While I never aided in the Hip Hop Is Dead campaign or thought that my favorite genre of music was in need of “saving”, it’s obvious that things could be… better (especially in the mainstream). That isn’t to say that were at a lack of dope music though. Hell, this year alone produced some incredible projects. So much that I’m still trying to thin out my Year End list so we can get it up before the New Year. Anyways, while browsing the net on one of the slowest days of the year I came across this list on TiRon’s tumblr. 100 ways to save hip hop.
1. Stop playing the same 5 songs on the radio.
2. Stop listening to radio stations that play the same 5 songs.
3. Stop blaming Diddy.
4. Stop Diddy.
5. Stop dubbing every new jack “the next great” this and that.
6. Stop charging body parts for shows.
7. Stop fabricating feuds to sell records.
8. Stop putting Lil Wayne on every song.
9. Stop saying hip-hop is dead.
10. Stop hating Kanye for being weird.
11. More battles, less beef.
12. Stop biting Jay-Z’s flow.
13. Stop biting Biggie’s ad libs.
14. Stop putting weed carriers on your album.
15. Stop trying to please everyone.
16. Stop leaking entire albums song by song.
17. Stop making posthumous collaborations.
18. Stop getting arrested for dumb things.
19. Stop being homophobic.
20. Stop blaming record labels.
21. Stop whining about how much you miss the golden age of hip-hop.
22. Stop cluttering albums with corny skits, unless you’re Prince Paul.
23. Support creativity with your wallet.
24. Stop making 50-song albums with 90% filler.
25. Stop faking the funk.
26. Stop calling people who disagree with you “haters.”
27. Stop hating.
28. Stop kissing ass for favors.
29. Stop saying you miss “real” hip-hop.
30. Stop hating Jay-Z.
31. Stop saying you’re carrying ___ city on your back. That’s not even possible.
32. Stop acting too cool for school at concerts.
33. Stop rapping about the same three topics.
34. Stop rapping about UFOs.
35. Stop promoting sexual violence under the guise of hood reportage.
36. Stop defending misogyny.
37. Stop being a Twitter groupie.
38. Stop taking contrarian views for the sake of being different.
39. Stop hating people who disagree with you.
40. Stop dissing Soulja Boy.
41. Stop Soulja Boy.
42. Stop dissing people who make dance-tastic rap. It’s been around forever.
43. Support innovative DJs.
44. Actually make the effort to move the crowd.
45. Stop radio payola.
46. Stop blog payola.
47. Push the envelope.
48. Stop biting.
49. Stop yelling on mixtapes.
50. Stop blaming bloggers.
51. Make meaningful music.
52. Stop obsessing over airplay (or lack thereof).
53. Stop showering undeserving veterans with blind praise.
54. Stop sleeping on unsigned talent.
55. Stop hopping on trends.
56. Stop making everything a race issue.
57. Stop being so gimmicky.
58. Stop calling everything a concept album.
59. Stop making tinkerbell beats.
60. Stop blaming skinny jeans.
61. Stop blaming hipsters.
62. Stop explaining your art.
63. Let your music speak for itself.
64. Stop playing it safe.
65. Invest in better artwork and packaging.
66. Stop promoting ignorance.
67. Stop burning bridges over stupid things.
68. Stop bragging about sales.
69. Stop showing up six hours late to your own shows.
70. Stop blaming the South.
71. Stop putting people in a box.
72. Stop tossing “classic” around.
73. Stop congratulating yourself on every other song.
74. Stop trying to sell the same album twice.
75. Stop looking for the next 50 Cent.
76. Stop hating people who color outside the lines.
77. More rapping, less singing.
78. Stop wasting your budget on video hos.
79. Do tell me, how do you get in those jeans.
80. Stop getting murdered by Eminem on your songs.
81. Stop telling me to “bring that sh-t back!”
82. More improvised freestyles, less written freestyles.
83. More originality, less biting.
84. More RZA, less Bobby Digital.
