5,000 Posts! 500 Threads! A Short History of The Essence. Favourite Threads and Why?
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RuffDraft
Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
A Short History of The Essence, post-upgrade
The Death of The Essence
21 month's ago, The Ill Community returned after another upgrade... after two seasons as being moderator of The Essence and the understanding that another bunch of great posters had been lost; I lost will and hope in The Essence, with the Community and was beginning to think about calling it a day. I was no longer a mod so the spam began to rejuvenate the forum and it seemed a pointless and uncontrollable task without being a mod to bring The Essence back.
Just after New Years (20 months ago), I signed up; in the hope of seeing the older posters turn up, I made a thread about Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek dropping their R:E mixtape: The Re-Union. Skeep was stopping by quite a bit, as was Just.Might.B.Ok and Traestar...
Then Nujabes passed away (RIP); A huge favourite of the old Essence with his contributions to CYNE who I discovered here first and then Nujabes through my own findings online. Still one of the most depressing moments in my hip hop days...
After that, renegade410 dropped a thread, hoping for us to be Bringing life back to The Essence. Some good artists were discussed there, but to be honest; it just proved moreover that The Essence was well and truly dead.
rip.dilla posted to fittingly discuss Dilla whilst Illseed and others discussed Jay Electronica and whether he would do it or not. beats&rhymes discussed Selective Hearing Part 2, which was a great release! But The Essence was still well and truly beat.
Breathing Life into The Essence
Fourteen months ago though, On the 8th June, 2011, ninjasenses posted a thread similar to renegade410's earlier in the year, entitled 'Losing The Essence'. Ninja, Traestar, rip.dilla, renegade, Satyrone, DJ Expanium, Neslom and myself started to discuss the ways in which we could bring the Essence back... we finally started to do so through mixes; the first one being Ruff Draft Presents 'Since We Last Spoke'. That thread eventually died out as we began to share mixes, with ninjasenses creating an Essence Essentials - Official Thread. 'Essence Essentials' being the title for our mixes, which is still used today. Satyrone even promised me a dub-step mix that he's still never dropped *cough* (LOL) following my first Japanese Joy mix.
The Resurgence of The Essence
In September of 2010, I was given my mod-ship back from ThatDamnJay; those tools helped to keep the spam away and the great threads as stickies; but most importantly the posters who had been around at that time and before, continued to post and breathe life into The Essence. Contributing posts, threads, mixes, tracks for mixes in our Playlist of the Month series, feedback to the Artist of the Month's etc. which continued to create a community of posters for underground and independent hip hop and a place for us to discuss and enjoy the music.
Traditions and 5,000 Posts
We've come a long way and it's been by no means easy, but together I think we've succeeded. 5,000 posts on and The Essence is alive again. We share music, we discuss it intellectually without the ? and we continue to carry the torch for The Essence, which I feel is one of the only sub-forums/forums on the I.C. to continue traditions here of the old 2002/2003/2004/2005 I.C.
The Future of The Essence
And that's the most important thing, as we look on to the next 12 months, can we continue to build upon the success that we've had?
I think we can; and if we continue to discuss and share and give valid opinions on old and recent hip hop music, more and more posters will continue to find this place and join in on what hopefully will continue to be a solid sub-forum, run without the ? .
It's The Essence of hip hop after all and after surpassing those 5,000 posts, I would like to thank you for giving me personally a place to share and discuss hip hop and hope that we all continue to enjoy it for what it is... because without this place, I'm not sure if my love for hip hop would continue as it does today.
Discussing The Essence
With that said, what are your favourite threads and why? Which ones do you look forward to the most and why?
Thanks to you all again. We're a community, let's keep it that way and remember to support these artists who keep The Essence of hip hop when they're on the mic, in the booth, in front of a crowd or on the street.
Without them, there would be no Essence of hip hop left for us to enjoy.
RuffDraft.
Comments
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Post of the year by far........
Underground Hip Hop for me is more than just music. It might sound crazy but it saved my life. To keep a long story short i started out with reflections eternal train of thought and it really just opened my eyes. I saw life in a completly different manner, life wasnt just all about what majority of mainstream rappers were saying. This was back in about 2005 so i had ALOT of catching up to do. That kept me in the house and out of trouble that was happening all too frequent.
