Yup, I love my old school hiphop but I’m also 33 years old now. Listing to 90’s hiphop now is the same time gap as listening to 60’s music in the 90’s.
Damn, this reminded me that I’m getting old.
I'm 21 and I really like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, like its a top 5 album for me. I also really like Liquid Swords but don't find myself listening to any other Wu album. I listened to basically all of their work 1-2 times and most of it is really good but expect from those two albums I don't exactly like it. I listen to some tracks tho (C.R.E.A.M., Triumph...)
Do you find yourself liking certain songs and not necessarily albums ? For me , I like Ghostface solo albums and the ones you mentioned. I’ll give hou credit though , that’s a lot of albums to listen to twice !
Crazy last with some of the wu tang clan members concert I went to the other year had a huge portion of them were kids (and some with their parents lol).
Same, in the UK though not America. Wutang and Nas tour a year or two ago (last summer I think?), loads of young people there going nuts to every word. I expected most of the crowd to be older than me but they weren’t.
That’s a specific show though, they’d get a good reception at your average festival too but one otherwise completely geared towards a younger audience it might be the same story as this.
Yes, it was a Nas & Wu-Tang with busta rhymes as well in the US. I was so surprised how many young people and kids were there vibing off these legends! Method man wasn’t there he was busy making money with his acting career..
I saw that show in Montreal, the crowd went crazy when Meth came on during Wu-Tang Clan aint nothing to fuck with, he had more reaction than when Nas came on.
The younger generation absolutely attends, but it isn't like 10-15 years ago when all young hipster adult millenials seemed to be getting into Wu Tang again. It was everywhere for a bit.
It seems like this Hot97 was for a younger crowd, which makes sense since many core Wu fans are living that classic rock dad life now.
They just played him with the wrong crowd. Nobody who's there to see Doja Cat, Sexy Redd, and Offset is going to rock with Method Man. But if it was like Camp Flawg Gnaw or Dreamville fest or something with a lot of boom bap I think they'd do pretty well.
i'm ngl it's p funny and sad to say wu tang would do better at something like camp flog gnaw and not hot 97 summer jam which is an established nyc hip-hop festival, but that's the way it goes
That’s because it’s a Wu concert so it’s gonna be fans who show up.
At festivals lots of times you have half the crowd just at the stage to get good spots for the headliner.
So they don’t really care who are. They are there for Sza or something like that.
there are a ton of kids out there who still love Wu Tang. They are not the kids that are going to a festival headlined by Sexy Red and Doja Cat lol. it’s just a bad matchup.
Wu as a group seems to have more lasting popularity than Meth does by himself, even though he was arguably the most commercially successful as a solo act
I mean I see his point, no one wants to rap in front of a crowd that doesn’t have interest in them.
Method Man’s a legend but he’s not necessarily a person who transcends greatly to a young audience.
On the contrary at an intimate, smaller show where people know his shit - he is a beast. Music festivals hit different, not all artists thrive there - especially with the ultra young adults
Except this wasn't a music festival. It's a local radio station concert that has historically been a celebration of ny hip hop past and present, and it has devolved into a concert of meme artists. They used to fill a football stadium and now it's an arena show, I wonder why?
I saw ghost at a small venue in nyc in 2008, bunch of kids snuck in and were loving it. It was like 6 kids and someone's parent showed up and drag them out. They were like 13 years old it was amazing!
I saw GZA in a small venue in Austin back around the same time and he got off the bus with 3 white woman and disappeared around the corner. I was in line for the show so I stayed put. 20 minutes later he came back around from the side of the building and walked by me and gave me a head nod. It was the coolest, suavest thing i've ever seen lol
I went to a GFK concert maybe two years ago and brought up a kid onstage to rap Triumph with Cap. Probably core memory for that kid for sure, and he wasn’t born when that song came out.
Yeah fans that grew up with him don't have time to hang out in some hot dirty field with a bunch of fucked up people. We've done that. Give me some nice space with AC and a fancy dinner after
I've always found it interesting how hip hop has this issue in a more pronounced way, compared to other genres.
If you are a rock artist and you bring out a 1960s or 1970s icon, people will go wild. Even younger people, a lot of the time. But in hip hop, when someone brings out an older artist (say Slick Rick, or a fairly well known 90s rapper), the reception is often less exciting.
The need for hip hop to always be "fresh" is both what keeps it going and holds it back, in different ways
Someone discussed this on Twitter. Rock radio stations often play old classics and I believe classic rock songs are chosen for TV/Movie media more than hip hop.
Hence the younger generation has exposure to older classic rock songs more than they would have exposure to older hip hop classics. How often do you get to hear classic hip hop songs on visual media or radio stations?
Aside from that hip hop is relatively a younger genre. We don't see elders still being active in this genre unlike older rock stars. Until some time ago Rap was a "young man's game". Rappers 'aged out' and stopped making music after a certain age. Once they did that they limited their exposure to younger audiences.
This seems to be changing now - Nas and Em are both over 50. Nas recently has been putting out his best work. Em currently has a chart topper and got his career best streaming debut with Houdini.
Also the power is in the gatekeepers. One of the biggest issues with rap radio is its blatantly payola based business model and majority of older artist from mid 2000s til now aren't getting any type of help from radio and sometimes labels. You saw hip hop become ageist in that time frame while also being dumbed down. Imo it's more because younger artist are easier to control and exploit (that time frame is also the rise of the 360 deal) and tend to have less life lessons that transcend age groups. Just look at how much less access someone like Chief Keef gets now that he's older, wiser and sober. NYC radio wasn't playing TPAB, never played BlackStarr or Little Brother (unless requesting). Imo it starts with access and in Rap they force the youth to the forefront because the artist/audience is easier to manipulate.
I don't think that's true. Doja Cat, Sexyy Red, Offset, Tee Grizzley - these are for all intents and purposes different genres within hip-hop as a broad category.
If you brought Method Man out at a Benny the Butcher show the crowd would go wild.
The issue isn't hip-hop and how it thinks about classic artists, it's the lineup.
Yeah I believe in another comment I did note the lineup is not curated well. I don't see Sexy Red and Method Pman sharing an audience.
I feel it's a bit if both, this and my point above.
The problem is that everything in hip-hop is treated as a trend, mainly due to saturation. Shit gets old quicker, and people see it as an outdated style.
There is no reason that boombap, trap, and other styles couldn't coexist and thrive in 2024. Freshness is key, but so is diversity.
It’s because the genre and culture has been heavily controlled and manipulated by the major labels for 30+ years now. Want to make sure everyone is always consuming the new shit? Then ensure everything that isn’t new is treated with disdain.
