Diddy -"DJ's Killed Hip-Hop"

[Urban Relations]

In a recent interview with MTV Diddy said, "People have figured out the formula when they make records for radio, and DJs ain’t DJs no more. DJs don’t break records no more. DJs don’t play album cuts. DJs play what is going to move the crowd. DJs, they don’t expose you to the newness. That was the DJs’ thing. Hip-hop is in a recession also.”

Read the Rest
Here

This is a strong statement. How y'all feel about this?

[DJ G.Brands]

Not every dj is all commercial but i do believe the majority of them have adjusted the crate a bit because of crowd response.

[Jason Hill]

I think artists need to do their research, and djs gotta push some of this new unsigned talent.

[Rising To The Top Records]

The entire music business is in a recession and the ultimate reason is that everyone is chasing money instead of chasing good music. Everyone is afraid to do "their thang", so everyone just follow suit and play it safe. That is why djs dont break album cuts, they just follow suit and play the "hot" or in my opinion "the not so hot" songs that everyone else is playing. Someone needs to stand up, be their own man and play what they feel is good music, not just what everyone else is playing. A&Rs need to do the same thing. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO GO OUT ON YOUR GUT and sign someone you feel is hot. Dont just look at numbers and say "Well, since that song did good, ima try to find someone that has a song like that!!" FIND THE NEXT HOT SONG!!! But, like I said everyone is chasing money and afraid of losing their jobs so they just follow suit and play it safe. But if someone dont take a stand, people will lose their jobs anyway because the public is tired of the same old BS the record industry is giving them. Thats why the people dont buy records anymore. We need better music. We need DJs and A&Rs to find and break this music, dont just follow suit with whats out there, because the people dont like whats out there!

[brianvianna]

i have to agree being a former dj that started out in the early 80"s we were breaking records every week that came out of the record store today alot of djs want you to pay them if your a indie artis or there asking you how much is your budget just to get behind a record and the funny thing is nobodys paying for music anymore so whats the diffrence my motto is if the records hot im playing it i dont care whos on it thats what i did and thats what the people want. who wants to hear the same 20 records over and over again.and it might seem that im hating on djs but thats not true i loved to dj and i love to listen to djs doing there thing but remember your doing because you love to spin and play music thats why i did it it wasnt about money to me it was about going to the hottest record stores in my area going thru the crates picking out the hottest shit and playing it at the clubs and dances and everybody coming up to you asking who that artis where can i get that song so just break records do what you do

[The Wave]

I don't know where Diddy gets off, I mean if anybody ruins artists it is him. I've been on just about every kinda table from commercial radio, Music and Program director, some club, to now internet radio. I mean, I used to get into fights with major labels cause I would play what I thought was the best song from an artist as opposed to what they were putting out as the single, thus the reason we don't play "album cuts". (might be my fault they stopped sending out the full cd - lol).

But to this day I still don't know why commercial radio is resistant to local artists. I had that fight too with my GM. In the clubs the owners want to make sure their patrons are happy, so can you imagine you got a good set goin and Def Jam walks in and says "here play this", which turns out to be some of the wackist shit out? Yeah it has happened, cause even the labels don't seem to get a sense of what the market wants.

As far as being an internet dj, I do have a lot more freedom, because I pride myself on mixing in indie, underground and mainstream music. But then the problem there is that I get music from everybody, everywhere who swears up and down that their music is the shit, which in some cases is true, cause it is shit. I'm gonna just keep that real. Just cause you have a mouth does not mean you can rap or sing!!

For Diddy to put that on DJ's as a whole is totally wrong and I hope that he gets to read what my fellow dj's are saying here. Hell I mean "we don't make it we break it" and I have broken many records in my career in both ways - get it?

Having said all that, yes there are the "corporate" kinds of dj who are the followers, and not the leaders, but like anything people tend to promote the negative versus the good. And as for me as a musician also, I'm doing this cause I love music period!!!

[SD Entertainment (cc)]

I know the company in corporate owned stations have the say so, but I think dj's can still make or brake the record, but this still make it hard for indy artist and companies, but we still pushing hard!!!