85. More effort, less ghostwriting.
86. More albums, less mixtapes.
87. Stop using auto-tune to mask a lack of singing talent.
88. Stop making contrived girl songs.
89. Stop wearing obnoxious gold chains.
90. Stop calling everything a movement. Civil Rights = movement; Bugatti Boys = not a movement.
91. Stop shooting up the clubs.
92. Stop wearing jackets that look like LV handbags.
93. Stop nominating idiots for Hip-Hop Honors.
94. Stop handing out awards to the same 5 people every year.
95. Stop sending impostors to your show (I’m looking at you, DOOM).
96. Ban Diddy from Twitter.
97. Stop putting baby pictures on your album cover.
98. Be aware that the roof is not literally on fire.
99. Retire the word “swag.”
100. Stop trying to save hip-hop. It doesn’t need saving.
It’s hilarious (and quite sad) that I agree with just about every single one of these.
A Sucker For Pumps was possibly the most slept on album of 2011.
some are a little harsh.. for one, hip-hop definitely touches on more than 3 topics, especially compared to other genres.. if you get mad about straight brag rap.. then your gunna hate every rapper, ever.
and also.. i dont hate the word swag so much. anybody who actually cares about a word that much.. TALK
100 kinda contradicts everything. lol.
yea i know, i get what dudes sayin, but 99% of people wont.
84… :’) i thought i was the only one.
he’s got something against Diddy and Wayne I see.
1, 8, 14, 26, 33, 34, 39, 51, 73, 77, 80 etc..
^^^
sheeeyit,
son done shitted on lil wayne and his wackness posse.
BLU
tiron lives with his parents in a comfortable setting where he doesn’t need to rap to make a career. Other rappers who don’t have an education, supportive background, and live in neighborhoods that are hard to escape from kinda have to do alot of these to get to the mainstream to get somewhere. Tiron just puts the pussy on the pedastool from his work I’ve heard. yes I’m hatin
This has been going around for a while now but this I agree with everything on this list.
TiRon only needs to worry about networking, I’ve yet to meet someone who’s even heard of the dude.
12!!!!
TiRon for (Def Jam) President!!
Hahahahaha at some of these
23 is most important IMO. Support REAL, creative music rather than Lil Wayne, Diddy, etc. Call me a hater, idgaf.
101 – people stop thinking everything is illuminati
102 – rappers stop presenting illuminati concepts
didnt realize #34 was a prb?…but 98% of this is truth
I DIDNT WRITE THIS SHIT AT ALL!!! I FOUND IT ON A BLOG!!!
DONT SHOOT THE MESSENGER!!
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2T5Jz2/rap.about.com/od/articles/a/100-Ways-To-Save-Hip-Hop.htm/
see. i just copied and pasted it.
funny nonetheless.
103 – No More Acronyms
104 – Stop Spelling Shit Wrong On Purpose
P.S. …i Kno, smh
pretty much right. A few I’m iffy on, but it’s solid. LoL.
72 is so true. Nothing that came out this year was a classic.
@MurdathaDj i think he’s referring to the “i’m an alien” craze that wayne seemed to have started. that whole, im so different and it makes me cool shit.
but the fact that about.com created this list is hilarious to me. i agree with the majority of it regardless
Lloyd banks is hip hop
to sum it all up STOP BEING FUCKING IGNORANT
ty to this nigga tiRon. This come’s from someone who really watches hippop. Some of these will never change cause its in a rappers nature but it would be great to see less of the same thing.
i dont think he wrote it….if he did hes a loser cause this shit is WAY too thought out hahahaha
@ TJ I havn’t heard “the dreamer the believer” yet so I can’t say it will or won’t be a classic BUT, Im almost positive that in ten years “undun” will widely be considerd a classic album.
I agree with all of these. great fucking list
@G got his feelings hurt and hes crying his eyes out to some gay ass Drake lullaby
oh some dude on about.com wrote it lmao i was about to sayyyyy. phew.