As far as the essence i have been lurking since 2004 and posting since 2005. It definitely has fell off in the sense of quantity of posters but the quality is still here. I have found numerous artist from here and have put people onto numerous artist as well....thats the beauty of the essence. Hopefully i can draw more posters in, everybody always ask where do i go to find new music and of course i say the essence. Only problem is trying to get people to get on their computer for more than just facebook lol. But all in all im glad that there is life still in the essence...there have been may of times i thought it was dead completely but thankfully its came back. A HUGE part of that is thanks to you eloquent/kenna/ruffdraft(i think those were all the names you had)
props on this thread and props on being the soul of the essence, alot more people than u think really appreciate having this forum....posters and lurkers -
Well definitely those Playlists of the month and various mixtapes gives the visiting viewer a taste of what the independent/underground hip hop culture is all about. So if someone who has been constantly viewing the pages and want to know what its all about, they can listen for themselves.
The Essense is really what I feel is a domain that separates from the rest of the forum, because you don't get those same ignorant posters that flood the Reason.
I'd say for everybody to keep doing what you do right now, and I'm gonna continue to find those newest tracks!!!
~Traestar -
renagade410. wrote: »Post of the year by far........
Underground Hip Hop for me is more than just music. It might sound crazy but it saved my life. To keep a long story short i started out with reflections eternal train of thought and it really just opened my eyes. I saw life in a completly different manner, life wasnt just all about what majority of mainstream rappers were saying. This was back in about 2005 so i had ALOT of catching up to do. That kept me in the house and out of trouble that was happening all too frequent.
As far as the essence i have been lurking since 2004 and posting since 2005. It definitely has fell off in the sense of quantity of posters but the quality is still here. I have found numerous artist from here and have put people onto numerous artist as well....thats the beauty of the essence. Hopefully i can draw more posters in, everybody always ask where do i go to find new music and of course i say the essence. Only problem is trying to get people to get on their computer for more than just facebook lol. But all in all im glad that there is life still in the essence...there have been may of times i thought it was dead completely but thankfully its came back. A HUGE part of that is thanks to you eloquent/kenna/ruffdraft(i think those were all the names you had)
props on this thread and props on being the soul of the essence, alot more people than u think really appreciate having this forum....posters and lurkers
Man, I started out with the same album, just a few years earlier than you… what an album!! It was the first that I really just had the booklet in my hand the whole time just reading Kweli's lyrics and just snapping my neck to the Hi-Tek's beats. Unbelievable and yeah, like you, I started lurking The Essence until 2004. It's great that hip hop kept you inside and occupied happily… so many people without a passion are driven to ? , which is a shame.
Yeah it has in terms of quantity, but to be honest, we must have around 20 regular posters now; I won't list them, but they know who they are… that's not a bad number for a years worth of posting, I'm hoping my new signature will drive people here as much as the threads that we have here will turn the lurkers into posters… but like you say, the true beauty of The Essence is the discovery of so many new artists that we've recently discovered and sharing them. Like I think Traestar did for me with Knonam.
I hope so, I hope lurkers enjoy it as much as we do… it makes the constant posting much more worthwhile lol. But thanks and as much as I may slaughter this forum with posts, it's nothing without the rest of the posters here… who know and share just as much as I do with their posts and contributions… I used to think this sub-forum was becoming like my blog because nobody would be posting but me; but that's no longer the case now… it's great that so many people are here and are posting frequently and the knowledge that you and others like Traestar have on the underground is great for us… appreciate it massively because I don't have anyone in my local area who likes this music I love… so it's definitely my outlet too.Well definitely those Playlists of the month and various mixtapes gives the visiting viewer a taste of what the independent/underground hip hop culture is all about. So if someone who has been constantly viewing the pages and want to know what its all about, they can listen for themselves.
The Essense is really what I feel is a domain that separates from the rest of the forum, because you don't get those same ignorant posters that flood the Reason.
I'd say for everybody to keep doing what you do right now, and I'm gonna continue to find those newest tracks!!!
~Traestar
Yeah, I think the Playlists of the month are a really good way for lurkers to get into the underground; it is definitely one of the best things we have done over the years…
Yeah, that's what I never want to happen here… it's why I'm really sharp on self-promotion threads because I don't want us to lose what The Essence is and become Roc Tha Mic.