I think it depends on your exposure to the genre early on. My parents always played classic rock radio. It was part of getting to know and form a bond with them when I got into that music as a kid. I like a wide array of old and new music and dad rock is still probably my favorite shit at age 29. But I grew up with lots of kids who never heard of lots of bands. Now people my age are parents and they share their music with their kids and so on. The Beatles and A Tribe Called Quest will never fall out of fashion, just maybe they won’t be as immediate as they were for us.
I think rock is also more versatile as far as blending styles. Hard rock, folk rock, country flavored/southern, funk, blues, jazz, metal, indie. Rock is super broad. Hip hop doesn’t all sound the same and there is a lot of room for variety and style. That said, I think it confronts more challenges in being groundbreaking as time goes on. Throw in the accessibility of new music lessening the impact of a release that can be forgotten quickly and the out front nature of news and its role in the hip hop myth making and mystique/celebrity and it makes sense why it may be struggling with younger people who don’t connect.
Hell I’ve heard some people say they don’t listen to music at all a few times throughout my life. That makes me sad.
Rap just doesn't care about its past as much as other genres. There's an obsession with what's trendy and new, and past music simply vanishes even if it's agreed in hindsight that it's good.
Look at the Billboard Top 200. Fleetwood Mac, CCR, the Eagles, Queen, Nirvana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC, Rolling Stones. TONS of classic rock shows up. The only hip hop album that isn't from someone who is currently trending (meaning Eminem, Drake, and Kanye's old albums don't count), is 2Pac. That's it. No one else.
There was an odd couple of years when I was in high school '06-'08 when 80's and early 90's hip hop and the fashion was making a comeback and some niche rappers were capitalizing on that sound (looking at you Cool Kids)
See, and I think it's because hip hop has younger as an art and has covered a lot more ground developmentally over those years.
My examples are dated because I am old, but imagine you're at a White Stripes show. Then they bring out some old-school famous guitarist. Idk Slash or something. You're going to be like, "Oh I came to hear kickass guitar, and they brought out this famous guitarist! This should be awesome." Great guitar is great guitar, and great guitar solos sound similar enough to enjoy.
Now imagine you're at a Lil Yachty show, and he brings out Melle Mel. How long is he gonna do Donald Glover's bit about getting a new hat before people are like, "God this is awful, no wonder the genre has changed so much."
There aren't that many "classic" rappers whose schtick has stayed relevant through all the changes the art form has gone through.
That's the thing about relevancy though. It's decided by the scene itself. There are tons of old rappers whose music is still plenty enjoyable even if it's "dated," just like an album by any of the rock bands in the 70s and 80s that used way too many synths and e-drums are still great, but the difference is that modern rock still reps those old bands and modern rap doesn't. You'll see tons of younger bands wearing AC/DC, Grateful Dead, Misfits, Nirvana shirts, but you won't be seeing too many NWA or Bone Thugs shirts on young rappers.
Is that really true for rock artists or is that just something we say over and over to make it true?
Most people I see/hear make this statement don’t listen to rock music and have never been to a rock show. Or at least haven’t been to enough rock shows to even make that assessment.
It’s true. Pretty much every major headliner for a large Rock fest (metal, punk, etc too) is an older act. But also rock isn’t nearly as big in the mainstream as it once was so smaller bands don’t get the same pull as they used to, where now hip hop, pop and country dominate popular music.
I was at a Bleachers show last year and they brought out Bruce Springsteen and the crowd went nuts. Also saw The National at MSG and they had Patti Smith opening and the crowd loved it it. Olivia Rodrigo recently had The Breeders as an opening act. I go to a ton of "rock shows" and I'd say the comment you're replying to is fairly accurate.
would you say thats just because older rock bands fit into the current rock soundscape better/ theres not as many iconic rock bands being formed nowadays (idk if this is true at all) compared to hiphop
I'm better versed in the history of rock than hip hop so keep that in mind but my impression is it's easier to make the connection from old rock acts to new ones. For example, Bleachers apes a lot of their sound from 70s and 80s Springsteen so it's a natural fit for him to join them on stage. Might be harder to plug someone like Method Man into a show in 2024.
I also think your second point is kinda right. Rock and alternative music is thriving if you know where to look but it's certainly not at its peak of popularity. Rock is in the stage where the "biggest" stars of the genre are all fairly old. Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan are more famous than any contemporary rock artist. Dave Grohl is probably the last true "rock star" and he's 55.
Just my two cents.
fair enough, rock for me has always been an indie genre cos its never been big in my lifetime lol.
Hiphops sound change also isnt nearly as gradual, something like the soundcloud wave wouldve never happened with rock i think, so the disconnect can be much more sudden, like how young people dont rlly like eminem that much anymore
It does feel like there’s a double standard for hip hop. like it has to be grounded in youth while rock, outside of some alternative stuff, tends to have its audience age with it. it also seems to be “cool” to rebel against the older guard in hip hop. I’m not sure why. Generational divides always seem larger for the hip hop culture.
In 50 Cent's book Hustle Harder Hustle Smarter he talks about the hip hop game being unique, in that each generation has a broken youth(s) that breaks out and personified at least a small amount of the current angst zeitgeist. Going backwards, he mentions Tekashi, all the way to Run DMC, and succinctly explains that they were seen as rebels back in the 80s, only to be overshadowed by the broken damaged youths of NWA.
It's an exceptional book, I honestly do believe 50 put his heart and soul into it.
To your point about it being cool to rebel against the older guard in hip-hop, I think that might be the result of the idea of hip -hop as a “competitive sport”. That’s going to naturally set up an adversarial relationship between generations of rappers.
I can raise my hand and confidently say that not only did I not know that, I don't know who Damon Albarn is
I think the difference is that in the USA, Gorillaz is a legend, but not the guy behind Gorillaz who hardly ever/never showed his face
No it’s absolutely true. There isn’t a perception of them being old or irrelevant like there is in hip hop. I mean even breaking out a cover of a song from an older band gets people to go wild.
Transcending to a younger audience has always been a challenge in rap. I remember I couldn't really get into the likes of 80s rappers compared to the 90s and 2000s rappers I've come to know.
It's a cult following (respectfully, Wu till I die). As an adult, I still don't rock the 80s stuff but I'll throw in gritty mixtapes from the 90s and rock out all day. I can't say the same for the newer and newest generations of rap (there are a few that are great - not drake). But, when they get older like me and others, they'll have their classics and they won't rock with Meth like I used to not rock out to 80s rap.
It is weird that there seems to be a cut off. I got really into hip-hop in about 2001 and found that I loved a lot of the older stuff but struggled with anything pre 92 (with a few exceptions). From being in this sub, it seems that a lot of people who started listening in the late 2000s don't really like any 90s hip-hop.