“Stop promoting ignorance”
couldn’t agree more, keep videos of black people fighting over increasingly dumb shit to worldstar please
hmm nothing about adding more female rappers though???? but funny list never the less…
HAHA!! So true. 1, 8, 18, 22, 41, 66 & 69
to some it up, he is saying to take the dick out of Lupes ass and have him release food and liquor 2.
I wonder what Big Ghost Has to say about all of this…
^^
That mothafucka needs to post more. Once a month? Fuck that there’s too much idiocy in the game right now
> Tiron just puts the pussy on the pedastool from his work I’ve heard. yes I’m hatin
“pedastool,” though…
Great post, I reblogged. This needs to be spread.
cassetted.blogspot.com
I have to say that I do agree with many of these because for the most part some things do need to change in hip hop, dude hits on some good points overall there needs to be more of a variety in music
We need more homophobia. Hip hop needs less fans and more critics. Chase the gays and hipsters away. Stop pandering and start pissing people off again. If you can’t stand hearing “faggot” in a rap song you shouldn’t be listening to rap music.
101. Lock everyone from YMCMB into a room with 9 lions and 3 bears
stop bitchin like a faggot and do whats right to keep hip hop alive.
Fuck jayz! hes a dumbfucking biter
This list is from Henry Adoso of rap.about.com
I read his blogs years ago, he’s a really good writer.
number 5 is the most true on there, too many people either making j cole, kendrick lamar or asap rocky out to be the next big thing but neither dropped anything close to classic
Stop getting murdered by Eminem on your songs. lol. Crooked got him on his own track on that loud noises
all this stuff is true
anyone who gets mad about this is obviously just a fan of ignorant shit
99 Retire the word “swag.”
Thank god. Somone said it
the best ones are the baby pictures on albums, retiring swag, throwing “classic” around, & calling every album a concept
@david
Uh, Section80 was a classic. Overly Dedicated, close to a classic. Although it´s true about J. Cole and especially for A$AP Rocky. A$AP Rocky is all hype. His buzz will die, just like Odd Future´s buzz died.
101. Make Jay Electronica release a fucking album.
Lmaoooo worddd to @Nate
“More RZA, less Bobby Digital”
LMFAO.
“A$AP Rocky is all hype. His buzz will die, just like Odd Future´s buzz died”
Odd Future’s buzz never died, the bandwagon fans finally just decided to leave.
@M0ns1er SWAG. *cooks*
62
Thank You !!!!!!!
This list is the fucking truth! Hip Hop Heads, Hipsters, New Schoolers, listen the FUCK UP!
@david
For anyone to say that Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80 isn’t (even) close to a classic is bewildering to me, I wouldn’t say youre a hater; you probably just don’t love/know HipHop as much as you think you do. Section.80 is classic bcoz it is actually a thematic piece of art, lyricism, great hooks, great themes, creative song composition, real and relatable!
undun is not a classic but it is a great ‘concept’ album.
Section.80 will be regarded as an unheralded classic -meaning, it is perfect, stand’s the test of time & is a ‘blueprint’for what a HipHop album should be. It doesnt need Pop acclaim, it already has critical acclaim. & When u consider the fact that it is an independent album, coming from a noob! It’s a phenomenon!
Phonte’s Çharity Starts At Home’is also a near classic! This was a great year for HipHop!
LupeExperience< thats ur opinion…lol u said all thosee points about sec 80 but u sayin undun aint themeatic? aint got lyricism? great hooks? grat themes? and creative song composition and aint real or relatable?
84!
#29 should be #1. Real, good music is out there, go find it.