Much appreciated Trae, you're always searching and finding gems!! -
Im still relatively new. Essence is my favorite forum tho. i like discussing the Indie hip hop scene and discover new rappers on the come up.
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Lou Cypher wrote: »Im still relatively new. Essence is my favorite forum tho. i like discussing the Indie hip hop scene and discover new rappers on the come up.
Props Lou, great to see you posting regularly too :tu
What are your favourite threads? How did you discover The Essence? -
Im a lot like renagade tho. the first underground album i bought was Royce Da 5'9" Death is Certain. While i still feel its a "Gangster" album, it really is different from all the other gangster albums. i felt pain and anger out of it and it was just too real. that made me look for EVERYTHING associated with hip hop, i went thru my Necro/Horrorcore phase, my back packer/Talib phase then my graffitti punch line/qn5 phase. I still love all these artists (not so much necro anymore but he is a DOPE producer) so now its just a combination of everything i listen to. i would stay in my house for the entire winter and download music all day. Listen to 3 new albums a day, then find some more. I would go over the bandwidth limit by 500$ a month and my parents would flip out on me haha. Since then i download any album from any artist ive seen featured on a song by a diff artist or is associated with an artist i do know. really since 13 it just kind of took over my life haha, ive gone thru 3 computers downloading music. got a 60 GB ipod full and workin on gettin my 80 GB ipod full.
Made me realize what i want to go to school for also, be a concert promoter, own my own little concert company. since i cant rap or anything =/ lol. -
Eh im a stoner i cant remember too many threads, i forget what threads i post in so i never get answers to questions i had haha. I usually am on this website while im at work so the youtube links and all that dont work, but i love how we have threads for upcoming albums. like anticipation threads, How you made the Phonte thread and you update the first post with the most recent news. thats real dope.
and i discovered this place cuz the link in my sig was to a forum i posted at since i was 12 but it recently shut down. i needed a new place to discuss hip hop and i was a frequent visitor to AHH and SOHH so i decided to see what the ill community was like. i knew it would have loads of idiots from the comments on news stories but i found this little forum and its the one i visit most often -
Lou Cypher wrote: »Im a lot like renagade tho. the first underground album i bought was Royce Da 5'9" Death is Certain. While i still feel its a "Gangster" album, it really is different from all the other gangster albums. i felt pain and anger out of it and it was just too real. that made me look for EVERYTHING associated with hip hop, i went thru my Necro/Horrorcore phase, my back packer/Talib phase then my graffitti punch line/qn5 phase. I still love all these artists (not so much necro anymore but he is a DOPE producer) so now its just a combination of everything i listen to. i would stay in my house for the entire winter and download music all day. Listen to 3 new albums a day, then find some more. I would go over the bandwidth limit by 500$ a month and my parents would flip out on me haha. Since then i download any album from any artist ive seen featured on a song by a diff artist or is associated with an artist i do know. really since 13 it just kind of took over my life haha, ive gone thru 3 computers downloading music. got a 60 GB ipod full and workin on gettin my 80 GB ipod full.
Made me realize what i want to go to school for also, be a concert promoter, own my own little concert company. since i cant rap or anything =/ lol.
Dope post :tu I'm the same as you in terms of downloading (116GB's and Runnin', thank ? it's unlimited), that said, I do own over 200 albums as well; so I support as much as I can on the ones I enjoy.
It's great that you're a digger though, I think we all are once we reach The Essence; it's great to discuss and find new artists and feeling that fresh new vibe that you haven't heard before… doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's worth the effort.
Be a great idea to promote your own concerts though! I know there's definitely an opening for that… but definitely need to be wise with how you handle your business… concerts have a lot of b/s that goes along with them, including money issues and broken promises as you probably well know...Lou Cypher wrote: »Eh im a stoner i cant remember too many threads, i forget what threads i post in so i never get answers to questions i had haha. I usually am on this website while im at work so the youtube links and all that dont work, but i love how we have threads for upcoming albums. like anticipation threads, How you made the Phonte thread and you update the first post with the most recent news. thats real dope.
and i discovered this place cuz the link in my sig was to a forum i posted at since i was 12 but it recently shut down. i needed a new place to discuss hip hop and i was a frequent visitor to AHH and SOHH so i decided to see what the ill community was like. i knew it would have loads of idiots from the comments on news stories but i found this little forum and its the one i visit most often
hahaha that has to be one of the funniest posts I've read in time lol. A lil tip though, if you click on your name, you can view your posts that you've posted under 'view forum posts'. That may help your stoner head out :tu lol. That's dope, I like anticipation threads too, I'm going to make another in a minute when I get chance… thanks though, I try to keep the same thread circulating and becoming the official thread, it really helps to make our threads grow and is also a thread that encompasses the anticipation, the first listen and future listen comments, which are all great to look back on.