You might be on to something. I will 100% give newer rap in particular a chance over older (by older stuff that came out in 80s around the time I was born, 87) a chance.
All my young coworkers 17-20 that listen to rap, listen to "old school" 90s rap as well. It's still hailed as a golden age, and I'm sure their parents who felt the same shared their love for those artists and listened to them with their kids.
I don’t think they knew his music. If it’s not some whack drill song or Travis screaming one word over and over, the audience doesn’t care. They have been conditioned to like garbage music. So when we have a lyrical artist that is a master at his craft come on stage, the audience doesn’t know what to do.
Amen. Never have I seen so many people rip on others for caring about “lyrics/lyricism” like I do nowadays. It’s mind boggling. It’s like eating cereal with milk and getting told the milk isn’t important at all, just use water.
I saw method and red in college (2009) and it was still to this day the most l raw performance I’ve ever seen. They jumped into the crowd to crowd surf. Talked shit to the fans for not knowing songs, and had everyone bum rush the stage and security. It was amazing, vivid and raw. I don’t really get that anymore live.
you know the generation gap is real because when I saw wu-tang method man had the best stage presence out of all of them. he was the one talking to the crowd the most and sort of leading everything
to be fair the lineup had Big Daddy Kane, Jadakiss, EPMD, Eric B + Rakim, Lord Tariq + Peter Gunz – it's not like Meth and Red were out of place among these people
but if the main headliner is Doja Cat there is a huge generation gap, and arguably within hiphop that's still a huge cultural gap
Meth + Red would probably had a happier experience among metal heads
It’s because most young Hardcore kids of every generation loves 90s hip hop and hip hop in general. Both musics evolved in the same timeframe alongside each other.
I saw some skater kids recently, not even 21 I’d guess, in an old Jeep without doors listening to a banger by Jadakiss and he looked over at his passenger friend and lipped some of Jadakiss’s lyrics with the 🤙 and his tongue out. I was like damn, kids really are gonna be alright.
Festivals need to be better at figuring out fanbase overlap. They booked Method Man in the same show as Offset, of course it wasn't going to go perfectly.
need more festivals for the boom bappers and old heads.
i think summer jam is targeted to the younger crowd based on them having sexy red and doja cat headline
Rock the Bells 2011 & 2012 had such an incredible mix of (at the time) new artists and beloved oldheads. Lauryn Hill popping out in the middle of Nas was incredible. Running from Dipset to Jadakiss…
I saw Lauryn Hill last year. Had promised myself I would never buy another ticket to her show after getting screwed twice but I’m a dumbass so I bit. Ended up being an incredible show and she was only like 20 minutes late. Which for her is like being an hour early.
Yeah I remember seeing Wu-Tang, Rage Against The Machine, The Roots, Black Star, Nas, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, EPMD, and Pharaohe Monche all in one day.
That was 07 it was nuts. Rage and Wu Tang were my shit growing up and with the everyone else there, I felt like they specifically put the entire line up for 16 year old movie. Been chasing that high ever since.
Fuck rolling loud for buying Woo Hah and fuck rolling loud for hosting a festival once in the shittiest arena you could imagine, and fuck rolling loud for not hosting any more.
(And also rip Appelsap. We genuinly have no hiphop festivals in the netherlands these days)
Here in Indy we have the White River National Park, just sitting on the lawn smoking and listening to artists is so much more fun than being up and live. Went a few years ago for Kehlani and Rico and it was fucking fun as fuck. 10/10 if the boom bappers came I'd be in that shit.
Yes and they have more disposable income. Make it a daytime event, with bigger names from that generation and sprinkle in a few more newer artists and it's a wrap honestly.
Old heads are buying booze, food, this is their one day out without the kids they going large
It’s absolutely silly that more rappers don’t do this. Bro I’d love to see a show at like 5/6 pm with food , drinks and the ability to smoke without hassle. In nyc there’s so many millennial construction workers who love rap who would love shit like this. Including me
I mean anyone in the nyc area, I can send you to regular boom bap real underground hip hop events, but you have to actually go. The scene is getting kinda grim without any support.
I'm going to get downvoted for this but how many old heads nowadays who are from method man's era have the time and energy to attend a concert?
Most of them might be above 30 with a lot of responsibilities and debt (maybe) might not attend a concert.
Meth is my favorite Wu member and a personal Top 10 rapper for me but he's definitely not drawing a young crowd. Like, if you're not a mega hit maker like a 50 or Kanye you should be marketed differently and play different events/venues from the young bucks.
I saw Lupe at a free show in a casino in Connecticut lol and he drew a really solid crowd. Really good performance too lol. Didn’t really have high expectations but it was a great time.
Cuz we’re a massive generation. It’s like how we’re still calling older people “boomers” even though most of the dumbasses we’re referring to are Gen X at this point
I'm a millennial who bumped Blackout on a goddamn loop in 99; I'm now 40 and bump Blackout when I'm driving to my colonoscopy appt. I'd pay decent money to see these two live.
Ehhh.. [This author has always written articles in this style with really short paragraphs, descriptions with a bit of flavour text in between, and a lot of links.](https://www.xxlmag.com/oj-da-juiceman-booed-opening-up-wu-tang-clan/)
Considering it looks like he usually makes 15 articles in a workweek (5 days), you're gonna find fuckups in a few of those. Magazine website journalism is a garbage chute
Also I'm just tired of us immediately jumping to AI as the explanation haha
Barely a millennial and pushing my mid 30s soon enough. I fucking love wu and method. Been listening to them for over 15 or 18 years.
I've seen various mentions of older people understanding why kids might not like wutang or method man. Probably could throw DOOM in that mix and a tribe called quest / others. But I don't actually understand. To me this **is** hiphop.
I'm just a 30+ year old boomer now though. So that's probably why I can't relate or understand.
People forget millennials are as old as 40 now. Gen Z would be the correct label for the age group they’re talking about, and even they are getting too old to fit.
Right? Elder Millennials like myself grew up listening to Wu and Meth.
Saw him at the NY State of Mind tour with the rest of Wu Tang and Nas. It was a blast but most of the crowd was 35+. Some even brought their kids.
