Crabs In a Barrel
marked “RI Rap Scene”
Being born and raised in PROVIDEnce, I’ve come to accept certain drawbacks about this state. For example:
- Our tap water SUCKS!! (I say that b/c there was a time the ish was on point!)
- Springtime died in April 97’ (April Fools Day Blizzard)
- We (RI) are the mecca of nepotism.
However, the one issue I can’t bring myself to accept is, the lack of success we’ve had establishing ourselves as a legitimate region of hip hop talent.
More often than not, I hear the same complaints from townies as well as transplants. “This state is too small”, they tell me. “There’s not enough consumers to affect sound scan numbers”, “nobody’s checking for us”, and countless other half-assed cop outs.
Fact is we have no one to blame but ourselves. Rhode Island is barely three hours away from the birthplace of hip-hop, but we may as well be on another planet. Petty jealousy and frivolous beef has choked the life from our music scene. Now don’t get me wrong, there are cats who grind quite heavy to keep the machine alive. However, the problem still seems to be the “Crab in a Barrel” Syndrome.
First off, very few 401 emcees generate a buzz outside their own hood. This is probably linked to the ongoing genocide that has wars being fought on a two-block radius. That makes it very hard to get love on your own side of town!
Also, local print and radio don’t push our local talent (college radio not withstanding). There needs to be more outlets for our artists to be seen AND heard. Polyphonic shouldn’t be our only thriving avenue of breaking new talent. Radio DJ’s don’t seek out new, hot, local talent to break b/c they fear for their jobs. Meanwhile the South (you know, the region you are “blaming” for the sub par condition of the music) is cranking out new artists almost monthly, based on that premise. You don’t hear PDP in the clubs, or Fedd Hill in the strippy. Plus, I wouldn’t mind hearing some Chachi or Starrs and Murph on more than just non profit radio.
Even the artists themselves have created a hierarchy. Wrapped trucks and low budget videos on YOUTUBE rotation have given some artists a false sense of accomplishment. They feel that these “accessories” are true marks of “heavy grinding”, and want their opinions (about the state of 401 hip hop) to be taken as gospel. I find that hard to swallow. Especially when your product is not generating enough revenue to support you and your family. So please, stay humble if your CD sales don’t pay your bills.
As it stands, DJ’s are the ONLY real earners (at the grassroots level anyway). Even producers can’t rely on selling tracks. That’s because those same cats with the jewels, trucks, and videos want beats for free!
In closing, I don’t have the answers on how to fix this “disease”. However I am open to suggestions from anyone who feels the same way. We have PLENTY of talent here. The time is now to cultivate and nurture. I’ve been listening to local artists (almost exclusively) for four years, hoping to find a common link that could be described as “the sound of RI”. That’s not to say there isn’t quality music being created. However, we all know the age of the internet is rapidly emerging. The time is now to get our ish together!!
ViniBoomBap
a.k.a
Late Model Sedan
Tags: Chachi, Fedd Hill, PDP, Starrs and Murph, Vini Boom Bap
February 13th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
good write up man
February 13th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Thank you for your honesty Vini… I appreciate where you’re comming from, but where we’re going as a hip hop culture in the state of Rhode Island is hard to call.
Rhode Island’s hip hop scene has talent, but rising through these ranks is not an easy goal to achieve, which is crazy considering the size of our state. The bottom line is… as Rhode Islanders, I think we are born with a lack of respect and the ego of a superstar. I love it, we wouldn’t be us without it, but there’s no unity in our scene.
Troop, Pronounce, and I…(Second Hand Smoke) have been doing more venues in Boston and New York, than we do in our hometown of Providence. The reason is simple, not only are we trying to get more exposure and a bigger crowd, but when we step off stage… people give us props, they ask to buy our cd’s, promoters approach us “I Got Some Shows For You Guys!!”. It’s beautiful! Instead… we do a show in Providence step off stage, look around, all you see is a bunch of bullshit ice grills, and selling your cd is like pulling teeth. This is a cancer to the artist’s of RI. We need to cut it out.
UNITY & SUPPORT Ladies and Gentlemen… It’s the cure to a suffering scene.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
yes … we need UNITY … I agree
February 16th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
great article and i have to 100% agree with witts on his comment as well..
February 21st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
whats up yall
Vini, don’t think I have ever met you, but a well written article. I was all in the RI scene my whole life, grew up on it and even DJ’d on 90.3 for a few years…..for those who remember tuesday blend with the deck bros. Me and my bro moved up to boston in september ‘07 although I will always consider myself a Rhode Islander, the Boston scene is alot different. I remember going to a show a while back in prov, PDP was opeing for someone and me and my boys are head noddin’ like always and I look around and people are literally standing dead still, how can you be a hip hop head and stand still in the front row, why even be there, either your really that self-conscious or your doing it on purpose because you think your too cool, thats kinda how it is in RI. Let me tell you the boston scene is still developing compared to NY, but there is alot more love than hate and some positive stuff going down. And yes RI is small so if you dont branch out your not gonna get any farther than a play once a week on 90.3, Almost no one has heard of 90.3 up here but when i tell them about it they are like thats dope we need some afterschool shit like that in boston and really feelin it, and there is def talent in RI guys I can tell you that its just locked away. I have no answer but def unity sounds like a no brainer, theres too much competition among artists in RI not enough support, props and embracing each other…….
February 21st, 2008 at 3:18 pm
quote: “The bottom line is… as Rhode Islanders, I think we are born with a lack of respect and the ego of a superstar” - Jimmy Witts
I am gonna have to say that I can NOT agree with this statement at all. Maybe this applies to you. But i can speak for myself and say no … not all “rhode islanders”
I was born with a lot of respect. and I only Ego trip behind closed doors with my wife.
A wise man knows he knows nothing
February 28th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
I have to comment on this article because it makes perfect sense to me. My only word of advice is that 90% of other cities have the same problem. Im a RI transplant but I’ve been here for 10 years.
Its pretty much like this on every other hip hop scene I’ve been on. The only way this can be broken is if the ‘under’ and ‘overground’ MC’s learn to occupy the same place at the same time without ego trippin’. Believe it or not you need them and they need you.