Grammy Nominated Producer Mannie Fresh Shares Where He Thinks The Hip-Hop Industry Is Headed: This Generation Got To Pay Attention To The Last Generation

Grammy Nominated Producer Mannie Fresh Shares Where He Thinks The Hip-Hop Industry Is Headed: This Generation Got To Pay Attention To The Last Generation

If there’s one person who knows music, it’s Mannie Fresh — especially when it comes to Hip-Hop.

The Grammy-nominated producer (real name Byron Otto Thomas) discussed the state of Hip-Hop and the direction he thinks the genre is headed in the next 50 years during an interview with Vibe. He feels that in order to advance the genre, artists must be aware of its history.

Mannie Fresh said,

“I think Hip-Hop will still be around, but I just think we just got to change the rules.”

He added,

“This is not to hurt any feelings, but if your feelings hurt, so be it. I think in order for it to keep growing and be bigger and better, this generation got to pay attention to the last generation. You got to know where it came from. You can’t just keep going forward, going, ‘I don’t give a sh*t. I’m about the money.’ We going to destroy hip-hop. Do I want you to get paid? Of course. If you did the job, and you showed up or whatever, do that. But if you don’t know nothing about it, then that’s kind of corny.”

While there’s no way to know for sure, it’s possible Mannie Fresh was alluding to the uproar Diddy’s claim that “R&B is dead” generated when he declared that he wasn’t intending to offend anyone. There’s also the possibility that he was referencing everyone’s not-so-positive reactions to DJ Akademiks‘ comments that old-school rappers are broke and dusty.

DJ Akademiks

Elsewhere in the interview, the “Big Things Poppin'” producer shared that he is occupied with Lil Wayne‘s Tha Carter VI. Fans are eagerly awaiting the album from the New Orleans artist — who many consider to be among the greatest rappers of all time. It’ll be Lil Wayne’s first full-length release since Funeral in 2020.

Lil Wayne

Mannie Fresh isn’t the only industry veteran who has an opinion on the current state of Hip-Hop. As previously reported, Irv Gotti (real name Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr.) recently shared that in the wake of Drake’s oontz oontz album, Honestly, Nevermind, he is considering selecting a new icon for the hip-hop community.

Irv Gotti speaks to TMZ about how Drake’s NEW dance album “Honestly, Nevermind” made him feel pic.twitter.com/pxj7m62XiB

— 2Cool2Blog (@2cooI2blog) June 22, 2022

Irv Gotti said,

“I hope not! ‘Cause that’s the demise of rap. The demise of hip-hop. As long as I’m alive, it can never be the demise of hip-hop. I gotta get back in the game and find me a n*gga. That’s what that album made me feel like.”

He continued,

“It made me feel like going and finding me a raw new DMX, new Ja [Rule], new Jay[-Z] and serving n*ggas and f*cking bringing back great hip-hop. That album is not hip-hop.”

What are your thoughts on what Mannie Fresh & Irv Gotti shared? Let us know in the comments!

[VIA]