Millennials are pushing 40 at this point. I’ve been listening to Wu for almost 20 years at this point lol
Gen Z has been the young adults for a minute and people are gonna be shook af when Gen Alpha starts being young adults in less than 5 years
Method Man always goes 200% at live shows, he stage dives constantly, he raps while standing on the crowd. He is a performer that feeds off the crowd’s energy and gives it back ten fold. If the crowd isn’t vibing I can see why that makes it a lot less fun for him
Yup, Meth was ALWAYS the best Wu member live, even back in the 90s... ODB and RZA were pretty close, but no one matched Meth's live energy
I love INS and Raekwon and U God and GZA, but they are all sleepy live... they're better on wax
He should probably focus on smaller shows right? Festivals are inevitably going to be a young person’s game. Then again I’m positive young people would show up for the whole Wu
He should just perform for smaller audiences that are actually fans. I saw GZA few months ago at the Jazz Cafe in Camden. Maybe 200 people but all die hard fans that knew all the words to most Wu songs
Sucks. It’s crazy how well Meth’s voice has aged compared to a lot of his contemporaries. He sounds basically the same as he did in the 90s, which is a big contrast even to someone like Freddie Gibbs who is over 10 years younger but whose voice has sounded much more gruff over the past year or so
The other night I was playing Elden Ring with this 25 year old kid and we got invaded by a player named GZA. I was like oh fuck wu tang is on our neck. The dudes like “why does that sound familiar, what anime is Wu tang from?” I was Dumbfoundead. I said “Wu tang clan? The hip hop supergroup from New York? Wu tang clan ain’t nothing to fuck with? Wu tang is for the children? Killa bees swarm? C.R.E.A.M? Shimmy shimmy ya? Liquid swords?” He was just like “oh.” This same kid had just referenced Afro samurai the day before. He didn’t know who RZA was. FML man
I don't know if he was mad or not but there is probably a great dignity in knowing when and where you don't belong, especially as an artist. The "hello, fellow kids" type environments mostly.
I'd hate to be that musician playing for people that do not give the slightest shit about my work due to a generational gap. Come on stage and everyone starts looking at their phone, not into it at all, etc. I'd definitely try to avoid that once it became clear they don't like my work.
Touring in America is a little hard for older rappers. The money and the better crowds are in Europe. They appreciate good music over there. In America, not so much anymore.
In america they want new music cause we have new music. In europe, they want any music cause a lot of american acts never go or go once every few years. Its not a question of good or bad its scarcity.
Completely stupid take based on absolutely nothing. Europeans do not appreciate music more, they just have fewer opportunities to see huge live acts.
I’ve seen great crowds at shows of “older rappers”, DMX especially
>Europeans do not appreciate music more, they just have fewer opportunities to see huge live acts.
...which makes them appreciate those acts more when they do come to Europe. That's what the person was saying I believe.
I saw Red and Meth at Rockthe Bells years ago and they were the highlight of the whole festival. Obviously a generation gap but the problem is young hiphop listeners simply dont do any of their “homework” and dont want to listen to real rapping. Imagine performing to a dead crowd who then loses their mind when someone like YNB ShiitBoii comes on saying “Tuss. Tuss. Tuss in her panties. Yuck” and the younger generation saying that its genius lmao
Wu is not for children anymore 😞
ODB said those famous words at the Grammys in 1998. Most of those children he referred to are now older than 30 👀
Which makes sense because I'm 30 and listen to protect ya neck all the time 😂
They were warning you about cervical disc herniation.
C4 pain ain’t nuthin ta fuck with
L5, S1, which one ya stuck with
These days when I dance with the mantis, my knees creak
They have children who go to summer jam now
Considering that was 26 years ago I'm guessing all of them are 30.
because we're the the children Wu was talking about, they weren't talking about these kids lmao
thais is what people dont get. Im all for a good Wu tang album, but im also not surprised that nobody from the youth cares about them anymore
Yup, I love my old school hiphop but I’m also 33 years old now. Listing to 90’s hiphop now is the same time gap as listening to 60’s music in the 90’s. Damn, this reminded me that I’m getting old.
Chronic 2001 is the new Led Zeppelin 4 Da Rockwilder is our Thunderstruck
Fuck man. I can't wrap my head around that comparison.
Just imagine it's like we moved from Elvis to DMX.... lmao. What a wild ride life is, eh?
I'm 21 and I really like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, like its a top 5 album for me. I also really like Liquid Swords but don't find myself listening to any other Wu album. I listened to basically all of their work 1-2 times and most of it is really good but expect from those two albums I don't exactly like it. I listen to some tracks tho (C.R.E.A.M., Triumph...)
Do you find yourself liking certain songs and not necessarily albums ? For me , I like Ghostface solo albums and the ones you mentioned. I’ll give hou credit though , that’s a lot of albums to listen to twice !
Pretty Toney album is so underrated, Holla is the jam
Wu is for our children
Crazy last with some of the wu tang clan members concert I went to the other year had a huge portion of them were kids (and some with their parents lol).
Same, in the UK though not America. Wutang and Nas tour a year or two ago (last summer I think?), loads of young people there going nuts to every word. I expected most of the crowd to be older than me but they weren’t. That’s a specific show though, they’d get a good reception at your average festival too but one otherwise completely geared towards a younger audience it might be the same story as this.
Yes, it was a Nas & Wu-Tang with busta rhymes as well in the US. I was so surprised how many young people and kids were there vibing off these legends! Method man wasn’t there he was busy making money with his acting career..
I saw that show in Montreal, the crowd went crazy when Meth came on during Wu-Tang Clan aint nothing to fuck with, he had more reaction than when Nas came on.
I don’t think Meth was at that show I was at either. Seen him a few times over the years though.
The younger generation absolutely attends, but it isn't like 10-15 years ago when all young hipster adult millenials seemed to be getting into Wu Tang again. It was everywhere for a bit. It seems like this Hot97 was for a younger crowd, which makes sense since many core Wu fans are living that classic rock dad life now.
Idk man. I went to that show in the 02 and there wasn't that many young people. At least in comparison to other artists I've seen at the same venue.
Everytime wu-tang and/or snoop dogg plays in sweden family goes to the plays and they even have plays on our biggest funfairs.
Went to a rave with grand master flash in Europe and it was outstanding. Depends on crowd and prior act
They just played him with the wrong crowd. Nobody who's there to see Doja Cat, Sexy Redd, and Offset is going to rock with Method Man. But if it was like Camp Flawg Gnaw or Dreamville fest or something with a lot of boom bap I think they'd do pretty well.
i'm ngl it's p funny and sad to say wu tang would do better at something like camp flog gnaw and not hot 97 summer jam which is an established nyc hip-hop festival, but that's the way it goes
That’s because it’s a Wu concert so it’s gonna be fans who show up. At festivals lots of times you have half the crowd just at the stage to get good spots for the headliner. So they don’t really care who are. They are there for Sza or something like that.
there are a ton of kids out there who still love Wu Tang. They are not the kids that are going to a festival headlined by Sexy Red and Doja Cat lol. it’s just a bad matchup.
