Backpack rap is usually associated with individuals that do not want to be mainstream but instead voice their social and political ideas. The most popular backpack rappers who have converted to mainstream culture are Wale, Wiz Khalifa, and Kanye West. These rappers were once struggling artists that made songs that were truly about the art form instead of making a profit. Now, don't get me wrong I am a HUGE fan of all of them and they still make great songs, but you can definitely hear the difference in their songs once the checks and major record deals started coming in.
In the backpack rap subculture, the base audience usually relates to the theories or ideologies these rappers illustrate. These backpack rappers are usually underground rappers that never really gain commercial success. As previously mentioned Wale,Wiz, Kanye and Drake are great examples of the exemptions to this conception. In the backpack world, staying true to your beliefs is vital to your fan base and because of that many artists who have become mainstream have suffered a lot of back lash.
" people really hate when a backpack rapper get rich
and start livin’ that life dawg
feels like when you gettin’ to that paper hip hop hates ya
they would do it just like I do if they could
its in our nature"
Others like Childish Gambino took another approach to the criticism by basically saying FUCK YOU!
Also as rappers are enjoying the commercial rapper lifestyle, they are willing to ignore what others think and the sacrifices they've made. As Biggie said,"Mo money mo problems"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7plhrsQSEEhttp://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/drake/showmeagoodtime.html
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Backpack%20Rapper
It is interesting to hear on the culture of backpack rappers. I was never really aware but once you brought up kanye, drake, etc. it seemed to make sense!
ReplyDeleteI wish you put more examples of backpack rappers. there are so many more examples that could have been mentioned Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Joey Bada$$ and even Pusha T (in terms of mainstream backpack rappers.) You could have also shown examples of non-mainstream backpack rappers.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you used Wale and Childish in your examples. Wale is my absolute hands down, favorite rapper ever. He's made it a point many times to show his love for the music instead of money. He took his heart away from money because he's not interested in fame. I pray this doesn't change. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think it's funny that almost 99.99% of the time, an artists' best music comes from the backpack stage. Backpack rappers usually have an original flow with serious topics, like life struggles.
ReplyDeleteThe Childish example was great. It's ironic how all these rappers started off as backpack rappers but have now hit the mainstream (which is what backpack rappers criticize).
ReplyDeleteI was unaware of the term "backpack rappers" before this post. However, I think the reasons Kanye, Wiz, Drake, and Wale are exceptions are because they strayed away from "backpacking" and became more mainstream.
ReplyDeleteI like your examples but i wish you had gone farther back to the pioneers of backpack rap and artists who never went mainstream such as heiroglyphics or talib
ReplyDeleteIt is ironic that the rappers that went mainstream changed their style from what originally got them noticed.
ReplyDeleteI feel that majority of artist start out as backpack rappers. But I don't think it is ironic nor am I surprised that they change up their style once they go mainstream. A lot of rappers are trying to make it big in the first place! I hate when fans of an artist shun them for going mainstream. An artist isn't going to go big and continue to rap about how much he is still struggling to make ends meet. Why? Because it doesn't make sense. They aren't struggling anymore, they're making money. They can rap about how they did struggle, but you can only say so much about that. The style becomes repetitive. One artist that people dont really see as a backpack rapper is Jay-Z. This is what he started out as; rapping about life on the streets, and now he raps about how lavishly he lives, yet people still love him, and a lot of people consider him the G.O.A.T. It may just be me, but I like to accept the mainstream and see artist go big. Too many people take the hipster approach to music nowadays
ReplyDeleteI never knew what "backpack rapper" meant and this blog explained it well enough. I do agree that Kanye and Wale started out as backpack rappers. I think that with more success/changes in their career, they have strayed from this style.
ReplyDeleteI love backpack rap, some of my favorites are Lupe (even though he could be considered mainstream now) and XV. Backpack rap is a cool concept and if you look around you can find some really good backpack rappers out there. But you can't blame or criticize them for becoming more mainstream if they have that opportunity. If you were an aspiring rapper you would probably go after the money and the fame too!
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of backpack rapping until I read this blog so thanks for explaining it to me! Also, i never really listened to Wiz, Kanye, or Drake until they got really famous and were all over the radio so I wouldn't be able to tell a difference between their old and newer stuff but I'm going to go listen to it now!
ReplyDeleteI as well had never heard of backpack rapping and it was very informational. Definitely a side of hip hop that I am very interested in now. Good job displaying it!!
ReplyDeleteI like how you described backpack rappers. One of my favorites by far is Tha Joker
ReplyDeleteI love the use of Drake in this example and how hes an exception. I do believe that Childish Gambino is more of a backpack rapper though. Gambino still holds onto his backpacker style however Drake's has evolved into something much more complex despite it being mainstream
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