That's dope, so just by clicking in The Essence when you was perusing the Reason? I always wonder how many click out of curiosity. -
Dope post :tu I'm the same as you in terms of downloading (116GB's and Runnin', thank ? it's unlimited), that said, I do own over 200 albums as well; so I support as much as I can on the ones I enjoy.
It's great that you're a digger though, I think we all are once we reach The Essence; it's great to discuss and find new artists and feeling that fresh new vibe that you haven't heard before… doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's worth the effort.
Be a great idea to promote your own concerts though! I know there's definitely an opening for that… but definitely need to be wise with how you handle your business… concerts have a lot of b/s that goes along with them, including money issues and broken promises as you probably well know...
hahaha that has to be one of the funniest posts I've read in time lol. A lil tip though, if you click on your name, you can view your posts that you've posted under 'view forum posts'. That may help your stoner head out :tu lol. That's dope, I like anticipation threads too, I'm going to make another in a minute when I get chance… thanks though, I try to keep the same thread circulating and becoming the official thread, it really helps to make our threads grow and is also a thread that encompasses the anticipation, the first listen and future listen comments, which are all great to look back on.
That's dope, so just by clicking in The Essence when you was perusing the Reason? I always wonder how many click out of curiosity.
haha well i read the little definition under the essence talking about "True Hip Hop" so i knew thats where i needed to be
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Lou Cypher wrote: »haha well i read the little definition under the essence talking about "True Hip Hop" so i knew thats where i needed to be
Hahaha fair play… -
Man, I started out with the same album, just a few years earlier than you… what an album!! It was the first that I really just had the booklet in my hand the whole time just reading Kweli's lyrics and just snapping my neck to the Hi-Tek's beats. Unbelievable and yeah, like you, I started lurking The Essence until 2004. It's great that hip hop kept you inside and occupied happily… so many people without a passion are driven to ? , which is a shame.
Yeah it has in terms of quantity, but to be honest, we must have around 20 regular posters now; I won't list them, but they know who they are… that's not a bad number for a years worth of posting, I'm hoping my new signature will drive people here as much as the threads that we have here will turn the lurkers into posters… but like you say, the true beauty of The Essence is the discovery of so many new artists that we've recently discovered and sharing them. Like I think Traestar did for me with Knonam.
I hope so, I hope lurkers enjoy it as much as we do… it makes the constant posting much more worthwhile lol. But thanks and as much as I may slaughter this forum with posts, it's nothing without the rest of the posters here… who know and share just as much as I do with their posts and contributions… I used to think this sub-forum was becoming like my blog because nobody would be posting but me; but that's no longer the case now… it's great that so many people are here and are posting frequently and the knowledge that you and others like Traestar have on the underground is great for us… appreciate it massively because I don't have anyone in my local area who likes this music I love… so it's definitely my outlet too.
Yeah, I think the Playlists of the month are a really good way for lurkers to get into the underground; it is definitely one of the best things we have done over the years…
Yeah, that's what I never want to happen here… it's why I'm really sharp on self-promotion threads because I don't want us to lose what The Essence is and become Roc Tha Mic.
Much appreciated Trae, you're always searching and finding gems!!
*sheds tear* lol
seriously I've never got anyone that has shouted me out like that, Thank you very much!
The knowledge that I have about underground hip hop came from hip hop artists
If it wasn't for J-Live, Omega Johnson, Oddisee, Trek Life, Zion I, Tanya Morgan, Nicolay, Jarobi of ATCQ, and many more artists, I wouldn't have learned about different artists in addition to listening to their tour/album stories. Forums are straight underrated, especially former Spitkickers forum and Okayplayer forum, in which I believe still holds many different Mcs and producers on there. I know there's many more like SOHH and what not, but other than those and this forum, you could definitely learn alot from forums. -
*sheds tear* lol
seriously I've never got anyone that has shouted me out like that, Thank you very much!