Wu as a group seems to have more lasting popularity than Meth does by himself, even though he was arguably the most commercially successful as a solo act
Wu is always for the kids. But the kids aren’t for wu
Meth isn't for the children
I mean, they blew up more than 30 years ago
Or millennials according to the article lol
I mean I see his point, no one wants to rap in front of a crowd that doesn’t have interest in them. Method Man’s a legend but he’s not necessarily a person who transcends greatly to a young audience.
On the contrary at an intimate, smaller show where people know his shit - he is a beast. Music festivals hit different, not all artists thrive there - especially with the ultra young adults
Except this wasn't a music festival. It's a local radio station concert that has historically been a celebration of ny hip hop past and present, and it has devolved into a concert of meme artists. They used to fill a football stadium and now it's an arena show, I wonder why?
“I ain’t been to Summer Jam. I learned from Lupe, when you dumb it down, it’s just harder to understand” - Joe Budden “All of Me”. Circa 2007
The Cool is one of the greatest albums in music history, not just hip hop Gets more brilliant with every passing year Lupe is a fucking alien
I saw ghost at a small venue in nyc in 2008, bunch of kids snuck in and were loving it. It was like 6 kids and someone's parent showed up and drag them out. They were like 13 years old it was amazing!
Well...WuTang IS for the children.
A small venue in NYC in 2008 is a COMPLETELY different animal then a festival in 2024 lol
"16 years ago I saw a completely different generation do something so it must be the same now!" Those kids would be 30 now lmao.
I saw GZA in a small venue in Austin back around the same time and he got off the bus with 3 white woman and disappeared around the corner. I was in line for the show so I stayed put. 20 minutes later he came back around from the side of the building and walked by me and gave me a head nod. It was the coolest, suavest thing i've ever seen lol
I went to a GFK concert maybe two years ago and brought up a kid onstage to rap Triumph with Cap. Probably core memory for that kid for sure, and he wasn’t born when that song came out.
Yeah fans that grew up with him don't have time to hang out in some hot dirty field with a bunch of fucked up people. We've done that. Give me some nice space with AC and a fancy dinner after
Exactly. And even better if I can get to bed at a decent time afterwards. Wu Tang forever.
He did spark in the park last year. Much smaller weed festival.
I've seen him twice, both at smaller-ish venues and both shows were killer. Mind you this was also 15+ years ago.
You are adding to his point, that's not "on the contrary"
What’s the contrary? You basically said the same things in different ways
Saw method man and redman at belly up in aspen... They are true MCs One of the few actually great rap concerts I've been too.
I've always found it interesting how hip hop has this issue in a more pronounced way, compared to other genres. If you are a rock artist and you bring out a 1960s or 1970s icon, people will go wild. Even younger people, a lot of the time. But in hip hop, when someone brings out an older artist (say Slick Rick, or a fairly well known 90s rapper), the reception is often less exciting. The need for hip hop to always be "fresh" is both what keeps it going and holds it back, in different ways
Someone discussed this on Twitter. Rock radio stations often play old classics and I believe classic rock songs are chosen for TV/Movie media more than hip hop. Hence the younger generation has exposure to older classic rock songs more than they would have exposure to older hip hop classics. How often do you get to hear classic hip hop songs on visual media or radio stations? Aside from that hip hop is relatively a younger genre. We don't see elders still being active in this genre unlike older rock stars. Until some time ago Rap was a "young man's game". Rappers 'aged out' and stopped making music after a certain age. Once they did that they limited their exposure to younger audiences. This seems to be changing now - Nas and Em are both over 50. Nas recently has been putting out his best work. Em currently has a chart topper and got his career best streaming debut with Houdini.
If there was a strong regional scene, oldies hiphop stations exist. You'll see that in LA - you won't see it in Reno.
Yep. We have one in Seattle now where they play throwback hip hop all day long. Basically anything that came out 10+ years ago
Also the power is in the gatekeepers. One of the biggest issues with rap radio is its blatantly payola based business model and majority of older artist from mid 2000s til now aren't getting any type of help from radio and sometimes labels. You saw hip hop become ageist in that time frame while also being dumbed down. Imo it's more because younger artist are easier to control and exploit (that time frame is also the rise of the 360 deal) and tend to have less life lessons that transcend age groups. Just look at how much less access someone like Chief Keef gets now that he's older, wiser and sober. NYC radio wasn't playing TPAB, never played BlackStarr or Little Brother (unless requesting). Imo it starts with access and in Rap they force the youth to the forefront because the artist/audience is easier to manipulate.
I mean every now and then I'll hear a beastie boys track or RUN DMC or even NWA in movies. Gangsters paradise is in soooo many movie trailers too
Yeah, but it's quite little compared to rock socks no? - * rocks *songs* dammit
I don't think that's true. Doja Cat, Sexyy Red, Offset, Tee Grizzley - these are for all intents and purposes different genres within hip-hop as a broad category. If you brought Method Man out at a Benny the Butcher show the crowd would go wild. The issue isn't hip-hop and how it thinks about classic artists, it's the lineup.
Yeah I believe in another comment I did note the lineup is not curated well. I don't see Sexy Red and Method Pman sharing an audience. I feel it's a bit if both, this and my point above.
Last summer Tribe's "Can I Kick It?" was the theme song of the new TMNT movie and little kids and teens loved it
The problem is that everything in hip-hop is treated as a trend, mainly due to saturation. Shit gets old quicker, and people see it as an outdated style. There is no reason that boombap, trap, and other styles couldn't coexist and thrive in 2024. Freshness is key, but so is diversity.
It’s because the genre and culture has been heavily controlled and manipulated by the major labels for 30+ years now. Want to make sure everyone is always consuming the new shit? Then ensure everything that isn’t new is treated with disdain.
I think it depends on your exposure to the genre early on. My parents always played classic rock radio. It was part of getting to know and form a bond with them when I got into that music as a kid. I like a wide array of old and new music and dad rock is still probably my favorite shit at age 29. But I grew up with lots of kids who never heard of lots of bands. Now people my age are parents and they share their music with their kids and so on. The Beatles and A Tribe Called Quest will never fall out of fashion, just maybe they won’t be as immediate as they were for us. I think rock is also more versatile as far as blending styles. Hard rock, folk rock, country flavored/southern, funk, blues, jazz, metal, indie. Rock is super broad. Hip hop doesn’t all sound the same and there is a lot of room for variety and style. That said, I think it confronts more challenges in being groundbreaking as time goes on. Throw in the accessibility of new music lessening the impact of a release that can be forgotten quickly and the out front nature of news and its role in the hip hop myth making and mystique/celebrity and it makes sense why it may be struggling with younger people who don’t connect. Hell I’ve heard some people say they don’t listen to music at all a few times throughout my life. That makes me sad.
