I've never liked pop rappers but what's even worse is when rappers that start out hardcore & then turn pop all of a sudden to sell records. It's really disgusting when a rapper has to flip flop to sell records. I know that the music industry is about selling records but do you have to sell your soul to sell records? A rapper can sell millions of albums but it doesn't mean that the music is good. Look at MC Hammer. He sold millions of records & his music wasn't that great. There's plenty of rappers i used to like that started out hardcore & are now pop. I don't listen to rappers that do pop music. Here's a list of rappers i think that started out hard & went pop.


Outkast
Ludacris
Jay-Z
Ice Cube
Nas
Redman
Method Man
Erick Sermon
LL Cool J(when is this guy gonna retire? LOL)
Ja Rule
Xzibit
Dr Dre
Snoop Dogg
Run DMC
The Fat Boys
Jadakiss
Clipse


There's plenty more rappers that used to be hard & are now pop. I can't think of them all but i like rappers who stay hardcore their entire careers because they don't care about selling records. I believe every rapper would love to have a platinum plaque but they aren't gonna break their backs to get a platinum plaque & they aren't gonna give up their artistic integrity to sell records. I respect rappers like that. The ones who have stayed hardcore & are now independent because they don't care about selling records is Parrish Smith of EPMD, Rakim, Kool G Rap, KRS One, Wu Tang Clan(Method Man is the only one in the group who's pop), Willie D & Bushwick Bill of Geto Boys, Spice 1, MC Eiht, Too Short, WC, Yukmouth, Black Moon, Cormega, Brand Nubian, Das EFX, Gang Starr. Another thing i'm tired of is rappers albums getting pushed back or never coming out. It's so hard for a rapper to have longevity. That's why so many rappers have disappeared because the record labels are so shady & all they care about is selling records. It's the same way with r&b music. Look at all the r&b artists from the 80's & 90's that have disappeared. I think being on a independent record label is the best way to go because there's no pressure on a artist to sell records like it is on a major label.

The answer is money.

I've never liked pop rappers but what's even worse is when rappers that start out hardcore & then turn pop all of a sudden to sell records. It's really disgusting when a rapper has to flip flop to sell records. I know that the music industry is about selling records but do you have to sell your soul to sell records? A rapper can sell millions of albums but it doesn't mean that the music is good. Look at MC Hammer. He sold millions of records & his music wasn't that great. There's plenty of rappers i used to like that started out hardcore & are now pop. I don't listen to rappers that do pop music. Here's a list of rappers i think that started out hard & went pop.


Outkast
Ludacris
Jay-Z
Ice Cube
Nas
Redman
Method Man
Erick Sermon
LL Cool J(when is this guy gonna retire? LOL)
Ja Rule
Xzibit
Dr Dre
Snoop Dogg
Run DMC
The Fat Boys
Jadakiss
Clipse


There's plenty more rappers that used to be hard & are now pop. I can't think of them all but i like rappers who stay hardcore their entire careers because they don't care about selling records. I believe every rapper would love to have a platinum plaque but they aren't gonna break their backs to get a platinum plaque & they aren't gonna give up their artistic integrity to sell records. I respect rappers like that. The ones who have stayed hardcore & are now independent because they don't care about selling records is Parrish Smith of EPMD, Rakim, Kool G Rap, KRS One, Wu Tang Clan(Method Man is the only one in the group who's pop), Willie D & Bushwick Bill of Geto Boys, Spice 1, MC Eiht, Too Short, WC, Yukmouth, Black Moon, Cormega, Brand Nubian, Das EFX, Gang Starr. Another thing i'm tired of is rappers albums getting pushed back or never coming out. It's so hard for a rapper to have longevity. That's why so many rappers have disappeared because the record labels are so shady & all they care about is selling records. It's the same way with r&b music. Look at all the r&b artists from the 80's & 90's that have disappeared. I think being on a independent record label is the best way to go because there's no pressure on a artist to sell records like it is on a major label.

I don't mind their crossover, for some that is. I think it shows their versatility. I love Ja Rule. He has a sexy voice. I don't really get into the hard core rap for various reasons. Tupac was probably the only hardcore that I really listened to. As far as Jay-Z, there's alot of hype out there about his Grey album and track 11 the Interlude which has some people disturbed about him: What Jay said was right ... track 11 - the interlude is some f***** up sh**. If you play it backward, it selectively samples Jay-Z's voice, cuts-and-pastes, to form some lyrics like "murder murder, Jesus Jesus, six, six, six,"
and "catholics, i gotta murder them" This is no bull****... only when i read it on this forum i tried it... you only hear it when u play it backwards ... its not subliminal, its clear cut. This is a quote from a site, not my quote. I haven't tried it yet. Have you heard this or about this?

I don't necessarily agree. Of those listed, I'd say Outkast is the ONLY one of that list to go "pop". Everyone else you listed, if someone doesn't like rap music period, aren't going to win over fans who already dislike the genre. Whereas you can find the most ardent hip hop haters who will enjoy Miss Jackson, Roses, The Way You Move, Hey Ya... they actually found a way to make hip hop that can appeal to people who don't like hip hop. Yet even though Jay-Z has reached out to other genres, it still has no appeal to people who don't at least like hip hop.