1st off… I agree with all of this except 89. That’s hip hop right there. then again, there are those who wear them that don’t see it that way so i guess this applies to them…
2nd, only time can tell if something is a classic. calling it a classic and it just came out is ass backwards to me. the funny thing is, if you ask the people that called something a classic last year if they still listen to it, 9 times out of 10 you get the deer in headlights face. cut it out…
@BILLYCLINT: I never said that! undun has all those things & more (as a matter of fact) but I can’t get past the fact that there are only 8 real tracks (i.e. minus interludes and bridges). That’s the only thing that separates it form being a classic to me, that’s why I say it’s a near-classic. and tho it’s my opinion a lot of ppl agree with critics & fans alike. If u call undun a classic, Im fucking with you #nohomo, I wouldnt argue against that
@unclesam
Section.80 isn’t a classic it came out this year
i fucks with Kendrick but i hate when people are quick to call something classic(it’s like they don’t even know what the word means)
you can’t call anything if not enough time has passed cuz then you won’t really kno it’s classic(let 10years pass then call it classic)
@Secondbest21 The ‘assbackwards’ comment is uncalled for. Let me ask you a simple question. When last did you listen to Nas-Illmatic, or Young Jeezy:TM101, or Biggie-Ready To Die, or 50Cent – Get Rich or Die Trying or Common – Like Water For Chocolate/Be or The Roots – Things Fall Apart or JayZ – The Blueprint/The Black Album. I bet you havent listened to at leat 5 of those in the past 1 year (@ least most people haven’t) and yet they are bonafide HipHop classics. Your point is creative but wrong, it is entirely possible that I/You/We bump a classic so much that I/You/We get tired of it! U need to realize that it IS possible to have several classics in HipHop even in a short time span. Don’t teams win championships every year? Don’t ppl break sports records and become Hall-of-Famers every year?
I agree that time will tell, but we CAN make a pre-emptive verdict and hinge its validity on the test of time, after all this is exactly what scientists do! Section.80 is a classic!
101, MORE FEMALE RAPPERS! LOL But really…
Ain’t nothing wrong with hip hop. It’s the consumers who choose to listen to garbage who need saving.
I really like lennox’s 101.”Lock everyone from YMCMB into a room with 9 lions and 3 bears” and Norim’s 101.” Make Jay Electronica release a fucking album”
99. Needs to be enforced the most, Jesus every verse for the past 10 months has it
section 80 IS a dope album, but that tammy song bullshit and no makeup joint and chapter 6 are CORNY as fuck. Classic albums shouldn’t have tracks that make you cringe with shame when you slap them in your ride. Return of 4eva is closer to being a modern blog rap classic.
fuck homo’s… homo’s deserve death, if ur gay u need 2 die… that shit is str8 up wrong… man is 4 woman nd vice versa fuck that gay shit… whoever wrote this list isn’t correct inda mind
Nice list. Here’s a similar one 50 Ways to Be a Tired Rapper http://www.yorapper.com/50-ways-to-be-a-tired-rapper/
This is Classic!
This made my day LOL
Hipsters, clowns, fake-the-funk tools, know-it-alls, lames,cornballs,fakes, flakes, bandwagoning dickriders, haters,judge judies, hypocrites, lizards & snakes.
hiphop been dead. for a while now. kendrick lamar is nice and promising, but he hasnt “brought it back” yet. to bring it back dude would have to take it if not farther, then as far as jay and nas and puff took it. as far as music and production, lyrics, hits, cultural impact, all that. kendrick, drake, cole, they all doing one or the other. but they all lacking one or more that can BRING IT BACK to where it was.
i mean look at our RECENT history: em, jay/roc, nas, master p/no limit, ja rule/murder inc, bad boy, redman/methodman, snoop(i mean snoop also signed wit no limit. that was crazy!) cash money 1st time, dipset, dpg, westside connection, wu-tang, e-40(yall even remember when he signed wit lil jon and drop’d tell me when to go? hell nah) and plenty more. our gen has NONE of that.
our best is kanye and jay still, even tho half 50% of fans wouldnt say so, drake, cole, common, lamar, big sean as the ma$e type nigga, wale sometimes, ross, I GUESS slaughterhouse a bunch of subpar-matt barnes’ like ab-soul, wiz, mac miller, currency, stalley and others. and expectations from the previous gen like a nas album or andre 3k album. thats it.
there is no comparison. mainstream or not. each gen is suppose to evolve and surpass the previous gen. like it has. until this gen. shit hit a wall. and is in a recession. stop crying and over-hyping your fav rappers when they are lacking plenty. DONT TELL me that hiphop isnt dead and that shit is better some how. nigga stop. justin beiber was almost in a bet cypher(thank you dj premier for saving the day) and the best rapper in the game is drake. mainstream or not. hiphop is in a recession when the best mainstream rapper is a r&b singer. nigga stop.