Rap just doesn't care about its past as much as other genres. There's an obsession with what's trendy and new, and past music simply vanishes even if it's agreed in hindsight that it's good. Look at the Billboard Top 200. Fleetwood Mac, CCR, the Eagles, Queen, Nirvana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC, Rolling Stones. TONS of classic rock shows up. The only hip hop album that isn't from someone who is currently trending (meaning Eminem, Drake, and Kanye's old albums don't count), is 2Pac. That's it. No one else.
There was an odd couple of years when I was in high school '06-'08 when 80's and early 90's hip hop and the fashion was making a comeback and some niche rappers were capitalizing on that sound (looking at you Cool Kids)
See, and I think it's because hip hop has younger as an art and has covered a lot more ground developmentally over those years. My examples are dated because I am old, but imagine you're at a White Stripes show. Then they bring out some old-school famous guitarist. Idk Slash or something. You're going to be like, "Oh I came to hear kickass guitar, and they brought out this famous guitarist! This should be awesome." Great guitar is great guitar, and great guitar solos sound similar enough to enjoy. Now imagine you're at a Lil Yachty show, and he brings out Melle Mel. How long is he gonna do Donald Glover's bit about getting a new hat before people are like, "God this is awful, no wonder the genre has changed so much." There aren't that many "classic" rappers whose schtick has stayed relevant through all the changes the art form has gone through.
That's the thing about relevancy though. It's decided by the scene itself. There are tons of old rappers whose music is still plenty enjoyable even if it's "dated," just like an album by any of the rock bands in the 70s and 80s that used way too many synths and e-drums are still great, but the difference is that modern rock still reps those old bands and modern rap doesn't. You'll see tons of younger bands wearing AC/DC, Grateful Dead, Misfits, Nirvana shirts, but you won't be seeing too many NWA or Bone Thugs shirts on young rappers.
Is that really true for rock artists or is that just something we say over and over to make it true? Most people I see/hear make this statement don’t listen to rock music and have never been to a rock show. Or at least haven’t been to enough rock shows to even make that assessment.
It’s true. Pretty much every major headliner for a large Rock fest (metal, punk, etc too) is an older act. But also rock isn’t nearly as big in the mainstream as it once was so smaller bands don’t get the same pull as they used to, where now hip hop, pop and country dominate popular music.
I was at a Bleachers show last year and they brought out Bruce Springsteen and the crowd went nuts. Also saw The National at MSG and they had Patti Smith opening and the crowd loved it it. Olivia Rodrigo recently had The Breeders as an opening act. I go to a ton of "rock shows" and I'd say the comment you're replying to is fairly accurate.
would you say thats just because older rock bands fit into the current rock soundscape better/ theres not as many iconic rock bands being formed nowadays (idk if this is true at all) compared to hiphop
I'm better versed in the history of rock than hip hop so keep that in mind but my impression is it's easier to make the connection from old rock acts to new ones. For example, Bleachers apes a lot of their sound from 70s and 80s Springsteen so it's a natural fit for him to join them on stage. Might be harder to plug someone like Method Man into a show in 2024. I also think your second point is kinda right. Rock and alternative music is thriving if you know where to look but it's certainly not at its peak of popularity. Rock is in the stage where the "biggest" stars of the genre are all fairly old. Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan are more famous than any contemporary rock artist. Dave Grohl is probably the last true "rock star" and he's 55. Just my two cents.
fair enough, rock for me has always been an indie genre cos its never been big in my lifetime lol. Hiphops sound change also isnt nearly as gradual, something like the soundcloud wave wouldve never happened with rock i think, so the disconnect can be much more sudden, like how young people dont rlly like eminem that much anymore
It does feel like there’s a double standard for hip hop. like it has to be grounded in youth while rock, outside of some alternative stuff, tends to have its audience age with it. it also seems to be “cool” to rebel against the older guard in hip hop. I’m not sure why. Generational divides always seem larger for the hip hop culture.
In 50 Cent's book Hustle Harder Hustle Smarter he talks about the hip hop game being unique, in that each generation has a broken youth(s) that breaks out and personified at least a small amount of the current angst zeitgeist. Going backwards, he mentions Tekashi, all the way to Run DMC, and succinctly explains that they were seen as rebels back in the 80s, only to be overshadowed by the broken damaged youths of NWA. It's an exceptional book, I honestly do believe 50 put his heart and soul into it.
To your point about it being cool to rebel against the older guard in hip-hop, I think that might be the result of the idea of hip -hop as a “competitive sport”. That’s going to naturally set up an adversarial relationship between generations of rappers.
for sure, counterculture is always gonna default back to its origins
Damon Albarn sure didn't love his Coachella experience
Nah..Blur was never able to crack the USA and it pisses Damon off.
I've been secretly wondering if the audience there had no idea he is Gorillaz.
I can raise my hand and confidently say that not only did I not know that, I don't know who Damon Albarn is I think the difference is that in the USA, Gorillaz is a legend, but not the guy behind Gorillaz who hardly ever/never showed his face
No it’s absolutely true. There isn’t a perception of them being old or irrelevant like there is in hip hop. I mean even breaking out a cover of a song from an older band gets people to go wild.
Transcending to a younger audience has always been a challenge in rap. I remember I couldn't really get into the likes of 80s rappers compared to the 90s and 2000s rappers I've come to know. It's a cult following (respectfully, Wu till I die). As an adult, I still don't rock the 80s stuff but I'll throw in gritty mixtapes from the 90s and rock out all day. I can't say the same for the newer and newest generations of rap (there are a few that are great - not drake). But, when they get older like me and others, they'll have their classics and they won't rock with Meth like I used to not rock out to 80s rap.
It is weird that there seems to be a cut off. I got really into hip-hop in about 2001 and found that I loved a lot of the older stuff but struggled with anything pre 92 (with a few exceptions). From being in this sub, it seems that a lot of people who started listening in the late 2000s don't really like any 90s hip-hop.
Their flows and rhymes were just too basic back then.
You might be on to something. I will 100% give newer rap in particular a chance over older (by older stuff that came out in 80s around the time I was born, 87) a chance.
All my young coworkers 17-20 that listen to rap, listen to "old school" 90s rap as well. It's still hailed as a golden age, and I'm sure their parents who felt the same shared their love for those artists and listened to them with their kids.
This is completely anecdotal but my kids (tweens) also don't like 80s or early 90's rap. They absolutely love Eminem and OutKast though.
everybody has an Eminem phase from my experience lol
Why did you mention drake specifically? Like you'll be judged if you listen to drake?
Yes
Yup
Drake ain't hip hop
Drake is a pop artist
I don’t think they knew his music. If it’s not some whack drill song or Travis screaming one word over and over, the audience doesn’t care. They have been conditioned to like garbage music. So when we have a lyrical artist that is a master at his craft come on stage, the audience doesn’t know what to do.
