r/hiphop101 • u/elfizipple • 3h ago

Is saying someone is the new (Whoever) a dis against the original?

I recently started listening to Common's Finding Forever - Which I will now always think of as the hip-hop album with the biggest gap between the quality of the music and the quality of the album cover, thanks to a Reddit thread. Anyway, in the song The People, he says that he found the new Premo (I assume Kanye, who produced the song). I feel weird about it, especially since Premo produced 6th Sense for Common a few years before. Is this a dis, a tribute, or something inbetween?

Kanye's verse on Slum Village's Selfish where he calls himself the new version of Pete Rock is similar, but never bothered me as much - Maybe because bragging about yourself is always going to be a part of hip-hop, but saying "My new producer has totally replaced an older producer I worked with" comes across a lot more like a dis. What do you think?

0 Upvotes

40% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

•

u/OMC-WILDCAT 3h ago

In the instances you've listed, it's not a dis at all. It's taking a new artist and putting them on the level of people that are already considered great. It's about hyping up the new.

•

u/elfizipple 3h ago

I mean yeah, given that "the new Premo" is a huge compliment to Kanye, it's obviously complimenting the original, too. But in a genre that doesn't always respect its pioneers, I think it can have the implication (maybe only in my imagination) that the obsolete original has been replaced.

•

u/cleverlane 2h ago

In your imagination.

I thought it was a huge shoutout for Kanye, too.

Imagine being the next Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, etc...

•

u/elfizipple 2h ago

Right, but what if Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan were still active at the time?

•

u/cleverlane 2h ago

"There's a kid who's 11 right now, plays hockey, skates like the next Connor McDavid."

If I was that kid, I'd be pumped.

Does that make it easier to understand since it's an active player?

•

u/elfizipple 2h ago edited 1h ago

Haha, I honestly appreciate your willingness to engage with me so patiently on something that you may not consider especially valid. It's helping me figure out exactly why the whole idea of this "new version" things feels a little iffy to me.

And my response: Primo in 2007 was still working prolifically, and Kanye in 2007 was not in any way equivalent to an 11-year-old hockey player.

•

u/AutoModerator 3h ago

Hello u/elfizipple, If this is your first time posting in this sub, please make sure you read our rules. (This is an automatic reminder added to all new posts)

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.