The Neptunes: A sign of the superproducer’s resurgence?

The FADER’s editor-in-chief Matthew Schnipper questioned yesterday where the irresistible Neptunes have been for the past few years, pointing to an endless list of collaborations that never surfaced as well as the “semi-tepid” and “maybe decent” records that have. “Maybe their hearts aren’t in it, maybe the depths of soft synths have been wholly mined. Whatever it is, the last year or two have not been solid ones for the once dominant and ubiquitous duo,” he concludes.

He then offers the recently released “Like the Way” by N.O.R.E. and “Raid” by Pusha T as glimmers of hope for the Tunes’ resurgence in the near future. But “Like the Way” is no stray from the era of rattly, vaguely exotic conga riffs that started with Twista’s “Give It Up” back in 2007. And 2007 is coincidentally the year when the beat for “Raid” was made–so what’s really raising Schnipper’s expectations?

Ah, “Odd Future, Lil B and Lex Luger” of course! The “very young folks doing very exciting, new things in rap.” It’s difficult these days to mention these guys, undoubtedly the most exciting thing in hip-hop in recent memory, without reminiscing on Pharrell and Chad’s good old days. Tyler, the Creator blatantly mimics their spacey chords and synths without flinching. But accusations of beat biting are rare these days as pop-rap beats have become more and more indiscernible in correlation with the death of the superproducer. Take Lil Wayne’s new single “John“: produced by Polow da Don: it is essentially a shameless ripoff of “I‘m Not a Star” by Rick Ross, which was produced by the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, who were just as shamelessly biting Lex Luger. (I still want an explanation.)

After the jump, an explanation. Plus, how the Neptunes can regain their glory.

The reason, of course, is the upsurge of the Internet’s power in suddenly rocketing artists to stardom, undermining the sensibility of a label dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars for a beat and forcing ex-superproducers like Polow into desperate attempts at relevance. Remember the rumored $2 million Neptunes/Nas collabo? No longer. Just look at Lil B’s method of crowd-sourcing instrumentals, or Tyler’s strictly in-house regimen. Approximately one in four artists on a label’s roster have been signed in the past year, and labels are now required to spend much more on the cliché 360-degree “international marketing ‘war machine,'” according to a new report. Hits are outsourced. Budget cuts are hard for music producers. And the Internet is the best barometer for buzz.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a die hard Neptunes fan. But Matthew Schnipper is wrong. Pharrell and Chad’s breed of allure is dying out, and the type of longevity they enjoyed seems less and less likely for aspring producers today. The plus side is that music is leaning towards democracy, as an artist’s pull becomes more effective than his/her label’s push. Eco-friendly fibers aside, Pharrell’s best shot at a hit is a hit. Schnipper writes that “hopefully [Odd Future, etc.’s] new burst of energy can be bettered with the sageness of legends”–but it just might be the other way around.