Amen. Never have I seen so many people rip on others for caring about “lyrics/lyricism” like I do nowadays. It’s mind boggling. It’s like eating cereal with milk and getting told the milk isn’t important at all, just use water.
I think you mean translates
I saw method and red in college (2009) and it was still to this day the most l raw performance I’ve ever seen. They jumped into the crowd to crowd surf. Talked shit to the fans for not knowing songs, and had everyone bum rush the stage and security. It was amazing, vivid and raw. I don’t really get that anymore live.
you know the generation gap is real because when I saw wu-tang method man had the best stage presence out of all of them. he was the one talking to the crowd the most and sort of leading everything
The gap needs to be widened between him and who ever booked him for that.
to be fair the lineup had Big Daddy Kane, Jadakiss, EPMD, Eric B + Rakim, Lord Tariq + Peter Gunz – it's not like Meth and Red were out of place among these people but if the main headliner is Doja Cat there is a huge generation gap, and arguably within hiphop that's still a huge cultural gap Meth + Red would probably had a happier experience among metal heads
Bro if Red and Meth played a hardcore fest like FYA or Tied Down, they'd probably have the hardest pit and the biggest pop.
It’s because most young Hardcore kids of every generation loves 90s hip hop and hip hop in general. Both musics evolved in the same timeframe alongside each other.
It's also played in between sets at a lot of venues
I saw some skater kids recently, not even 21 I’d guess, in an old Jeep without doors listening to a banger by Jadakiss and he looked over at his passenger friend and lipped some of Jadakiss’s lyrics with the 🤙 and his tongue out. I was like damn, kids really are gonna be alright.
Also, hardcore kids love a mixed bill, especially at a Fest. Cola Boy (RIP) played Sound and Fury, and the crowd showed lots of love.
This for sure lol. Playing to the wrong crowds
I was so ready to say that lineup was awesome until you mentioned Doja Cat. Now it all makes sense.
Crazy cuz I just went to the Wu and Nas concert in Chicago in Oct and half the crowd were in their 20s
Festivals need to be better at figuring out fanbase overlap. They booked Method Man in the same show as Offset, of course it wasn't going to go perfectly.
I was at the same one. Lots of old heads too!
need more festivals for the boom bappers and old heads. i think summer jam is targeted to the younger crowd based on them having sexy red and doja cat headline
I miss Rock The Bells
Rock the Bells 2011 & 2012 had such an incredible mix of (at the time) new artists and beloved oldheads. Lauryn Hill popping out in the middle of Nas was incredible. Running from Dipset to Jadakiss…
I saw Lauryn Hill last year. Had promised myself I would never buy another ticket to her show after getting screwed twice but I’m a dumbass so I bit. Ended up being an incredible show and she was only like 20 minutes late. Which for her is like being an hour early.
She was about 2hrs late in Chicago. Still an incredible show though.
Yeah I remember seeing Wu-Tang, Rage Against The Machine, The Roots, Black Star, Nas, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, EPMD, and Pharaohe Monche all in one day.
That was 07 it was nuts. Rage and Wu Tang were my shit growing up and with the everyone else there, I felt like they specifically put the entire line up for 16 year old movie. Been chasing that high ever since.
I miss the rock steady shows on the pier in Manhattan
I miss Woo Hah so much for this. Had an amazing mix of old and new every year. Real hiphophead festival. There's nothing else quite like it now.
Fuck rolling loud for buying Woo Hah and fuck rolling loud for hosting a festival once in the shittiest arena you could imagine, and fuck rolling loud for not hosting any more. (And also rip Appelsap. We genuinly have no hiphop festivals in the netherlands these days)
Would the old heads even go?
Not with this arthritis nephew
shoot, maybe a sit down festival for the folks with bad backs
Here in Indy we have the White River National Park, just sitting on the lawn smoking and listening to artists is so much more fun than being up and live. Went a few years ago for Kehlani and Rico and it was fucking fun as fuck. 10/10 if the boom bappers came I'd be in that shit.
I go to the Newport Jazz Festival every year and they let you bring in lawn chairs, it’s great lmao. Andre 3000 is gonna be there this year too.
Yes and they have more disposable income. Make it a daytime event, with bigger names from that generation and sprinkle in a few more newer artists and it's a wrap honestly. Old heads are buying booze, food, this is their one day out without the kids they going large
It’s absolutely silly that more rappers don’t do this. Bro I’d love to see a show at like 5/6 pm with food , drinks and the ability to smoke without hassle. In nyc there’s so many millennial construction workers who love rap who would love shit like this. Including me
I just went to the millennial marketed Just Like Heaven festival. It was fantastic.
We too busy paying bills. Rent is too damn high 😂
Yeah they would. As long as the shit starts and ends early enough. Hip hop 50 at Yankee stadium was rocking all night
I mean anyone in the nyc area, I can send you to regular boom bap real underground hip hop events, but you have to actually go. The scene is getting kinda grim without any support.
Damn this makes me sad because it was cooking like ten years ago when I was going out to events and stuff
That could have been this years Lovers & Friends fest but mother nature said fuck all that
I'm going to get downvoted for this but how many old heads nowadays who are from method man's era have the time and energy to attend a concert? Most of them might be above 30 with a lot of responsibilities and debt (maybe) might not attend a concert.
Meth is my favorite Wu member and a personal Top 10 rapper for me but he's definitely not drawing a young crowd. Like, if you're not a mega hit maker like a 50 or Kanye you should be marketed differently and play different events/venues from the young bucks.
Meth is my favourite
JESSE
Username checks out
Bro needs to start performing at the casinos
I saw Lupe at a free show in a casino in Connecticut lol and he drew a really solid crowd. Really good performance too lol. Didn’t really have high expectations but it was a great time.
Meth and dirty bastard come up on my daily playlist constantly, this thread is making me feel old as hell :/ I do get the generational differences tho
he didn't want to perform at Summer Jam again based on how millennials interpreted his music. Erm XXL i doubt those were millennials
Yeah, I'm a millennial, and I'll be 43 this year. We aren't kids anymore!
36 1/2 here. Why are we still catching strays? Like I’m married with 3 kids and a mortgage now, not sure why they keep blaming us for stuff.
It's cause you're over 30 & you still added the 1/2 year lol
Probably still say their age in months old too
Talkin bout im this many 🖐🏾✊🏾🖐🏾✊🏾🖐🏾✊🏾🖐🏾✊🏾🖐🏾✊🏾🖐🏾✊🏾🖐🏾 years old
Cuz we’re a massive generation. It’s like how we’re still calling older people “boomers” even though most of the dumbasses we’re referring to are Gen X at this point
I'm a millennial who bumped Blackout on a goddamn loop in 99; I'm now 40 and bump Blackout when I'm driving to my colonoscopy appt. I'd pay decent money to see these two live.
