I noticed in the Blog post of the top 100 DJ’s (lets not argue over the methods or how shitty the list is please?) there are only 2 Hip Hop Dj’s who barely made the cut and one of them is probably approaching 50 years old. I gave up on most of the Hip Hop that has come out in the last decade but I chalked that up to being old and doing the whole “You call this music? Back in my day…” type of thing. I still enjoy the occasional new Hip Hop group here and there and hear it’s influence in alot of “Indie Bands” and other types of music but is the genre itself doomed?
As I think about my favorite Dj’s They are all my age and up. Are they a dieing breed? Are there any new groups or MC’s that you think are worthy of listening to? Are there any Dj’s to carry on the torch of what I call the second generation of Dj’s like Cut Chemist, Z-Trip, Mix Master Mike etc…?
There’s definitely still good hip-hop music coming out, but you have to wade through more crap to find it now. The golden age is definitely over though.
As for hip-hop DJs, I think it’s the same kind of thing, but perhaps the situation is even worse there. I read your post and then thought for a couple of minutes on who are the young equivalents to people like Z-Trip and I can’t think of anyone. That’s not to say that there aren’t people out there, but it’s just harder for them to break through and get a name for themselves now.
Oh yeah, while there were some good hip-hop DJs on DJ Forums (some very good ones in fact), I did also notice quite a few that seem to mix hip-hop like they mix EDM. Perhaps that’s a product of the equipment they’ve chosen to use though, in fact, I’d say it almost certainly is.
I’ve never been a Jay-Z fan (overated, “ducks”) but I’ll have to look into some of his production work. Any up and coming Mc’s coming out of ATL? I’ve been unimpressed with the Waka Flocka and Gucci type Mc’s but thought Aleon Craft was doing some interesting things.
I’d be surprised if the amount of people who listen to hip-hop didn’t far outweigh the number of people who vote in djmag’s top 100. So I think it is a fairly redundant question.
I was mainly refering to the DJTT list The DJ TechTools “Top” 100 DJ List
which tried to get a more accurate accounting of who the biggest Dj’s are based on followers vs. people voting.
Jazzy Jeff is on the top of my list. His song selection, I feel, is on point all the time. From soul, to funk, to hip-hop. If you’re not moving, there’s something wrong with you. It’s sad to see all these EDM “DJS” and a couple of hip-hop djs make the list.
ahh i see i see. hadn’t seen the blog post and had just assumed it was for djmag. interesting approach they took, maybe the hip hop scene engages with their audience in a more traditional manner i.e. not facebook etc. still kinda surprising though i guess.
I think it is over man… I keep an ear open all the time to try and find acts like those I know and love from the golden era and find nothing. there are sick dudes out there doing stuff on youtube like jdepinabeats. But I just don’t think theres a market to make money off of that boom bap any more.
All my new music is just old music I happend to have slept on while it was out!
This. I find myself doing this all the time, and then while listening to my new found old music, I wonder if there will ever be a crowd for it again. Probably not.
Maybe I’m just getting old and it’s always been like this, but my take is that we’re in an age of instant gratification across the board. New dj’s want to rock crowds from the minute they download vdj. The ones lucky enough to get a gig or two quickly discover that their crowd has ADD too, and wants to hear nothing but pop radio garbage. The worst of it is these new guys give in and play whatever’s requested, feeding the myth that the Dj, whoever it is and wherever they are, will play whatever crap some cute (or not so cute) girl asks them to. The Dj feels this makes them popular. The reality is that they’re just pandering to the masses and feeding the fire. They could disappear and nobody would care as long as there’s someone to step into their shoes and keep taking requests.
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