As an example. I grew up in hip-hop but at a certain point I stopped listening to new people and realised recently that I’d slept on some bangers. Like Kendrick particularly, but even people like Juice WRLD and Xxxtentacion.
The same for the Kendrick and Drake (the nonce) beef which has given some rabbit holes to go down.
So I’m wondering what I can do to keep in the loop with my younger brothers and sisters?
Is it something as simple as watching trending videos on YouTube (somtheing I’ve never done) or are there people to follow etc. I don’t like Twitter though so hopefully it’s not that.
Edit: Man I got so many replies. You guys are awesome. I am going to work my way through them all today, but I’m hella tired and off to work so may take a while. I will reply to you all.
Edit part deux: God damn I think I got all the replies.
My dude, I’m the same as you and I just keep radioing shit on Spotify and shazaming shit I hear and doing the same for TV shows and movies and tapping into the Spotify premade playlists from time to time. Works aight enough.
Some good one here. Thanks.
That’s one of the reasons I spend a lot of time in forums like this. To keep up with the latest stuff.
But then the latest stuff started being hella weird and I still couldn’t follow it even knowing the origins and context of popular trends and now I’m grumpy about kids on my lawn. 😬
Yeah some of the latest trends will whoooosh me.
Honestly, just follow some Instagram meme pages or browse SoundCloud’s rap playlists. As a young person™️, this is how I’ve always found stuff, including xxxtentacion and lil peep when I was younger and they were both still around. If you’re worried about “invading” our spaces like the other comment says, I think that sentiment is changing. I’ve befriended some older peeps online just for having anime pfps and stuff lmao.
Thanks dude for the soundcloud req.
Also, for making me feel a bit better about invading spaces, as i honestly only want to learn more about current trends and close the divide between generations.
I went down a Xxxtentacion and Juice WRLD rabbit hole when I found them and man I’m so sad they not here as those were some interesting people with unique perspectives.
Sign up for email lists to smaller venues (<1000 capacity) and check out the bands getting booked. Also, sign up for record label mailings, indie labels tend to have bands with similar vibes. Spotify and algorithm recs are not the way to go
Yes! This is what I was thinking. You’ll have a finger on the culture and be more into it than most without having to pay Taylor Swift prices for everything.
If you live in a decent sized city go see the up and coming acts at the bar venues before they hit stadium appeal. The rest will come through the grapevine. Like who gives a shit about what Drake is doing and I say this as someone who knows Toronto inside out.
I live in a major city so I have many choices, but realistically it works for any nearby city with hip smaller bands that you like. Not everything is great but it’s pretty easy to dial in your tastes by venue and labels. If you aren’t getting enough to check with that, just add another city’s venues. See who’s playing & check them out on bandcamp/youtube/etc…then go see them live. Lee’s Place is dope, I caught several shows there when I contracting, but that was 7-8 years ago
I don’t know how to help you, but I’ll tell you that I have the opposite perspective. The two artists I’d most like to avoid are the ones you mentioned, so if there was a way I could eliminate suggestions from anyone who was like “fuck yeah Kendrick and Drake” I would absolutely do that.
Taste over time is totally divergent and you’ve probably got your work cut out for you to find your exact niche :).
Interesting different perspective.
May I ask why you don’t like Kendrick. Is it the style, as he is arguably the Goat of hip-hop and that feels like something not to be missed.
It’s the style, or more specifically what it is turning into. Seems like when I got my first tastes of hip hop in the 90s it was more… musical / music forward? and now it kinda feels like just another rap flavor.
Same with greatest rapper and greatest country singer of all time: I would be inclined to steer clear since it’s just generally not my thing.
I can’t help but feel the same as you do. I listen to a lot of political podcasts, and somehow their spat has spilled over into those too goddamnit.
I’m here, trying to listen to a deep analysis of what’s happening with decisions within the State Department wrt stopping weapons shipments to Israel, and some chucklefuck asks Sec. Blinken his take on Kendrick— I’m like, “what the actual fuck?”
So I’m wondering what I can do to keep in the loop with my younger brothers and sisters?
The question is completely weird to me. Why do you care? Why do you think that is important?
Because they want to keep in touch with and still feel like a part of their community?
Because I wanted to keep up with changes in art, as well as understanding the younger generation more.
There is huge divide between generations from the elders and it’s usually due to ignorance or superiority and it achieves nothing.
I honestly think your view is weird. Why wouldn’t you want to understand your fellow humans more.
There is huge divide between generations from the elders and it’s usually due to ignorance or superiority and it achieves nothing.
Preferred music doesn’t do much about it. Your focus in it was the main thing that confused me.
If you had mentioned having discussions about ideas I would understood better.
I honestly think your view is weird. Why wouldn’t you want to understand your fellow humans more.
Again, you mentioned music, which for “understanding my fellow humans” is fundamentally irrelevant to me. Discussions about philosophy, ethics, or politics are much more relevant.
