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For the record there were 'soul beats' long before Kanye. Ghostface has been using that style since the 90s. In fact Kanye has been biting off Ghost since the beginning and has been called out for such.

Lots of artists didn't 'go all gangsta' to make it. He isn't the first or the last.

The Blueprint being one of the greatest hip hop albums ever made is also highly debatable.

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His newest album is an example of this as well. Ghostface has had a cult following but limited wide appeal. Death Grips gained a cult following in the past 1.5 years, and much of Yeezus sounds like a bad Death Grips album.

Claiming that soul beats weren't a thing in 2000 hip-hop is silly. Released in '99: Mos Def's Black on Both Sides, the Roots' Things Fall Apart. Hip hop started with soul beats, and soul has always been a part of hip-hop.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_music

Mos Def is also a great example of someone who 'didn't go all gangsta' to make it. The statement that 'going all gangsta when thats how people made money' is really illustrative of a certain ignorance about hip hop and sadly one that is widely held. It was one route yes but many artists did not follow it.

Edit: Removed part of comment that may have sounded overly negative.

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