Dear Hip Hop Bloggers...

Thank you for filling my reader each day with dozens of creative, funny, insightful thoughts about hip-hop. However, I have one complaint. Where's the coverage of independent artists?

Some of you are walking encyclopedias of your local underground scene, yet you only blog about the Top 40 artists who are overexposed anyway. What the deal?

Be honest. You can quote Soso's lyrics. You regularly hit up "Strange Famous" on AIM. Don't be ashamed of it! Show love to your favorite underappreciated rappers, no matter how few people care!

Who knows- maybe your scene will blow up and "real" writers will start "borrowing" from your blog's archives for their magazine features (word to HoustonSoReal and Government Names).

Comments

[reyshizz]

i know too many underground hip hop cats... imma set up a podcast soon so that i could let the world (real hip hop cats) hear what they have to say...

[dj mirateck]

true that Hashim.

could it be that most bloggers are seeking paper and and don't think advertiers would bite on indie content?

or that underground cats are so conscious as to conscientiously object to creating a blog around indie culture? is that selling out?

just a shot in the dark... i do wish there was a dedicated blog for all the underrepresented indie cats out there.

[ian]

Chk my site: Maspyke, Young Zone both got mentions and links and that's just in the last week. I'm not even that into backpack, underground stuff any more but I've been shouting out stuff that I come across and like whenever I can.

[Tego]

Cage! Watch the new Cage!

[Model Minority]

I feel you. When I go out to the bay in a couple of weeks I will keep my ear to the street and come back with at least one or two stories on that ol' Bay ish. I have been itchin' to write about the life of Mac Dre's music after he has passed on.

[cv]

i try to post good music regardless if it being top 40 or indie..i think for the most part we end up putting up indie stuff that people generally dont care about and then thats that.

[Miss Hipstah]

At The Couch Sessions, we're working on some podcast interviews right now and have been working with underground artists. Not just in hip hop either. R&B, Drum & Bass, Soul, etc. We also post about hip hop internationally.

Sadly though, it seems that posts about Top 40 artists are what get the most hits. I think the general public is just more interested with what Usher or R. Kelly or 50 Cent is doing than with someone who's underground.

[dave park]

i think this is a big difference between most hip hop blogs and rock blogs. the rock blogs are known for breaking new artists, while hip hop blogs in general don't seem to do such. i'd be more interested in hip hop blogs if i could find some that were more devoted to giving some shine to artists that already get obscene amounts of coverage from mtv, source, vibe, etc.

[Hashim]

Dave, you're exactly right. The rock blogs break new artists. Would love to see that on hip-hop blogs

[ian]

I feel like "hip hop blogs" had a lot to do with Swishahouse breaking nationally in the past year. Mike Jones et al. were a Texas-only thing when I first started reading about them on blogs like Gov't Names, Beer and Rap, Catchdubs etc. Ditto for the rise of Danger Mouse from Grey Album mash-up web phenom to boardsman behind the last Gorillaz album and if any of those Baltimore MC's like Mullyman blow up, I'm giving credit to blogs on that too.

[ian]

Also let me add: I actually think rock blogs often jump on trends and support "major label" artists in group-think style just like hip hop bloggers. I'll cite The White Stripes and The Strokes are two obvious exmaples of this. And if the Bay Area hyphy scene eventually blows up like crunk, bounce and screwed up music before it, I think hip hop bloggers can take a large part of the credit for making that happen as well.

[Hashim]

Ian, thanks for remindeing us about the hip-hop blogs and Swishahouse. For sure, the first time I heard about them dudes was not in any magazine. It was in blogs.

[J]

has anyone heard that new mullyman mix cd. its called believe in him. I bought it off his web site and it is fire. www.mullymania.com

[cherryl with 2 R's]

"Mike Jones et al. were a Texas-only thing when I first started reading about them on blogs like Gov't Names, Beer and Rap, Catchdubs etc. Ditto for the rise of Danger Mouse from Grey Album"...

i agree with ian on that. i think you can't lump "hip hop bloggers" into one category because everybody is offering something different, and whether you blog for paper or not, the important part is are you offering folks something interesting or new to read...a different perspective, etc. also, i do a lot of work locally...

i started north carolina's first hip hop publication almost ten years ago, and it was mentioned in the Source in 1996. just saying that to say...that sometimes folks have a lot more going on offline than just their blogs and you can't just judge a person's "hip hopness" or "undergroundness" or whatever on just their blog.

[kelly]

hey wutz up girl? howz everything? me not too shabby!!!! lmfao

[dame]

Great point.

I'ma throw up some bay stuff that 90% of people will hate on today.

Just cuz I like it.

Thanks.

[nastack]

I got alotta non top forty. it doesn't bother me, cause i can come back with a top forty the same day. work ethic!