Photos: Kishawn Tyrell D. Gilliam
Curtis Daniel is co-owner of Patchwerk Studios. For the past 28 years, the legendary Atlanta facility has been ground zero for artists including Outkast, T.I., Ludacris, Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane. Larry ‘Nuface’ Compton is a hip-hop historian, who’s popular #NufaceWasThere hashtag helps us keep track of this super fan turned culture influencer’s whereabouts from the 85 South Show to Drink Champs to the Storytime with Legendary Jerry podcast, and every hip-hop function in between.
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Curtis and Nuface recently sat for an exclusive AcknowledgeMINT podcast conversation to discuss the current State of Hip-Hop Culture. Here are some excerpts from the talk.
Music Not Made For Me
I hear stuff targeted towards people at an age that go out, that still drink and party. I ain’t gonna say it’s trash because they ain’t make that for me. If somebody tells me to listen to something, the first thing I’m gonna say is, ‘are they talking about anything?’ What are they talking about?
– Curtis Daniel
Passing the Torch
Rappers that we grew up with, are now execs. We’re seeing T.I. and his son Domani is ripping freestyles. So the evolution is there, the foundation has been laid, it’s up to the next generation to show us that we did right by them. It’s in their hands at this point.
– Nuface
Lack of Evolution
I think my disappointment would be the lack of evolution and the knowledge of how things are being done on the business side of it. I think that there are so many people that have learned so much, and that know so much, but it seems like
in our culture, the people that know too much are the people that get kicked to the curb, ‘cause you can’t really rob them. And so they just keep getting younger people that have less knowledge and experience. They’re able to run the banana in the tailpipe trick on them.
– Curtis Daniel
Still #1
Hip-hop is still the youngest genre, so we still got decades to grow. Like a tree, it’s going to be some bad stems that I don’t particularly like, some fruits I don’t particularly eat, but
I want to protect the tree because you never know what’s going to grow next. It’s still the number one genre in music.
– Nuface
Gate keepers
When I look at certain people that’s in control, and they got an opportunity to change something, then they pull up with the same three or four people. Those three or four people may not be the best for that. I know 10 other people that would do a better job than that, but every time somebody want to do something about music industry, we go to the same two or three people, getting the same two or three perspectives.
– Curtis Daniel
Ageism in Hip-Hop
I love when somebody, say I never heard of Killer Mike. I listen to Travis Scott. Why is it that I’m okay with listening to Lil Uzi Vert? It’s not an age thing, because if that’s the case, I wouldn’t listen to Lil Baby, and have these relationships if age was a factor.
– Nuface
