Mainstream VS Underground... Mainground VS Understream

I generally sort rappers by there doctrine, try to just simplify things and cut the crap out.

mainstream - (advocates consumerism which is so prominent in society)

underground - (looking for alternatives, questioning things, finding the loop holes in common held notions)

I could probably go on a whole tangent about how our society is non-self sufficient, rigid, and spiritually limiting....but I don't care enough to.

That said I find most "Underground" artists, are just self sellers waiting for the right price. So I don't consider them underground rather an under dog or a sheep in wolves clothing..hehe
 
Bigwon said:
I generally sort rappers by there doctrine, try to just simplify things and cut the crap out.

mainstream - (advocates consumerism which is so prominent in society)

underground - (looking for alternatives, questioning things, finding the loop holes in common held notions)

I could probably go on a whole tangent about how our society is non-self sufficient, rigid, and spiritually limiting....but I don't care enough to.

That said I find most "Underground" artists, are just self sellers waiting for the right price. So I don't consider them underground rather an under dog or a sheep in wolves clothing..hehe
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word. well put
 
Mainstream artist get a lot of tomatoes thrown at them for one main reason. And that is taking what was meant for a culture of people and presenting it to the world as theirs. Sorry....Skrillex ruined dubstep for everyone....(for example). Some white dude will ruin trap for everybody. But what will still remain is the original from the underground because it is a "real culture behind it". And this is being said so people don't get confused with the internet and the underground. You will hear a lot of music on the internet....doesn't mean those guys are undergorund.....they are no where close to underground. They are "BLOGGERS and VLOGGERS and MUSICIANS and everything BUT underground or mainstream. Somehow people relate sound to one of the two. "This sounds like some underground boom bap type shit". To understand...you have to go deep into what makes a person underground. Fake interviewers will call you underground and in your interview ask you questions as though you are some nobody hoping to make it...even if it is the underground. The name underground has become too easy for people to say they represent because of the internet.

We don't hear the letters "CEO" like we did a decade back. Shit was funny. lol! A pipe dream busted for a majority of artist. A few were able to cake though and still caking. CEO was the thing to say in interviews. Same with yall producers.......guy wants to be funny......."what kind of name is ricearoni".............I could be a dirty MFer and just BUY YOUR NAME right now and throw that shit in the trash. Because I'm pretty sure you DON'T OWN IT. (just using you as an example.) That's how people do though....they talk the talk....but will never walk the walk. Feels good to talk though. I gave you heads up on shit.......dudes.....my FP fam.....you ain't even underground (as far as todays standards" if you don't even own your NAME. Is your product important? Why you don't own your name then? Big difference. I don't own "riceoroni". That guy is a fictional character on FP. BUT.......you go by a name for real....that you don't own.....so guess what? You are also a fictional character. You might take your career more serious once you actually own your name......you will say it with much more pride.....might say it in third person often because it means something now.

Food for thought.
 
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901_Rice_Street said:
Mainstream artist get a lot of tomatoes thrown at them for one main reason. And that is taking what was meant for a culture of people and presenting it to the world as theirs. Sorry....Skrillex ruined dubstep for everyone....(for example). Some white dude will ruin trap for everybody. But what will still remain is the original from the underground because it is a "real culture behind it". And this is being said so people don't get confused with the internet and the underground. You will hear a lot of music on the internet....doesn't mean those guys are undergorund.....they are no where close to underground. They are "BLOGGERS and VLOGGERS and MUSICIANS and everything BUT underground or mainstream. Somehow people relate sound to one of the two. "This sounds like some underground boom bap type shit". To understand...you have to go deep into what makes a person underground. Fake interviewers will call you underground and in your interview ask you questions as though you are some nobody hoping to make it...even if it is the underground. The name underground has become too easy for people to say they represent because of the internet.

We don't hear the letters "CEO" like we did a decade back. Shit was funny. lol! A pipe dream busted for a majority of artist. A few were able to cake though and still caking. CEO was the thing to say in interviews. Same with yall producers.......guy wants to be funny......."what kind of name is ricearoni".............I could be a dirty MFer and just BUY YOUR NAME right now and throw that shit in the trash. Because I'm pretty sure you DON'T OWN IT. (just using you as an example.) That's how people do though....they talk the talk....but will never walk the walk. Feels good to talk though. I gave you heads up on shit.......dudes.....my FP fam.....you ain't even underground (as far as todays standards" if you don't even own your NAME. Is your product important? Why you don't own your name then? Big difference. I don't own "riceoroni". That guy is a fictional character on FP. BUT.......you go by a name for real....that you don't own.....so guess what? You are also a fictional character. You might take your career more serious once you actually own your name......you will say it with much more pride.....might say it in third person often because it means something now.