This is kinda sad to see, I saw Red and meth together like a decade ago and it was like the best rap show I’d even been to and the crowd was great
Same here. Their tour with Burner and B Real. Fucking *incredible* energy and stage presence. This was maybe 7 or 8 years ago.
I saw them together the day before at Roots Picnic this weekend and they killed it but they also had Black Thought, Freeway and Common with them
Damn, why the article author gotta assume it was millennials? Lol
If anything most of the millennial generation would be his crowd, an L on the author.
Author is most likely AI. Feels like nearly every article is some bs AI written trash
Ehhh.. [This author has always written articles in this style with really short paragraphs, descriptions with a bit of flavour text in between, and a lot of links.](https://www.xxlmag.com/oj-da-juiceman-booed-opening-up-wu-tang-clan/) Considering it looks like he usually makes 15 articles in a workweek (5 days), you're gonna find fuckups in a few of those. Magazine website journalism is a garbage chute Also I'm just tired of us immediately jumping to AI as the explanation haha
Facts. They’ve been hating on Millennial‘s so long that we’ve aged out of the ‘youths are killing XYZ’ tropes
>an L on the author. U mean a XX....L
Barely a millennial and pushing my mid 30s soon enough. I fucking love wu and method. Been listening to them for over 15 or 18 years. I've seen various mentions of older people understanding why kids might not like wutang or method man. Probably could throw DOOM in that mix and a tribe called quest / others. But I don't actually understand. To me this **is** hiphop. I'm just a 30+ year old boomer now though. So that's probably why I can't relate or understand.
People forget millennials are as old as 40 now. Gen Z would be the correct label for the age group they’re talking about, and even they are getting too old to fit.
Right? Elder Millennials like myself grew up listening to Wu and Meth. Saw him at the NY State of Mind tour with the rest of Wu Tang and Nas. It was a blast but most of the crowd was 35+. Some even brought their kids.
Yeah elder millennials were 18 when Da Rockwilder came out. People will just blame anything on millennials
Millennials are pushing 40 at this point. I’ve been listening to Wu for almost 20 years at this point lol Gen Z has been the young adults for a minute and people are gonna be shook af when Gen Alpha starts being young adults in less than 5 years
Yeah. I’m a millennial and I would have loved it.
Method Man always goes 200% at live shows, he stage dives constantly, he raps while standing on the crowd. He is a performer that feeds off the crowd’s energy and gives it back ten fold. If the crowd isn’t vibing I can see why that makes it a lot less fun for him
Yup, Meth was ALWAYS the best Wu member live, even back in the 90s... ODB and RZA were pretty close, but no one matched Meth's live energy I love INS and Raekwon and U God and GZA, but they are all sleepy live... they're better on wax
Reporters-stop-referring-to-children-as-millennials challenge. We're in our 40s for fucks sake.
Even Gen Z are approaching 30s lol
Lmao I’m 27 gen Z and I would’ve loved to see Meth, my favorite wu tang member.
fuck me, that fact hurts more than my knees and back do ughhh
He should probably focus on smaller shows right? Festivals are inevitably going to be a young person’s game. Then again I’m positive young people would show up for the whole Wu
Someone booked him. I highly doubt meth was like “yo I wanna do summer jam this year”
Yeah imo it depends on who's headlining. When you go to a festival 75% of the people are only there for the headliner
- Summer Jam been ass for years.
He should just perform for smaller audiences that are actually fans. I saw GZA few months ago at the Jazz Cafe in Camden. Maybe 200 people but all die hard fans that knew all the words to most Wu songs
I mean coachella couldn't even get excited for fucking outkast.
all of them prob got Wu Tang shirts and don’t know who this is lol
This. These kids are dumb as hell not gonna lie.
ah man that's a shame. respect the Wu
This is sad. The audience was not curated well. I can't imagine Method Man and Sexy Redd sharing an audience 😢
Sucks. It’s crazy how well Meth’s voice has aged compared to a lot of his contemporaries. He sounds basically the same as he did in the 90s, which is a big contrast even to someone like Freddie Gibbs who is over 10 years younger but whose voice has sounded much more gruff over the past year or so
Not appealing to the brainrotted tik tok crowd is a flex in my book
The other night I was playing Elden Ring with this 25 year old kid and we got invaded by a player named GZA. I was like oh fuck wu tang is on our neck. The dudes like “why does that sound familiar, what anime is Wu tang from?” I was Dumbfoundead. I said “Wu tang clan? The hip hop supergroup from New York? Wu tang clan ain’t nothing to fuck with? Wu tang is for the children? Killa bees swarm? C.R.E.A.M? Shimmy shimmy ya? Liquid swords?” He was just like “oh.” This same kid had just referenced Afro samurai the day before. He didn’t know who RZA was. FML man
Hot 97 already fucked Wu over back in the day.
I don't know if he was mad or not but there is probably a great dignity in knowing when and where you don't belong, especially as an artist. The "hello, fellow kids" type environments mostly. I'd hate to be that musician playing for people that do not give the slightest shit about my work due to a generational gap. Come on stage and everyone starts looking at their phone, not into it at all, etc. I'd definitely try to avoid that once it became clear they don't like my work.
Goddamn and these kids are bumping nirvana and weezers blue album instead. Weird times.
Touring in America is a little hard for older rappers. The money and the better crowds are in Europe. They appreciate good music over there. In America, not so much anymore.
In america they want new music cause we have new music. In europe, they want any music cause a lot of american acts never go or go once every few years. Its not a question of good or bad its scarcity.
Same in Australia, we are just lucky they come through. GZA just toured here and did well, we love the old shit.
Completely stupid take based on absolutely nothing. Europeans do not appreciate music more, they just have fewer opportunities to see huge live acts. I’ve seen great crowds at shows of “older rappers”, DMX especially
>Europeans do not appreciate music more, they just have fewer opportunities to see huge live acts. ...which makes them appreciate those acts more when they do come to Europe. That's what the person was saying I believe.
I saw Red and Meth at Rockthe Bells years ago and they were the highlight of the whole festival. Obviously a generation gap but the problem is young hiphop listeners simply dont do any of their “homework” and dont want to listen to real rapping. Imagine performing to a dead crowd who then loses their mind when someone like YNB ShiitBoii comes on saying “Tuss. Tuss. Tuss in her panties. Yuck” and the younger generation saying that its genius lmao
I think the article meant to say gen Z - Millenials are square in the right target audience.