Slum Village are taking it somewhere, same with The Roots, and even Black Eyed Peas, and all have taken inspiration from electronic music, in the latter two cases drum 'n' bass, but I think that a lot of underground hip-hop is caught up in a romantic past. Take for example People Under The Stairs. Ugly Duckling. It's cool, conscious, fun, but is it really innovative? They're not open to fresh influences. There's actually more innovation in the more commercial sphere, production-wise, with the likes of Timbaland and The Neptunes. I don't think Puff is defining commercial hip-hop at the moment, and hasn't for a couple of years at least. I think he's plateaued and been superseded by Irv Gotti, etc. The hip-hop underground is probably bigger than it ever was, it exists separately from commercial hip-hop. Those bands do better as live touring acts. You have to remember that Eminem was very much part of the underground pre-Dre. Of course the headz will always say Infinite was his best work! :)
> I don't know. I've always seen the world of underground hip hop as being > pretty receptive to incorporating or listening to other styles, but what > percentage of the hip hop world is listenening to or participating in > underground hip hop? I don't mean De La Soul, but the band that presses 1000 > copies of their own record. If this was the culture Eminem came from, it's > not the culture he helps define today. So yeah, I'm seeing mainstrem hip hop > (which doesn't need to be defined by Puff Daddy) this way, but it's just a > generalization. I know many exceptions, but I think the rule holds true. Hip > hop is a big world.
