Minnesota Hip Hop: Quality vs. Quantity

Whatup guys, Kober McDober here... I posted this short opinion piece on Facebook and figured I'd re-post it for my bloggers to read.. It's more of a rant than anything but it's some information that ANYONE trying to make music should retain..

"It's one thing to be supportive of each other here and promote local unity.. but to big up an artists WACK music just to "support" is not only pointless but also actually HURTS Minnesota hip-hop.. if we're known for amping up EVERYONE it not only supports the idea that we can't recognize the difference between good music and bad music, it also gives artists FALSE perceptions of their own music.. this creates EGOS and quiets their hunger to be THE BEST THEY CAN BE.. coincidentally this creates LESS unity.. If you plug/shout-out/support Artists A, B, C and D but don't have the time to fuck with Artist E as well, all of a sudden you're a hater or a non-supporter.. Let's focus more on having GREAT music, GREAT live performances and GREAT INDIVIDUAL grind.. then maybe the scene WILL thrive..."

Just something to think about...

-KOB

TC Hip-Hop Awards..

So before I comment... make sure you vote for me as "Next Up" at the TC HipHop Awards!! http://www.myspace.com/tchiphopawards

So this is the.... third year, I believe, of the Twin Cities Hip Hop Awards... and I'm finally nominated for an award, the... coveted (lol) "Next Up" Award.. I've never really known how to feel about this award show and its system. The nominees are chosen by a group of rappers, producers, promoters etc... the problem with this system is that there are so many beefs and bias' in local rap that it's hard to say if anyone is fairly nominated in the first place. I've noticed, as the years have gone by, that the awarded artists are sometimes questionable... that if an artist does bigger, out-of-town work yet isn't active on the local scene from a networking standpoint, they aren't recognized... it seems as though an artist can easily become "too big" for the TC HipHop Awards. Shouldn't "Artist of the Year", "Album of the Year", etc., be awarded to the biggest best and brightest?? I'm not saying certain artists don't deserve it... I just feel like the system is too skewed and messy.

Then... to my own case. The "Next Up" award... I'm happy to be nominated for an award, I've been rapping for about ten years so I feel like it's long overdue... but what exactly does "Next Up" mean?? The nominees are usually new, unknown artists who are just starting to become decent rappers.. so what are these artists "Next Up" for? Next Up to be relevant in the local scene?? Next Up to me means "Next to get on" as in the Next (or really in Minnesota's case, the first!) to put Minnesota on the map in the industry. Either definition is wrong in a way. You don't see established, industry-noted artists like Fic, Million Dollar Kid, Muja Messiah, Doomtree etc as "Next Ups".. though I believe those are some of the artists on the cusp of industry-relevance... You see artists like "Dee Bomb" as a Next Up. If anyone is (or isn't) familiar with "Dee Bomb", check out his music at hisMySpace Page. He is one of a few sub-par artists that have been nominated for this award, and certainly Dee Bomb isn't "Next Up" in the industry... so what exactly does this category imply??

As far as me? I believe I'm in that group of artists who are "Next Up" in the industry.. I'm working with A-List and B-List artists and producers... so I'm not really sure what this nomination means to me. I guess it depends on what it means to everyone else...

So take a second out of your day and vote "Kob" as "Next Up" at myspace.com/tchiphopawards