As an avid hip hop fan, I definitely think the overall quality of the genre has decreased and it’s an issue I’ve intended to address for some while. My love for hip hop escalated once I heard the debut classics of Biggie Smalls and Nas. Prior to that, I was merely a casual listener. Those albums are my favourites due to the excellence of both the production and lyrics. From then, I searched for more and more hip hop classics to a point where I could be described as a hip hop head.
Believe me when I say that I possess an eclectic taste in music. The people I chill with may not think that but if they saw my iPod then their preconceived ideas about me would swiftly vanish. However, hip hop is without doubt my favourite musical genre. It has its own distinct sound (DJ Premier) but it is diverse enough to go with any genre. Whether it be Jazz (A Tribe Called Quest), Classical (J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League productions), Dance (The Game’s Red Nation samples Kernkraft 400 by Zombie Nation, T.I’s Why You Wanna samples Gypsy Woman by Crystal Waters), R&B (Ludacris), Rock (Jay Z’s 99 Problems) amongst others.
Rappers like Nas, Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, Tupac, Eminem, Big Pun etc changed my view on lyrical content. These artists mastered many of the factors that I believe contribute to what makes a sick MC (wordplay, punchlines, content, flow etc). As much as I love other genres, I can’t say I have listened to other artists outside of hip hop that are lyrically of the same calibre (if you disagree, please feel free to comment and enlighten me).
Since 2006 however, the state of hip hop has gone down quicker than Superhead. To a point that lyricism has absolutely no relevance, subject matter has no variety, and the only thing that seems to matter is the latest dance craze and the production. Since 2006, I’ve seen many ‘rappers’ who rap like they never made it past year 1 but were lucky enough to collaborate with a talented producer and they have a hit. They unfortunately bombard the scene with wack lyrics, nonsense, clichés and false advertising. Biggie Smalls said it best, ‘Dumb rappers need teaching’ and the purpose of this post is to point out my current problems with hip hop.
THIS DOESN’T SOUND LIKE HIP HOP
I’m not referring to radio-friendly music as that has always been existent in hip hop. Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang is radio-friendly but I still see that as hip hop. Many of the songs during the dominance of Bad Boy were radio-friendly but I still see that as authentic. No one can tell me that Big Poppa and One More Chance aren’t classics. I’m not even talking about the likes of Waka Flocka Flame, Gucci Mane or Rick Ross who are widely criticised by hip hop purists. They are certainly not the best rappers and I emphasise the word not but they do rap over beats that I would define as hip hop.
I’m referring to the media dictatorship of ‘hip pop’. Where the beats are clearly pop/techno, have no relation to hip hop and you can only tell it’s a rap song because the ‘rapper’ is melodically speaking over it. Artists/songs I would class as hip pop include Pitbull, Flo-Rida, Nicki Minaj’s ‘Check It Out’, Dev, Chipmunk (his debut album), and a lot of Tinchy Stryder’s recent material. This current sub-genre is ubiquitous not only in hip hop but seemingly everywhere else. There are a few good hip pop songs but not many of them. Most of them suck and these happen to be the only type of songs that you hear on the radio or see on TV. I wanna hear that real hip hop!
THE BETTER RAPPERS DON’T GET PROMOTED
Rappers that are respected for their artistic abilities never seem to make it to primetime TV. With MTV Base’s old programmes like RAW and Base Request Show no longer present, their best bet of getting any deserved exposure would be at 2am on MTV Base’s The Nightshift when everyone’s chilling in Snoozeville. A few years ago, Little Brother (one of my favourite rap groups) had a song (see below) that was banned from BET for being ‘too intelligent’. If that’s the case then shouldn't certain acts get banned for ‘not being intelligent enough’.
In 2005, Little Brother released The Minstrel Show which was critically acclaimed but sales were poor. The more credible artists struggle to shift a significant amount of units and that’s mainly because they’re not promoted. Thinking about other albums that were released by artists I rate, I have found that their critical success rarely matches their commercial success and for the artists I don’t rate, its vice-versa. Artists that put out real hip hop like Ghostface Killah, Clipse, Nas/Damian Marley, Little Brother, Clipse, Q-Tip, Raekwon, Lupe Fiasco have all released albums in the last 5 years and have received praise for their work but only one of the aforementioned was certified gold.
The one thing I can say about the better artists is that they tend to be in the business for the love and not solely for the money. Thankfully, those artists tend to have a longer career span and gain loyal fans that appreciate their artistry. Whereas the rest have a hot song but are nowhere to be found a year later.
Anyway that's my opinion, what's yours? What other problems do you think there are? Feel free to comment but please keep your comments civilised.
Peace out!
Really good argument on the current state of hiphop. I am a big fan of the culture and as of late less so of the music because the radio is saturated with watered down rap / pop songs. For that reason I have been going back to old school joints when it comes to hip hop. I find that I am starting to like the UK scene more of late, as certain artists have a point to prove. Another one to used to escape this Wocka Flocka infested US hip hop, is French hiphop. Even with the language barrier, I find it to be so authetic from the flow to beat selection and the overall production.
ReplyDeleteAs I said good post, so I will keep an eye out on the sequel.
The Yak!