Diddy wants New York rappers to embrace originality
Diddy is not very happy with the current state of New York rap. During his appearance on The Breakfast Club this week, the music mogul checked NY rappers for being at “the last place” just following trends. He emphasized that contemporary rappers should be innovative.
“I’m here to deliver a message to New York artists,” Diddy began. “New York artists, we’re in the last place. We need to press the hard reset button and get back to being us. I love how we can rap on Trap beats, I love how we can rap on Drill beats from London. But what are we rapping that’s coming out of this city, you know what I’m saying? And I don’t wanna sit back and watch my city just stay in the last place and keep on following what everybody else is doing.”
In the past few years, New York has seen itself take the UK Drill way. While the sub-genre has produced notable stars like the late Pop Smoke, Fivio Foreign, 22Gz and more, the soundscape has been having its own problems.
The authorities have been linking various crimes in the city to Drill music. In September, Drill rappers Ron Suno, Shak Ek, and 22Gz were dropped from Rolling Loud NY line up for fears violence would erupt at the festival.