Yeah section 80 wasnt no classic. neither was return of 4eva. a classic is an album where every song is dope. both had flaws. cold day in hell on the other hand…even tho its not an album, every song bangs.
People trying to live by all these rules are just gonna end up breaking most of them in an effort to accomplish something so I say just do what feels right. Hip Hop is fine where its at right now because Tv and Radio do not totally control the industry anymore. The last few years hip hop has been doing ok if you count the number of good albums and mixtapes so stop trippin over nothing. Are people rapping better then MCs from the golden era? NO and thats mostly because its alot of rappers now that just get online and rap before they actually master their craft and back in the day, artists had to go through a series of tests in the underground and then when they did get a deal they still had to go through artist development from the label. Thats why you had alot of classic material back then BUT Hip Hop right now is doing fine cause if you dont like Drake or Ross or Wayne or Jayz there are plenty of other MCs that you can get music from outside of the mainstream acts. The reason why people call albums from back in the day classic is because after a decade has passed people can look back and see the influence. You aint gonna see too many more classics in hip hop because there is no FIRSTS ( of its kind ) anymore because hip hop has been around for like 30 years at this point. Section 80 aint classic because its impact wasnt strong enough bottom line and unless you have a whole era of MCs coming out that all start making music like whats on Sec 80? Then its not classic. Hip Hop is not dead cause its actually more alive now then its ever been because never in the history of rap could you get a new music from a different artist almost every single day of the year. Whats lacking is musical integrity and skills and TRUTHFUL material but what did you think was gonna happen if you got rappers trying to keep up in the internet age? If rappers have to pump out more material at a faster rate then the quality will go down and thats just Common Sense. Rappers like Big Sean and Drake are not just one or two albums in, their actually more then 5 albums in, counting mixtapes and thats cause the fans demand more now. I say this about hip hop, stop using the internet just to put out songs that really dont have any impact or real skill level, use the internet to set up platforms like the major labels and some independent labels did in the 90s. Then for the people out there that have artists signed to their own companies, PUT YOUR ARTISTS THROUGH SOME FORM OF ARTIST DEVELOPMENT BEFORE YOU START PUTTING OUT WHOLE PROJECTS. Stop rapping just to rap because thats already been done and its been done better because Baby from Cash Money mite not be able to out rap people but in the early 90s he did 10x more on the underground then most of these so called MCs thats posed to bring something back. If you gonna bring something to the game then do it but that takes some kinda of development on the underground level. Dont just say you a MC or a rapper because you know how to make songs. Out rap everybody in your city, then rock 100 shows in your city and then sell units in your city and become the top MC. THEN get out here and try to influence the culture and change the game because if you skip these parts of the game its only gonna be harder for you to understand the industry and actually make your music something great. Lastly, EVERYBODY has some musical talent in them but that doesnt mean that everybody should be an artist so stop thinking you gonna become a MC overnite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N80Q6GURZpU
Stop calling ourselves nigga nonstop
Stop wearing your girlfriends jeans
Start pulling your goddamn pants up (unless your gay and like your buttcheeks being looked at)
Give real talent airplay.
Stop using “hes rich” as an excuse for Kanye
Stop wearing stickers on your hats like you havent left the store yet.
Admit hip hop is dead and start fixing it.
Dont make a list of 100 things that is really 75 with like at least 10 things just repeated.
Dont support music made by individuals who glorify and promote gang violence.
Stop glorifying drug use in your songs so kids who idollize you dont think its ok.
Dont be a fake bitch like 50 who made an entire album about smoking weed and the go on record in the source saying you dont use drugs and only write lyrics you think the streets will relate 2.
Be yourself, not a fucking stereotype
^ and to be expected, the “anti-” nigga.
