. They are still one of many that are struggling with the awkward zone between the internet and the mainstream. Even the ones with major label backing, like Ace Hood and Cory Gunz, still have no major projects coming to release that would indicate them to be major players on a mainstream level.
Can you imagine if Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and DMX had all been thrown on a cover like this? Good god, we would have been robbed of a decade of music. The so called “class of 2009″ just a got lot more homework.
By being introduced on the cover of XXL, their internet followers are now expecting too much from them, and the general public doesn’t know enough about their music to be interested in buying any of it. And these are supposed to be cultural icons?
The sad thing is that most of these guys are original and pretty talented. They have diverse flows and are making some great music. Wale, expecially. But this spread focuses less on the music that they’re making and focus’s more on their opinions of the rap game. What should be a revellation of the intracies of their music becomes a discussion of how they are inspired by Lil Wayne and Kanye.
The only one of this gang that just might be able to deliver this year is Asher. If there’s one thing hip hop has taught me, it’s that America loves a witty, goofy, white kid with black friends and a DJ. But as for the rest, its unfortunately more myspace, and more mixtapes, if they’re lucky, they’ll get a feature. I feel especially bad for Cory. He’s got such a solid base of support on the internet and his Bronx home, but isn’t really making any noise outside that box.
There used to be a time when hip hop magazines were bibles. Every artists dream was to get a Source feature and the coveted “five mic” rating. But with the rise of new instant internet feedback and opinion, the culture is growing rapidly, and major magazines are too slow to the punch, and their “up next” covers are doing more harm then good.
All we really get out of this spread is two things. One, these ten kids all have websites. Two, they can afford really good publicists. Hell, the publicists might as well have just graced the cover themselves. They could have saved their clients from fading to obscurity in 2010.
3 Comments
January 16, 2009 at 5:04 am
good read..good points
i think mickey is gonna be aiight..cudi got a backing with ye..
corey gunz been around for years now..
everyone else is just hype.
im rooting for CH this year tho
May 2, 2009 at 10:15 pm
you really dont know who gorilla zoe is… wow he’s put out a great body of work this year so you should look into that
May 22, 2009 at 8:12 am
kid cudi is ill….. he made me feel like damn u cant play this rap game by the rules & rules are goin 2 be broken so hip hop is the…. BADEST BITCH and it needs a strong as nigga top hold her down through thick & thin & KID CUDI is that nigga ya dig Alita AKA the badest chick walking, lee-lee, the bitch, AKA all of the above!!!!!! YA DIG!