"Let's face it folks Boston hip-hop radio sucks, sucks, sucks"
It's rare you see or hear anything big or anything much about Boston native hip-hop and rap artists. Having heard and seen many failures do to lack of ambition which I can say is highly due to the lack of support the hip-hop and rap game in Boston has. I won't say this is justly due to the artists themselves not supporting each other nor their fans caring to listen to the guy down the streets mix-tape or album. I believe it's largely due to the fact the city itself isn't a supporter or their own talent. Possessing a music school (Berklee) and famous performance halls, half shells and theaters you'd think they city would adore the sounds. This however isn't true, if it's not a holiday or a reason to parade then out of town greats won't be here and the local performers definitely never have a chance. In the city itself it's rare to find a popular venue that actually provides a prominent "stage" for it's local performers to be seen by anyone of importance. To me there's a whirlwind of "I can's" and "I know's" from people who are responsible for the "promotion" of such local talent but really no truth behind the remarks in regards to assisting or helping a local artist appeal to a vaster array of fans. Not to mention nobody is famous yet.
I know a group, Gentlemen Hall, Alumni of Berklee College of Music. They are living proof that the city has the base and venues for individuals and groups to be seen and accrue a substantial fan base. However, they sound nothing close to hip-hop or rap. This is why I believe the city itself is more responsible for the little flame under the hip-hop movement. Let's face it folks Boston hip-hop radio sucks, sucks, sucks. Except for 88.9 on Thursdays and Fridays. Since I've been here the has been one place to go and see a mainstream hip-hop or rap show and that's at the TD Garden, home of the Celtics and Bruins and the place where tickets can cost an arm and leg. There aren't any spots in Boston like The Roxy in Los Angeles which plays host and provides a large scale audience for it's performers and attracts execs. Where ticket prices are affordable for true fans and not just people who want to dress up and say they paid super prices to see someone who doesn't write all their own lyrics. Well there's the House of Blues but are you really going to claim that as your own Boston? They left you and just came back, meaning you weren't where they needed to be in order to FIRST attract brand name talent. After moving around and getting the brand out there they then came back to rebuild in Boston. Still though, the House of Blues isn't as trademark as The Roxy, regardless where it began.
People make their names at local staple venues and places where they can make themselves and their cities proud. Like the Glass House in Pomona, Ca. Boston is known for shutting down places and blaming the reason on the hip-hop crowds but I blame it on the tight pants and small pebbles of the enforcement. If you get paid to enforce crowds then get out of your patrol cars and do some crowd control. Things only get out of hand when you let them. Trust me for as little as the crowds are to begin with there's no way possible the police can't handle the one can thrown in the street. The bus stop back home in LA has more people crowded around it.
Many will argue and say I left out a place in Boston known as The Middle East. Truth is The Middle East is a great place with nice ticket prices and room for people to stand and see clearly; but in front only. There's also nightlife everywhere in the area for after the show. The stage is fairly small and still the lighting isn't all that great, I'm all for bandstands but this is a skate ramp turned bandstand. I repeat I enjoy a show or two at The Middle East but I wish the best viewing spot also didn't mean I had to stand closer to the bad sound system. Please wait, let me finish. The sound isn't really all that bad when you have a group like Gentlemen Hall or any other electro or synth group on stage, heck even the live bands sound nice. Those types of performances are supposed to be good at adapting, but when you throw on a beat filled with bass and give the guy a mic that doesn't agree with fast wordplay there's no reconciling our differences. Especially when the limited stage and wall space forces you to put the speaker right in front of my face, at the bar area.
I believe once that's finished, the remodeling they should do after reading this, that The Middle East may be a suitable place for a good hip-hop show. The next step would be to revamp the marketing team and appeal to a larger fan base and first hand mainstream hip-hop acts. Like Big Sean and J. Cole instead of second hand acts like Styles P and third string acts like Lil B. I repeat Lil B does not have a fan base in Boston so why is he here before anybody else? Styles P doesn't sign people he finds at his show's he doesn't help you get big. He's nice, that's it. I've seen top acts come through The Middle East in the past seven years and none of them hip-hop. None we should be worried about in regards to helping getting Boston natives out into the industry.
If The Middle East could brand their name with brand name acts then this would definitely attribute to more locals going and supporting their home players who get a chance to perform there. This would eradicate the need to have bad talent Pay to Play and save us the torture. They would be able to pay good local talent and expect the locals to come and support(pay), having branded their name as a place to go to discover great music. We all grow somewhere but I don't think this is the place where Pay to Play talent should be showcased. It mars The Middle East image and lessens their word of mouth value, there are other shitty places to Pay to Play. Don't give me good dub-step and then bad hip-hop. Hip-Hop runs the world. You go there and discover talent at the shitty place, then you pay them.
Boston need's help serious help. If there's one place I know can succeed as a place to help Boston hip-hop talent get noticed it's The Middle East. With handy assistance from Next In Show of course. People please listen to me, Benzino just released two videos within the past two to three months. Benzino already came and went in a year, got his cake and left. I fail to believe that Benzino is the only person who could make a hit in 2011 from Boston, that's if you even call it a hit, I actually only seen it on WorldStar but never heard it on the radio. Any-who I do know it's going to take the locals support of each other and the open doors and marketing of these venues to get Boston noticed. The actors here are the only one's bringing home the cake, time to let some music talent fry up the bacon.
Leave your comments below on WHAT VENUE YOU THINK CAN HELP HOUSE BOSTON'S HIP-HOP REVIVAL..
2 comments:
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Some friends of mine in the Underground Hip Hop Scene from Brockton... I'd suggest using a different source of promoting and possibly outsourcing promoters... ( like myself from the WEST) or booking a diverse musical lineup like a DJ mixing different types of music... Blending various talents from the area, Hip Hop is covers much more than it used to.
I have a label forming officially next year and a diverse mix of artists I'll be looking to book for 2012.
Hope some of this helps.
Keep the Music Alive. 1Luv.
Ben McCoy
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