2006 Predictions for Hip-Hop, Blogging, and Hip-Hop Blogging

This is my third year making these predictions, which means I’ve been in this read/respond/repeat cycle for a long time, way before blogging became a way to keep your name hot between book deals.

I’ve had these predictions waiting in the que since the end of last year, but I kept forgetting to put the polish on and publish it. I know it’s silly to forecast for a year when a whole season has passed by, but hip-hop is so unpredictable that it’s not like a shortened time frame gives me any advantage.

So, here we go:

1. The exodus of platinum talent from Def Jam that started with Cam’ron and DMX will continue with Ludacris and Ja-Rule jumping ship, probably to Warner Music. The rumor will be that the focus on Jay-Z’s projects is what made the artists leave.

2. In the same way that every website feels compelled to pitch a forum in their backyard, expect social networks to be attached to all of your favorite web destinations, especially the ones about music. I thought up this prediction before I saw Atlantic Record’s MySpace clone, but that is certainly the direction I’m thinking about. Oh yeah, most of the corporate backed ones will fail, because building community online is something you can brand your way into.

3. T.I. and Ludacris, who are fighting for the same attention not just in music, but in movies, will clash again. Expect an Ether/Takeover style battle instead of the jabs they landed last time.

4. The Boondocks season 1 DVD will be huge, and will set off a gold rush for racially charged humor that’s smart and hip, and full of the N-word.

5. Someone will create a microformat for publishing music reviews, and a set of structured blogging tools and aggregators will sprout up around it. Very few music bloggers will care to adopt those standards, especially in the hip-hop circle.

6. Gawker Media will launch a Black gossip blog. Hopefully they’ll hire Fresh.

7. A bunch of old-school hip-hop artists will go on a successful tour that attracts the aging hip-hop audience that got into the music in the 80’s, and now feel alienated by all that darn snap music, hyphy and such. That generation of fans will then be labeled and marketed to.

S'all for now. See you next year.

Comments

[critic]

Will Kanye follow DMX, I mean G.O.O.D. Music is kinda already on SONY/Columbia right? or no....

Any thoughts on when hip hop will really meet up with Wall Street?

[rafi]

"7. A bunch of old-school hip-hop artists will go on a successful tour that attracts the aging hip-hop audience that got into the music in the 80’s, and now feel alienated by all that darn snap music, hyphy and such. That generation of fans will then be labeled and marketed to."

Hmm, there ought to be a web site....

[Hashim]

"there ought to be a web site...."

OkayPlayer?

[rafi]

Oh word?

[drummer510]

Drummer510's 2006 Predictions

-The Hyphy Movement won't reach the heights of the Crunk ATL trend, because most people don't understand the hyphy movement and the bay area in general. Plus BET hates the West Coast.

-Kanye West will make a ceasar salad with Martha Stewart.

-People will realize how bad Mike Jones is and he will be reduced to guest appearances on crappy remixes (oh wait he already does that).

-Fargo, North Dakota will be the new hip-hop hot bed.

-Eminem produces another album about his ex-wife and his daughter, and the old formula doesn't work out too well. He ends up doing a collarboration with Kid Rock, and all the hicks in the Midwest love it.

-Bow Wow will be rapped by his limo driver.... again.

-Word gets out that Chris Brown is actually a 16 year old girl.

-White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan decides he can't really reach the American people through just talking, and decides answer all of the press questions with 16 bar raps (Cheney beat-boxes)

These are my well calculated predictions, you can hate em, but you know the truth hurts.

[Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU]

For some professional opinons on this, you should consider coming to some of the events at the Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Place/Washington Square South) April 3-15 during our Fest Forward Hip Hop Unbound festival. The festival is comprised of various events including performances, workshops, retrospectives, turntablism, beatboxing, rapping and rhyming, music, dance, theater, video, fashion, and community. We are bringing in professionals in all these feilds for workshops, performances, and retrospectives. General admission for most events is $15. For more information check out:
www.hiphopunbound.com
www.myspace.com/skirballcenter

[amok]

sounds good http://feltbeats.com/forum/index.php

[HipHopBeats]

Interesting opinion but I don't agree with you. Maybe I'm wrong
www.hiphopbeatsonline.info

[hiphop]

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