Or maybe you just want to understand why they like the music they like and nothing beyond that, which is valid, but painting it as “understanding fellow humans” is a little too grandiose.
Do you not believe that music, particularly the lyrics, is a snapshot in time of what the artists ideas and beliefs are?
You can use the zeitgeist to get a measure of how things change over time. As I believe music is the most emotive form of expression.
Do you not believe that music, particularly the lyrics, is a snapshot in time of what the artists ideas and beliefs are?
It once was. Now music is mostly the result of an industry churning sellable platitudes and blandness.
As I believe music is the most emotive form of expression.
When you have sensible artists who talk about things beyond their own petty and minimal experience, perhaps. This is less and less frequent.
In any case, for me music is a very personal pleasure, I don’t compare notes frequently regarding what one “needs to like to be up to date”. I like what I like, and it’s not very transferrable. I rejoice when I find matches, but I don’t want to “learn what I must like” to be “modern” because that “gives me the pulse of the zeitgeist”.
Alls I can say is you’re listening to the wrong kind of music is you think all current music is vapid.
I’ve already mentioned Kendrick, who won a Pulitzer Prize I might add. There are plenty of people with conscientious lyrics. Dave would be an example from the UK, his album We’re all alone in this together is top tier. Three rivers is legendary and very political.
I don’t want to seem like I’m being aggy here, but perhaps you could take my approach to seeking out this kind of stuff as there is more than just industry knocking out clones. Sure there are plants and stuff but there are real artists out here still.
It’s honestly quite arrogant to think great artists stopped at our generation my guy.
Alls I can say is you’re listening to the wrong kind of music is you think all current music is vapid.
And all I can say is that your reading comprehension is lacking if you attribute me saying that all music is valid. I said “mostly”.
It’s honestly quite arrogant to think great artists stopped at our generation my guy.
And I had said so, I would agree. I, however, didn’t.
In any case, if music is your main focus, you could have used more prominence in the question, because your formulation seemed to indicate that there were other things you wanted to “keep up with” too. If I had understood that music was your primary focus, I would have abstained from participating. Which I will start doing right now.
Sounds from the example like OP doesn’t want to miss out on media they might enjoy just because they’re not hanging out with young people anymore. Seems like a reasonable thing to want.
If they enjoy the media won’t they just consume it? My music tastes cover several decades and while I don’t follow all modern music there are a few genres and artists that I seek out actively.
You have to discover it somehow, and that’s what they’re asking for help with.
Removed by mod
This is an IP grabber
College/independent radio
I would start reading Rolling Stone and similar stuff. The radio should also help.
Or are you looking specifically for only hip-hop?
Rolling stone is a good shout for general music, but I am more interested in Hip-Hop.
As someone else said, bandcamp is pretty good. Their articles are, so far as I can tell, written by actual people and thus have more soul to them. I’m sure some asshole is plotting to replace them with LLM, but until then!
Also, go to shows. Go see live music. Usually folks have opening acts. Sometimes you can even make friends.
Thanks for pointing out bandcamp, I’ve not hit the other comment that mentioned it yet.
Start paying attention to the top new & trending Spotify playlists in genres you’re interested in.
That’s a good shout. One thing I do try is the create station on Apple Music, but it really seems to not stick to the same kind of stuff a lot of the time. Even when starting things you enjoyed and not for the ones you didn’t.
Spotify is much better for music discovery / public playlists. I use Apple Music because it’s cheaper with the family plan, but if I’m wanting new music I will often open up Spotify just to view the playlists there and add the songs I like to my Apple Music playlists.
Thanks for this, I wasn’t aware. I’m not particularly attached to Apple Music, it’s just we got it free when I worked there and so never changed.
I’ll peep the playlists on Spotify.
Apart from usuals like spotify or bandcamp, I’d also like to introduce gnod here: https://www.gnod.com/
I do not use it very often, but it’s quite nice to browse the recommendations based on what you were recently listening once in a while.
Thanks. I’m getting a nice selection of links now.
Get a skateboard and go to your local skate park. Walk up to some kids and say how do you do fellow kids? What are we listening to today?
Make sure to wear your favorite Music Band tshirt.
YouTube music made discovery worse compared to Google music, but it is still OK.
When I hear a good song on a show or movie, I ID it with my phone and explore others by the artist or genre. I also thumbs up it to get more recommendations from YTM
Same when friends recommended music. So yeah, talk to friends about music. And then do the above two steps with their suggestions and likes.
Start dating a 19 year old.
Bro I ain’t drake.
I am aware that at this age gap is have nothing in common with a 19 year old other than sex.
19 is about 9 years too old for Drake.
By listening to their interests you’d keep your fingers on the youth’s pulse.
True.
I also realise I have no idea why Drake is rated so highly, dudes goofy as fuck and his music is mid at best.
Because he used to be in a wheelchair and now he’s not.
Is that what he meant when he said came from the bottom and now we here. He wasn’t talked economically, but literally vertically.
No, he meant that he grew up in Toronto’s cheap mansions and now he’s in a nice one.