The knowledge that I have about underground hip hop came from hip hop artists
If it wasn't for J-Live, Omega Johnson, Oddisee, Trek Life, Zion I, Tanya Morgan, Nicolay, Jarobi of ATCQ, and many more artists, I wouldn't have learned about different artists in addition to listening to their tour/album stories. Forums are straight underrated, especially former Spitkickers forum and Okayplayer forum, in which I believe still holds many different Mcs and producers on there. I know there's many more like SOHH and what not, but other than those and this forum, you could definitely learn alot from forums.
Haha, don't worry about it… you do have extensive knowledge on some more under-the-radar artists… has Knonam released anything since???
How do you converse with those though? Is it through Twitter? And yeah, forums are incredible, they'll always be one of the best places to meet and discuss a topic.
The IllCommunity has everything though to me, it has the fools who act a fool in the right forums (Donkey), Grown up issues discussed light-heartedly (G&S/Powder Room), Computer games (The Arcade), hell, the I.C. even got me into comics. So I really like this for those reasons, I don't always discuss hip hop here, which other forums sometimes don't offer. I do want to take a look at Okayplayer soon though… -
I LOVE my Madlib thread and my occasional playlists
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I LOVE my Madlib thread and my occasional playlists
Hahahahahaha you smoking again Dilla or you just being honest about how great your threads are? LOL. I love that Madlib thread too and your playlists :tu You really rep the Essence Essentials section :tu -
Haha, don't worry about it… you do have extensive knowledge on some more under-the-radar artists… has Knonam released anything since???
How do you converse with those though? Is it through Twitter? And yeah, forums are incredible, they'll always be one of the best places to meet and discuss a topic.
The IllCommunity has everything though to me, it has the fools who act a fool in the right forums (Donkey), Grown up issues discussed light-heartedly (G&S/Powder Room), Computer games (The Arcade), hell, the I.C. even got me into comics. So I really like this for those reasons, I don't always discuss hip hop here, which other forums sometimes don't offer. I do want to take a look at Okayplayer soon though…
twitter and facebook has become the new converse device, we just made a Google+ circle
And yea I.C. is like an university, so many different buildings, and departments!
Okayplayer should be still going strong. -
Hahahahahaha you smoking again Dilla or you just being honest about how great your threads are? LOL. I love that Madlib thread too and your playlists :tu You really rep the Essence Essentials section :tu
Anticipating Medicine Show #12
Copped a couple of indies this year -
Hahahahahaha you smoking again Dilla or you just being honest about how great your threads are? LOL. I love that Madlib thread too and your playlists :tu You really rep the Essence Essentials section :tu
People need to know more about Madlib and Oh No, they have a huge following under the radar! -
twitter and facebook has become the new converse device, we just made a Google+ circle
And yea I.C. is like an university, so many different buildings, and departments!
Okayplayer should be still going strong.
I haven't messed with Google+ yet, but I'll check it out, Twitter is really good, I'm only just getting on it though, I dislike Facebook for all the pointless statuses… but following hip hop emcee's is cool…
The University 'phor is accurate! haha I'll check it out in the near future :tuAnticipating Medicine Show #12
Copped a couple of indies this year
Do you think Stones Throw may put them together as a package? I'd be tempted to cop them all for like £70 or whatever…
What Indies you picked up? That Co$$ is next on my list… -
Do you think Stones Throw may put them together as a package? I'd be tempted to cop them all for like £70 or whatever…
What Indies you picked up? That Co$$ is next on my list…
They might after the last one drops
ehm, albums I've copped
Ski Beatz/Royce Da 5'9/Large Professor & Neek The Exotic/Curren$y/Bon Iver/Pete Rock & Smif n Wessun
Those I can confirm -
They might after the last one drops
ehm, albums I've copped
Ski Beatz/Royce Da 5'9/Large Professor & Neek The Exotic/Curren$y/Bon Iver/Pete Rock & Smif n Wessun
Those I can confirm
Nice list :tu What's your favourite? The Playlist of the Month is coming in around 8-9 hours!!! -
Nice list :tu What's your favourite? The Playlist of the Month is coming in around 8-9 hours!!!