” Are people rapping better then MCs from the golden era? NO and thats mostly because its alot of rappers now that just get online and rap before they actually master their craft and back in the day, artists had to go through a series of tests in the underground and then when they did get a deal they still had to go through artist development from the label. Thats why you had alot of classic material back then”
^ nigga spent his whole arguement arguing against himself. one.
two, due to the increase in quantity, the quality has decreased. that is ALSO why there arnt any modern classics. niggas is rushing out any and everything just to try to stay “hot”, instead of taking the time to make CLASSICS.
man i dont feel like over-explaining. if hiphop aint dead, then its in a recession. simple as that. NO! WAY! is hiphop “more alive” or w.e. the fuck
101: Dont act like a bitch and pretend everything I say is directed at YOU in particular. The comment is for anybody who reads it and im speaking in general, take what you want from it and leave the rest. If you have sense you can understand what I said if you dont, oh well. If you want to make something Classic then make something completely different from any hip hop album, create a new form of hip hop because having classic material is a blessing not something you can just formulate at will. Most of the classic albums back in the day had industry machines behind them and took years in the making and had things like timing and originality.
There’s not 100 ways, there’s 1:
Stop giving attention to all those whack ass, cornball, skinny jean, wanna be MC’s. Sooner or later they will all fade away.
However! I did manage to laugh at a lot of these xD Shit was funny to me
@dr. mantis.. go suck a dick you “HATER!”
damn i need to agree with like 99% of this…man knows what he is writing and saying…people should support these ideas and make RAP. make quality RAP…
@thinking_cap hella agree with you on that 101.
I’m sorry but marty mcfly’s lil essay right there was on point
A classic album doesnt need to be entirely flawless. Most people can agree that “Below The Heavens” is a classic but would you call “Juicen’ Dranks” a flawless song? No…
Step 1: Make me Executive Producer of all hip-hop releases
Step 2: ????
Step 3: Profitz
101. Don’t say what hip-hop needs or doesn’t need, bitch.
Returnof4eva Wasnt a classic tho? Section 80 wasnt a classic? these never come out my CD changer… am i a fool for this? and who really likes diddy?
if everyone in hip hop followed these rules then everyone would be the same
holy shit marty your a such a self absorbed, apologetic, inconsistent, hypocritical, propaganda spewing bitch. shut the fuck up! you sound like a 20yr old who thinks he knows exactly whats what when you still live with your moms! shut the fuck up! writing long ass essays on a blogs comment section. start your own blod bitch! you write more on here than the authors do! your a fucking TROLL. no one has the time you have! get a fucking JOB/life/and if your lucky some pussy that doesnt weigh more than you.
This list was actually made by my man Henry. Follow him at @Rizoh
Balance. I wanna hear K. DOT, Sean P, Slaughterhouse, etc. get as much publicity as Coffee Cake Drake and all that other fruity shit. All the big radio stations that claim to be the “Home of HipHop” or “Whrere HipHop lives” need to acknowledge that theres more to this shit than bottle poppin and throwin money around…..
Oh and STOP PLAYING NIGGAS IN PARIS!!
I agree with @Psymun At first the list started making since but when it got around to the 986 what not to do you kinda said okay some of my favorite rappers do atleast 30 of these things. although we dont approve of 99% of our favorite artists decision we “HipHop” still need that imperfection. The only rule in HipHop should be stand behind your favorite artists! And yes I am a rapper and I do feel were he’scoming from. I’m hating only 30% lol.
Fuck its all bullshit. This is the renisannce of hip hop its beautiful right now.
Somebody doesn’t get the DOOM character at all if he gets mad at imposters.
You think the mastermind general would get risked getting shot on the front line.
#1 should be: Study the art and science of hiphop with the main intent of keeping it alive and developing it further!
How can one be a good scientist without studying what the Einsteins, Faradays, Pythagoras’ did? How can one even be a scientist and don’t know Albert Einstein?? … or be an artist and don’t know Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Van Gogh…
In the Golden era, everyone was unique, there were hardly biters! These new cats need to go back and study the art and science of hiphop and stop putting out wack, nonsense music!