A Jack K Rant: Do you actually care if an artist "matures"?

J

Jack Kerorap

New member
An artist "maturing" does not mean sh*t. Artists do realize that fans love them for the material that made them famous, right? Do you really wanna hear Sean Price rapping about how rap has given him a second chance, or hear him spitting ignorant sh*t? Rappers fall into a certain niche and develop a following composed of fans of that niche.

The majority of the time when they try to change niches they end of sacrificing skill to show "growth", and certain fans will defend the artists "maturity" when really they haven't don't sh*t. Do you care about the person, or the music? Why should their growth as a person matter? Unless that growth includes better rapping, or experiences that can translate to better music (Scarface comes to mind), does the sh*t that rapper experienced since GETTING FAMOUS make a difference?

I really don't see how people can say certain artists have matured because they've given up rapping about one subject, but still rap about other topics that are still fairly immature (artists like Jay-Z, Common, Kanye and Eminem come to mind). How exactly does music show maturity when you're rapping about unimaginable wealth, $500 jeans, and bedding multiple, faceless women? If you want me to believe you've matured, pull a Richard Pryor and fly to Africa and come back and start sounding spiritual, rather than being pompous a*sholes in interviews and somehow mature musically.

And can you even say certain artists have matured? Lyrically and content wise, Common is the same guy (up to a point). Some artists have been mature from the start, so where do they go from there? Why don't they get praised for having the ability to be mature from the get go?

I also hate how people will say artists mature because great art is ever changing and must conform to the times. Let me remind you that nobody records a song, writes a novel or paints a picture with the intention of it becoming "great art". It comes from the soul, from the heart. If you release sh*t with the hopes of it being considered great art by whatever standards are popular at the time, then you've essentially released nothing more than pop which shan't be remembered in the annals of time (and that goes for anything).
 
You "mature" to stay current in the industry and essentially sell more records. And it's not necessarily all "bad" music. However, the most consistent artists have a hard time keeping up and staying current, but in 50-100+ years these artist will get their appreciation as it's generally higher quality.

But looking at like a consumer. Why would I buy an album that's gonna sound like the last one I bought by him/her?
 
Maturation of an artist has a ton of definitions as far as I'm concerned. You can make good music from a lyrical standpoint, not have any specific motives, and still have fans. CunninLynguists' are a perfect example. After Will Rap For Food, their albums got noticeably more serious, gained cohesion, and started to focus a lot more on the 'heavier' topics. They even said it themselves. They've matured since then, but it was obviously for the better.

And Like you said, some artists don't need to mature, simple as that. It's not mandatory.

Like I'm sitting there thinking "Damn, when's my favorite rapper going to evolve into a more 'mature' rapper?" as if he were a pokemon or something.
 
I belive in rappers/bands/musical groups "growing", but by that I simply mean experimenting with the sound and bringing a little something new here and there. When it starts to sound worse thats when you need to stick to the tried and true plan.

EDIT
Lol @SK. That was an awesome answer
 
I've honestly never thought about this, but I agree with you for the most part.
Maturity and musical growth/expansion are separate things that people often think go hand in hand.
The same thing can be said about hip-hop in general.
People think today's hip-hop is immature, because of all the party/club intended music, but in reality that's how hip-hop started, as party music.
It didn't get "mature" over the times, its just that different artists expanded their style and emerged with new lyrical concepts and messages.
And I also agree with what you said about Common and Jay-Z.
Although I don't necessarily feel they're "immature" artists, that's just how versatile they are.
They can each go from seemingly being a conscious and lyrical whiz to a media whore in a split second.
And theres tons of other artists who would fall in that category.

I don't know if i'm right or wrong on this, but I've always respected Dr.Dre for somewhat maturing late in his musical career, more specifically in The Chronic 2001.
I mean, if you really listen to that album, NEARLY every song talks about how he's a changed man from his NWA days, and is willing to put his gang banging style (whether it was real or not) aside for his families' sake, all while keeping his fans entertained with a classic album that didn't require him to change up his style.

Most overlook what the overall message in that album was (it's almost like he was sneaking in the message here and there), but he's pretty much saying how even though he's still got love for his hood and love for his old lifestyle, he feels that its time for him to change.
And I can respect an artists who is willing to express that through his music, whether his fans agree with him doing so or not.
 
I do not care if an artist matures.
Hip Hop, to me, was created by a younger generation for a younger generation to give them a voice, a vehicle for hope, and for fun.
Since I am now 34, have children, been married and divorced, and own property, I do not care about the same things I did when I was 19 back in 1993 when Just Ice dropped "Gun Talk" or even when Onyx dropped "Baccadafucup". I am mature, so I choose to listen to more Jazz and R&B and a large majority of the Hip Hop that I listen to has some substance. Artists do not need to mature in Hip Hop because there will always been an audience. What I really care about is Balance in Hip Hop. I have no problem really with Gucci Mane blowing up and being played 35,000 times a day on the radio, but radio/media needs to balance it out with a Mos Def record or an Atmosphere record being played 35,000 times a day. When I was 19, you could hear Souls of Mischief, Diagble Planets, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, as well as Das EFX, Akinyele, Snoop Dogg, etc all being played in the media.

I know I went off topic, but basically its less about maturity and more about balance. And by the time RHH heads grow up, their lives will be bigger than hip hop anyway, unless they work in the business.
 
I could give a sh*t if an artist matures. Sometimes it's for the better, but other times not. Nas, for example has definitely matured as an artist, covering much more broad topics in his music that are far more politically conscious. Mos Def (I think) is an artist who has not matured however. He went from Black Star and Black on Both Sides, and went down from there. He hasn't gotten worse, but his music has just become more pop and electric and his topics became things a bit less relevant.
 
Right exactly. I don't want my favorite artists to change unless they're becoming better. If you're becoming worse you should stick to what made you good in the first place.

Edit: "Why would I buy an album that's gonna sound the same as the last one"?

I think the anser to that is pretty obvious. No two albums were ever "the same". They have different beats, different lyrics, different songs. Albums might be similar but not the same, and I would want to buy two albums that are similar. If you don't want to buy two albums with any similarities, than I guess you can have one album from each genre. That way you'll have only like 15 albums but none of them will "sound like the last one". Idiot.
 
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