[SD Entertainment (cc)]

i feel ya Folk, maybe it'll come back around!!

brianvianna said:

i have to agree being a former dj that started out in the early 80"s we were breaking records every week that came out of the record store today alot of djs want you to pay them if your a indie artis or there asking you how much is your budget just to get behind a record and the funny thing is nobodys paying for music anymore so whats the diffrence my motto is if the records hot im playing it i dont care whos on it thats what i did and thats what the people want. who wants to hear the same 20 records over and over again.and it might seem that im hating on djs but thats not true i loved to dj and i love to listen to djs doing there thing but remember your doing because you love to spin and play music thats why i did it it wasnt about money to me it was about going to the hottest record stores in my area going thru the crates picking out the hottest shit and playing it at the clubs and dances and everybody coming up to you asking who that artis where can i get that song so just break records do what you do

[The Wave]

SD Entertainment (cc) said:

I know the company in corporate owned stations have the say so, but I think dj's can still make or brake the record, but this still make it hard for indy artist and companies, but we still pushing hard!!!

Sure radio is responsible for playing records not breaking them, and the labels each week will ask you where it is in rotation,, cause the higher it is in rotation, the more spins it gets, thus the reason we keep hearing the same song every 30 or 40 minutes, especially if the station has a tight playlist.

[Styngray]

The reason He said that is the Djs are the connection to the people, most Djs follow the radio and industry which hurts new music and artist, which begins to strangle the art form. If you dont sound exactly like your market then you wont get played. Also money has taken the place of the love of the art form so its not enough for an artist to spend the money to make and master a record anymore if he cant afford to have the record broken its like throwing a rock in an ocean one at a time. What they arent understanding is they are leaving it in the hands of those that dont give a damn about Hip Hop, those that can pay to force feed you Drake and lil Wayne and soldier boy an artist or singer that reads rhymes off of a blackberry and another artist with Ghostwriters that have come forward. That brings us to where we are now.

ADRIAN HILEY AKA DJ HILEY said:

THE MAJOR LABELS KILL HIP HOP HOW AND THE MUSIC HIS RECENT MUSIC KILLED HIP HOP

[DJ SHADOE]

hip hop aint in a reccession the fuccin illuminati ( or record companies) pay off the radio stations to spin the same bullshit songs that diddy included make i call it pop/hip hop.. to brain wash ppl. half the songs that are made dont get played or aired because its all about the money now it has nuthin to do with the dj's. i play shit that u aint gonna hear on the radio but since these fags wanna pay off the radio stations to play the same shit 50 times a day.. where is the time to play anything else when all i hear is bubble gum rap all day. so diddy dont blame us blame yo organization.. its the truth and its a fact. half of the artist and music out there dont get spin because yall on sum otha shit so keep it 100 and dont blame us because u or anyone else out yo camp wouldnt be SHIT WIT OUT US ....NOW PUT THAT IN YO SKINNY JEANS NIGGGA

[Dj II D.E.E.P]

I feel that in some ways he is right. But in some ways he is wrong. Alot of people are taking the title "DJ" for granted. I know at least ten people who put that title in front of their name and literally have never put two songs together for an audience in their life. Its just like rap. Everyone's a "AND1 HOOPSTAR" but dont have any fundamentals. Cant beat match(they just press the SYNC function on the latest technology), cant read a crowd, and dont have an ear for music. Its just another hustle. Part of that is the forefathers of hip hop's fault. We are the only genre that i know of where the older generation is so fearful of loosing they're position that they refuse to pass knowledge and wisdom to the younger generation. They just continue to sit back and laugh as you "bump your head" til you get it right.This creates the opportunity for "cheaters" to flourish because their's no induction process. The same way old school hustlers felt when crack came around. Now anybody with $50 can be a dealer when before you had to be groomed. So instead of realizing your gate keeper status, its just something to do to help with the truck note. Of course they're are acceptions, but since I was 16 I've watched this happen. I try to be different in that I give game and at the same time let aspiring people I run across know that you are apart of a freternity and it shouldnt be taken lightly. Not to mention djs have just truely started to get the recognition they truely deserve. So of course some are, to paraphrase JUVENILE; "Actin like a nigga that aint never had shit".....Just like when rap as a hole started seeing real money, it took a while for rappers to get the "wildin" out they system. DJs gonna need that same time. And lastly a person in Diddy's position should send A&R's to find djs the same way they are supposed to find artist......Dont come in to a city, turn on your radio and listen for which djs name get mentioned the most. If you are into rap/hiphop you need to come to the hood and see hits in there natural habitat. There is where you will find the djs (like me) that are willing to take a shot on the song/artist. My crew ( DJZNDAHOOD) is based on that principle, but we are not the only ones. Stop celebrating the "dj" that can make everybody look at him and start celebrating the dj that makes everyone look at you!

[DJ G-Spot]

Wack artists, wack labels, wack promo people, wack radio conglomerates and a wack economy killed hip hop!!!!! Fuck You Diddy, you don't care about hip hop, you care about giving ur kids maybachs.