9th Wonder is settling into his role as a Hip Hop veteran, and he has now proposed a new partnership with two of his peers.
On Friday (July 12), soon after Common and Pete Rock’s joint album went live, the 49-year-old took to social media and shared his thoughts on aging MCs and beatmakers in the current landscape of music.
“This Common and Pete Rock album begs the conversation I’ve been having with folks for at least 20 years now,” he wrote. “Adult Contemporary Hip Hop needs its own category. Word to DO IT ALL from Lords of The Underground….we’ve been said this homie!!!”
In a follow up post, he tagged Brooklyn duo Smif-N-Wessun and wrote: “Our turn.”
This Common and Pete Rock album begs the conversation I’ve been having with folks for at least 20 years now.
Adult Contemporary Hip-Hop needs its own category.
Word to DO IT ALL from Lords of The Underground….we’ve been said this homie!!!
— 9th Wonder (@9thwonder) July 12, 2024
Our turn @Smifnwessun@9thwonder@Soul_Council@DuckDownMusic@JamlaRecords
— 9th Wonder (@9thwonder) July 12, 2024
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In addition to his plans of collaborating with his contemporaries, the former Little Brother producer also has his finger on the pulse when it comes to the current generation of artists.
Following Latto‘s jaw-dropping performance of “Sunday Service” at the 2024 BET Awards two weeks ago, he took to social media and praised her prowess as an MC while contemplating how far she can go with it.
“Man.. The opening sequence of that @Latto performance,” he wrote. “Man Latto can rap. I wonder what she would sound like over a beat that sounds like ‘Unbelievable’ by Biggie?”
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When a fan suggested that “A lot of rappers would sound better over better beats,” the North Carolina native responded: “Nah. CAPtain Crunch…what a CAPtivating response. Lots of better beats can’t save rappers….you may ignore the rapper but it can’t save them..Its presence as well…if she sounds that good over that…imagine the latter.”
Replying to another person who agreed with the initial post, he added: “Tone. Presence. Flow….those are the hardest techniques to teach…. It doesn’t have to be lyrical Miracle….”
The aforementioned award ceremony was filled to the brim with star power.
Among the many highlights of the evening was the All-Star tribute to Usher, which kicked off with Childish Gambino covering the R&B icon’s 2001 hit “U Don’t Have To Call.”
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Keke Palmer, Summer Walker, Coco Jones, Marsha Ambrosius, Tinashe, Chlöe Bailey, Teyana Taylor and Victoria Monét all subsequently joined in with a medley of some of his biggest hits, including “Superstar,” “There Goes My Baby” and “Nice & Slow,” before Latto closed out the extravaganza by rapping Ludacris‘ part on “Yeah!”
