There is a big difference between modern day rap and rap from the past two few decades. Hip Hop revolves more around mainstream appeal as opposed to actual lyrical content. Real "Hip Hop Heads" can see the differences between artist like Public Enemy and NWA or Tupac and Lil Wayne, lyrical content isn't the only thing that moves records anymore but rather the whole package. Being a rapper cannot be confined into a certain box because its about being more than an exceptional lyricist. It is more commercial; that is what Tanz meant in his article " Selling Down: The Marketing of the Hip Hop Nation" when he stated that Hip Hop has assimilated to mainstream media. A good rapper by today's standards, is someone who moves a massive amount of records. Drake would be a perfect example of this. His lyrics are good enough to have the general public and hard core Hip Hop fans hooked onto his music. A good rapper must aslo have the ability to connect with and hype up the crowd. Tyga is not what I would consider to be a "good lyricist". He makes catchy songs, but they have no substance and are lack luster compared to some of his peers. J Cole on the other hand, is arguably one of the best MC's to ever grace a mic but he lacks mainstream appeal.
What's happening in the Hip Hop Culture today, reminds me of what's going on overseas. In the U.K., black music artist have almost been pushed out of R&B all together. Black and biracial singers like Estelle, Leona Lewis, and Emeli Sande have been put on the back burner. Meanwhile, white artist like Jessie J, Ed Sheeran, and Adele have become the new faces of the genre. This comes as no surprise to me, and has happened to other types of music in the past. Rock N Roll was once primarily a "black dominated genre"; a combination of Boogie Woogie, Jazz, Blues, and Jump Blues. Yet today, the genre caters more to a non black audience. Whereas, black artist are often times ignored. I believe that the same might happen to Hip Hop in the years to come.
God, this blog post speaks so much truth. I have all of the same opinions that you have! Hip Hop is slowly degrading itself from what it once was. It has become less about the art and the passion, and more about the business, With artists like Tupac, B.I.G. and even Jay-Z, part of their success and respect came from the struggles they had getting into the music industry and being able to hold their own. Nowadays, however, anyone can become a rapper, so getting their means less. The lyrics do not have the same gravity or meaning anymore. One thing, i saw maybe two little grammatical errors. Watch out for those. I love the way you write. You explain your point clearly and concisely, yet I can still detect your personality ad style. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with everything. I'm so tired of hearing songs about the same meaningless things: Sex drugs and bitches. What happened to music that speaks the truth? How about how tupac warned us about these fake rappers like Young Thug and Tyga that want to rap about Black culture but don't want to own up to it in real life?!
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