Easy Access...

www.Wackness.com
written by JusHH

Not too long ago I talked about how downloading music on the internet ruined the experience that I used to have on the Tuesday’s that albums were released. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a 65 year old grandfather – I love the internet. Surfing the net is one of the first things that I do when I wake up and one of the last before I go to sleep. It’s hard to remember how it was before I got my first taste of the internet through my AOL dial-up account. Hell, without the net, there is no JusHH. Having said that, I’m debating as to whether Hip-Hop would have been better off without the internet.

It’s no doubt that the internet has given us fans unlimited access to artists and their music. With only a few clicks we can listen to their latest song, read an interview and watch that video on YouTube. The problem is this unlimited access has officially blurred the line between fan and artist. With today’s technology, it’s just too damn easy for anyone with a computer to effectively become a rapper. Before the internet, in order to get heard, you had to get put on by someone with connections. This meant you had to show and prove just to get in the door. And if you couldn’t rap, well then, you just didn’t get heard. Today, everyone is a f**king rapper – everyone! Everyone has a myspace page that you just have to listen to. Everyone has a ridiculously hot fire mixtape that you just have to buy off them on the train for $5.00. Everyone has their own rap video/ DVD combo. It’s out of control how bad it is because 90% of these guys suck. Now I have to spend 10 minutes sifting through the garbage on Allhiphop.com just to find a decent song by an artist. It’s been said ad nauseam that Hip-Hop is dying because there is no more quality music. I say the problem is different, Hip-Hop is dying because it’s flooded with all these horrible rappers who would normally be fans but the internet allows them to put their music in front of us. Without this access, these dudes would be relegated back to their proper places of rapping their sub-par rhymes in the shower or over their instrumental CD in the car. Everyone isn’t meant to rap. Period.

But the internet doesn’t just annoy me with the wack rappers; it also makes me dislike emcees that I actually enjoy listening to. Rappers used to make albums and if they did other songs, it was usually features on other people’s albums. Now with the internet, you can make a song and within 24 hours it can be in front of thousands of people. And these songs can be produced, mixed, mastered and put out at rapid speed. So what do you get? Rappers you like putting out 50-100 songs a year. I don’t care how much you enjoy a rapper, eventually you’re going to get tired of hearing him. Chicken Alfredo might be your favorite food but if you ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday for a year, eventually it will make you sick. It takes the exclusivity out of each rapper’s verse. Then when the album finally drops, there’s no anticipation, no urgency because you just heard 12 new rhymes from the dude two weeks prior. How many times have you said to yourself, “damn why couldn’t the song on XYZ mixtape been on the album?” (c. Lil’ Wayne) Or how mad do you get when you cop said rapper’s official studio album only to realize that his mixtape that you just got was way better? (c. Fabolous, Jadakiss, Cassidy, Jeezy, etc.)

The internet is great when it comes to getting new information on the newest artists. Without it I wouldn’t have been able to see that ridiculous video of Kanye and Hov doing that one verse of “Jockin’ Jay-Z” or laughed my ass off at “Lookin’ Ass N***a” by Hot Stylz. I just wish I could develop some kind of spam protector to help eliminate all of the rappers and their respective songs who should be working at UPS. I need to be able to tell the difference between The Cool Kids and Ace Hood. Seriously, it’s a shame that I know I’m missing some quality out there because I just don’t have the time to deal with MC Such and Such’s version of “A Millie” or Lil’ Murder Mo Pete’s latest “Snap, Drop and Stop.” And for rappers that I love, just slow down. Do a few features to keep your name out there but save those high quality verses for your albums.

So the next time I go online, and go to one of the 10,000 Hip-Hop websites out there, you will now know why I sometimes hold my breath and peek through one eye as I click on the “new audio” section to see what’s out in the streets.