Don't really have one at the moment as I haven't listened to em all -
Don't really have one at the moment as I haven't listened to em all
Cool, cool, remember to drop the threads after you listen to them if you can :tu
The Playlist of the Month is up as well :tu -
I found the IC many years ago while looking up some information on a new album called Revolutionary Vol 2 by some guy mentioned on HipHopSite called Immortal Technique, lol. That album was my genesis with UG Hip Hop and it was a thread in the Essence that led me to this forum and sparked my interest. Many threads in the Essence have led me to expand my knowledge and lead me to many hidden gems. I don't stop by as much as I did back then anymore, but I still like checking back here to see whats new below the surface.
In regards to quips about the history of the Essence, I remember when the IC used to do those year end mixtapes of the best songs as voted by the posters. There was an Essence one one year and it had the Wish You Would song by Chino XL, Canibus, and Royce. Kinda ironic now considering the beef, but I mention it because its the only time I ever liked a Chino XL song. Thank you essence for leading me to one decent song by that guy lol.
Nah but its all good. Props to Ruffdraft for resurrecting this little part of the site. -
My Name is Stupot0607 & im a Essence head...
I have no idea how i got into independant hip hop, i think it was due to JMT - Violent by Design and Immortal Tech - Rev Vol 2. and it branched out from there...
i joined the IC 2 years ago although i didnt post until a year ago, and i never knew much about the Essence until then, i stuck around in the reason, until i realised what i wanted from the IC was the Essence.
Favorite threads, man i cant remember specific threads, The playlist ones are definitly a great Asset to the Essence, and with new posters (including myself) they will get better all the time.
I think the Reason actually takes posters away from the IC (& the essence inturn) because The Reason is way too hostile, because of the posters ignorance towards each other. & Lacks discussion about the music. Also there are a few posters ive seen in the reason complaining about the lack of hip hop and its right here!!!! & The irony is that nobodys gonna change their opinions on artists because of other posters. They would rather just insult each other and focus on rappers trends and looks than rather discuss the music.
The Reason = Heated pointless arguements
The Essence = Hip Hop Discussion & Sharing.
The fact of the matter is that ive found many new artists and i wouldnt be on the IC if it wasnt the Essence, Although i enjoy other sub forums (Waiting to Exhale, G&S)
But yeah i definitly give props to Draft for keeping this forum going.... -
stupot0607 wrote: »My Name is Stupot0607 & im a Essence head...
Haha, I hope we've not given you an addiction that leads you to an Essence Anonymous meeting!
Two great albums to get you into Independent Hip Hop, it's great when an independent hip hop album transcends genres or at least into the mainstream hip hop. Gives faith as to the quality of music spreading due to its quality.
What did you do for your first year on the I.C.?
Yeah, the playlists may become big, but when we break 30 songs a mix, I'll narrow it down to one song per person, but I still think that's some way away (Hope I'm wrong).
It's true for the most part, some great threads do occur in The Reason, but to be honest, I spend all my time in here and barely view it. I just clean the spam up when I can and contribute when I can because there are still some great heads in there too. Yeah, some posters will always complain and fall out of love with the music, if not the culture. It's a shame because they're usually just lazy and need a helping hand into finding better music. If someone is cloud-minded and falling out of love with something, they're usually more pessimistic than they were originally and sometimes it leads them away, which is a shame because it's their love of quality music that they crave... which ultimately drives them away from hip hop music, for good.
Props Stupot, it's great that The Essence is that important to some people, it's that important to me as well and to be honest, I know I may hideout in here and dedicate a lot of time,but it's still nothing without every other poster that posts... it's the sharing that you say in your post that really sets The Essence apart, we're all students and teachers in here and as long as it stays that way and we're all supportive of each other, it'll always be a great sub-forum. That's what I originally loved about the original I.C. the knowledgeable posters had a really good rapport and lead the way for the new posters showing them the history, the culture, the music etc. It's what I've used in many ways to gear The Essence as with age and listening, you get to become those posters you originally looked up to... but as you say, in other forums here, nobody listens... and therefore, they never become wise or educated about hip hop and its large variety of styles and artists... I don't see that happening to The Essence though, the music that we listen to usually resonates a certain type of listener in the first place and we're all open minded too.
Thanks for your post Stupot! Great post! :tu
