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Posted by Robert
Rap News Network
11/2/2003 9:35:09 PM
Tags and topics realted to this article include Chingy.
After years of the same ol’ rap stars, a new freshman class is elbowing its way to the fore. As the rap world searches for the next 50 Cent, these upcoming cats hope to save the genre from itself.
Groundbreaking hip hop talent comes in rushes. The year 1988 was ruled by Big Daddy Kane, N.W.A, Public Enemy, EPMD, and others. The paradigm began to shift five years later with Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, and Snoop, as well as the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac. But outside of 50 Cent, the next generation of rap stars has been waiting for reigning heavyweights like Jay-Z and Eminem to cool off. Until now.
Up-and-comers—like Juelz Santana, Joe Budden, Chingy, the Game, G-Unit’s Lloyd Banks and Young Buck (as well as unsigned newcomers like Yng Selah)—are hoping to form a new cadre of hip hop stars. But it won’t be easy. “You can’t have just one or two hits,” says Craig Kallman, copresident of Atlantic Records. And record labels have no patience for rap artists who don’t immediately produce. “The industry’s downward trend affects a company’s ability to take risks with new talent,” he says.
“As a rapper, your first impression is your only impression,” says Banks. By contrast, mid-’90s debuts Illmatic and Reasonable Doubt weren’t certified platinum until 2001 and 2002, respectively, meaning artists were given more time to build a following.
Though 50 Cent’s breakthrough looms large, his chart-topping rise will be difficult to replicate. “New rappers need to be perceived as authentic,” says Kevin Liles, president of Def Jam. “Their hustle has got to be top notch if they plan to get noticed by labels and consumers.”
There’s a definite hunger for something fresh—and the streets are watching both the fate of the art and the new breed of MCs. “Everybody has been doing the same thang,” says St. Louis wunderkind Chingy in his Missouri twang. “They still making good music, but it’s just time for a new, youthful generation to put they stamp down.”
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