As I've been suspecting for years now, it has been and it is going to be nostalgia-based for a while. Slowly but surely the artists are to realize that the path they've been all taking is the path of the damned and leads to the netherworld, and they're gonna revert to 10's, 80's, 50's n... (almost like when ur going on a trip and u take the wrong exit, so u reverse gear back into the highway), and after that we'll just be waiting for a savior to mix the new nostalgia stuff up and make something new so we can all be like "oh, how couldn't I have thought about that sooner" or "Fuck, I also had that idea", and then we'll all copy him and have an original 20's style. pretty sure it will eventually happen as long as the industry allows it.I'd like to know what everyone thinks of the current state of beat making in 2023. For the past while, the beats I hear both here at ILL and just in general tend to be stagnant.
In what direction do you see it going?
I find the beats are leaning more towards Electronic music, to the point where it's like a new genre. Obviously it's the current technology that we have to make beats that is pushing us in a certain direction, but I think it's also the lack of creativity to a point. I don't hear a lot of variety in the Hip Hop world (obviously there is if you look hard enough), but it's not so prominent as it once was.
When I saw the 50th anniversary performance recently at the Grammys, it was just so evident how much things have changed. It started with guys like LL and Run DMC, then onto Public Enemy, Scarface, Method Man, etc., then onto Busta and all that. But then it ended with today's artists and it was so evident how drastically it has changed. The transition from the 80s artists to the 90s artists just seem so natural. Then from the 90s to the 2000s, again, it just seem to be a natural progression. But then it seems the sound from the mid/late 2000s to now - the sound changed a lot.
I know some of the reasons for the drastic change is for example, there's A LOT of beat makers and artists now. There's a lot of money to be made now, so everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and just making what's currently popular. Things like that are a huge driving force, but I think it's an interesting discussion about where beat making is headed.
So I'm just wondering what everyone thinks is going to happen moving forward; if the beats are going to sound more Electronic or will some other style come in and dominate?
Musically speaking, Kendrick will start doing classic west coast shit, Drake will try to revert to his 2015 self, Tyga will still be underrated and Kanye will be either dead or in jail.
On another note, I see the future of music to be bright. rap maybe not but music in general (including the "beatmaking" part of rap), probably. there will always be new miseries to come soon enough. hard times make great art.