Mainstream Vs. Underground (Article)
Hello world & hello hip-hop. Sky Bento here on the check in once again. Hope you & yours are good & well, drinking your water, protecting your mental health, knowing the vibes & all. So I was cleaning the crib the other day and as you do, I let the throwback playlist rock. Specifically I was bumping joints that the great Lil Jon had produced to prepare for The Function’s Hip-Hop Game Show happening this thursday. Sidenote: if you’ve asked me my top 5 producers recently, I’m amending my list to add Lil Jon. But anyways, E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” came on and, aside from realizing how integral Lil Jon was to further establishing the West Coast sound, one line stuck out to me more than anything else: “I dont rock mainstream I bump underground, all that other s*** sugar coated and watered down” (E-40). Is this really true in 2022 though? What even is mainstream and underground these days? Follow me as we take a closer look at the age old yin & yang of hip-hop: mainstream & underground.
As always, these are just my opinions and do not reflect the views of TDN as a label, staff or as a m************ crew. Feel free to crucify me on Twitter @plzsaythebento but without further ado let’s get into it.
So first of all, we gotta remember we’re in the age of the internet. This means we have more choice than ever over what content we consume and what we choose to expose ourselves to. This has effectively ended the distinction between mainstream and underground. Article over. But seriously, this alone changes everything. Even as a blogger, at 27 years old I’ve got responsibilities so I’m not as up on every little underground trend that creeps up prepared to take over the nation. The new waves have to gain a little bit more momentum before they pop up on my radar. More than ever, I actually do feel the distinction between mainstream and underground. In contrast, when I was younger, I remember being shocked to hear that adults or even mainstream media outlets were not completely in touch with all the new artists and songs and styles that I was into. When you’re young, all you know is what’s new. The weird thing about this is that most mainstream media outlets tend to skew more family friendly for the sake of accessibility. That’s a fancy way to say that they keep the kids in mind. It can seem a bit like pandering sometimes at its worst though, which is probably why the youth searches for the raw uncut. To put it bluntly, the youth searches for the underground.
On the other hand, in older ages we tend to get more jaded. This also leads us to shy away from mainstream media in favor of things more meant to cater to us specifically. For a while now there’s been the stereotypical image of the old head who cries out E-40’s complaint with complete sincerity. The interesting thing to mention is that the youth’s idea of underground more often than not will eventually become mainstream, just as all emerging trends eventually become the norm. Just as those some youths become jaded elders complaining about what’s new. But this is about mainstream music and underground music, not new vs old. So let’s break it down deeper.
Three 6 Mafia laid the blueprint for what would become crunk music. At the time, it was mainly a regional sound and most definitely underground. As the style spread further South, it reached a fever pitch in Atlanta through none of than Lil Jon. As Lil Jon and his new take on crunk became more mainstream, it still remained club music. By being confined to a specific scene like this, one could consider it underground. This would remain true until Lil Jon and his new wave of crunk reached superstars Usher & Ludacris on “Yeah!”. Neither of these artists were part of the original crunk scene, or even Lil Jon’s original crunk scene. This was very much a mainstream stamp from outside sources (although they were all artists from Atlanta). By that standard, could it be considered watered down? Well it depends on which point you truly call the genesis of the style. This cycle would continue forward over and over again, through drill, trap, and more. But the bottom line is that these underground styles always make a splash that effects the mainstream.
Great artists steal. It is one of the oldest proverbs known to man. In the world of art, the underground most directly reflects the reality of the creatives. This creates a ripple effect that helps shape generations down the line. I don’t think the conversation is really about which is better. You could argue the mainstream music is more polished and shows greater musicianship through artist development and other ways the artists could be considered “trained”. You could argue the underground music is more pure and that lack of traditional musicianship is exactly what makes it so great and exciting. But all underground sounds eventually become mainstream through their impact. This is one of the greatest things an underground artist could hope for. So to pick one over the other is missing the point entirely. If the music is to be judged, it should be judged based on its own merit. Let it mean to you whatever it means to you.
And if it stops hitting like it once did, move on. There’s always something new to experience.