| NOBLE |
05-14-2012 11:51 AM |
I wouldn't place Luda in my top 5. He's definitely a dope lyricist and one of the better mainstream artists that are out there, but I wouldn't consider being mainstream a criteria for rating someone as an emcee. Tbh, he probably wouldn't make it in my top 10. I can think of several people I'd rate higher than Ludacris.
Being mainstream and being considered "wack" by underground artists is not necessarily a bad thing though. Sometimes you're hated by the underground artists simply because they are jealous of your success. Some underground cats think you're wack simply because you are mainstream. At the same time, sometimes you have to "give people what they want so that they will learn to want what you have to give."
Take an artist like Nas for example. He gave people that "Nas the Don/gangsta" image on some tracks cause that's what people want, but then he gets to slide in that conscious music every now and then. He is no less conscious or "real" than other underground artists who never make it platinum.
I remember watching an Interview of Black Eye Peas after they had added Fergie and started making all these songs we hear on the radio. Some of you might not know, but they used to be one of THE most underground groups. The interviewer was asking Will-I-Am what made them change course and start making more commercial music. He said it wasn't about the fame or the money...it was about being heard...having his music heard by more people across the globe. I think as an artist, no matter how good you think your brand of Hip-Hop is, at the end of the day, every artist would love to share their art with as many people as possible. What's the point of being the deepest underground cat if no one knows you exist or has even heard of your music?
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