Food for thought.
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1. I go by my goverment name so yea... thats not for sale
2. you said you werent gonna comment no more. id appreciate that

if your post is "food for thought" id rather go on hunger strike
 
^^^misses the point every time.



Got damn....forgot about Chingy. lmao! Prime example of what I was talking about. A lot of people need to be signed and told what the fuuck to do. And that's not a bad thing at all. Especially if you getting some kind of check. People say all the time "I would rather make my own money than be signed"....WELL....you might not have the business mind to handle your own shit. You can lie and front and all that shit, you may also lack the appeal needed to even make people want to spend money on you. You may be a swagless bum looking snot nose boy......who is a good writer....but you sound like Gucci with a cold.....thinking you sound like Drake. And then you go your whole life thinking you are as good as Drake because what you hear is fooling you. Why I love seeing cocky MFers record for the first time and then they quit the game when they hear how "not so hot......10x the opposite of hot" they really are. That mic don't lie. THe one's who don't give up....you know what they do......huh.........they say "I DO THIS FOR THE UNDERGROUND"...........translation...."PLEASE SOMEBODY...ANYBODY...LOVE ME..HEAR MY NUMBER, SO CALL ME MAYBE".

Then you expect a nigga like me to want to be a part of this shit. Little pussies on twitter acting like they already big time and shit like they the underground. Posting datpiff links and shit. Never hear about the shows they rocked. Don't even hear about other performers they have seen. All they say is "yo man...I'm tired of rappers talking like good, when they are wack, son!!!"

BUT.........the internet is an escape into a false reality. You ain't did shit until you performing for a crowd and get no responds from them. Then you know to step your game up. But instead............

BUT the internet is an escape into a false reality. You ain't shit until an underground rapper (a real one who is making moves) tells you "man...I ain't feeling none of those man". Then you know to step your game up. But instead...................

Got to breath the air.
 
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Mainstream is also a way of thinking. A mindstate. You can be Underground but still very "mainstream" oriented (recycling ideas, making music at a marketing p.o.v, etc). Remember mainstream is what's hot in popular culture most of the time, obviously their are some rare cases. Selling out is just sacrificing your artistic integrity for the sake of becoming popular.
 
Its a fine line nowadays and its hard to place a finger on it. for example

Kanye is mainstream but that doesn't mean he would dare sacrifice his artistry for the sake of a buck. His ego is way too big to believe that anything other then his exact ​vision will make him anymore money. And its perfect that he's mainstream. He gets GIGANTIC 90's pre napster era budgets so that he can fly in talent at or above his levels like Jon Brion, Mike Deen, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Q-Tip, RZA, Jay-Z, Common. And he FLYS them in studio so they can collab and it doesn't leak. Unless he wants it to leak. Which he's one of the few that's allowed to leak his own album without interference. So he proves mainstream isn't always a bad word

On his own label is an example of Underground on a Major label. Big KRIT although he's signed to Def Jam is definitely underground. I still haven't seen surface level rap fans or rock fans with a mild taste of rap site Big Krit as one of their favorite artists. He's still stoically underground for better or worse.

Frank Ocean is right in between. He's been on a major since before Odd Future, but has been a household name only recently. But I don't think he's definitely considered mainstream because I don't think he gets HUGE play on top 40 radio. And nobody's grandma knows him yet. But he's definitely not underground because his album is gold or close to it and he was nominated for several grammys in pretty big categories.

On the flip side nobody can say Adele isnt major however her label is Indy and she takes a very independent approach to pop music.

So how we define mainstream vs Underground can't be defined by truisms. I think what it means in 2013 is name recognition and to SOME extent monetary resources. To some extent it can be defined by its marketing. Mass appeal vs a very niche target demo. You have to use very specific words to describe some artists demo's while people like ross are just in the 'everybody' category.

But overall it cant be defined by good vs. evil or good vs bad.
 
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