What has happen to hip hop?

[Benny B]

Be clear everyone...Wyclef and The Fugees held it down, and "The Score" was a great album. 



As far as the hip-hop of today...most of what I hear (and I don't listen to much of it) sounds tremendously WACK. The southern sound dominates, and the artists tend to be short on lyrics and long on repetitive party chants.

The idea of an emcee carving his own niche and trying to not sound like anyone else appears to be pretty much dead. Its about selling cds instead of proving your unique skills, making the genre more hip-POP than hip-hop in the 2000's.

[True]

That is not  really current rap music in style or substance, but LEGENDARY artists who comprise the very top of the genre's lyrical food chain coming together to do a record.  Most people under the age of thirty who listen to today's rap music have never even heard of Rakim (the greatest), Nas, KRS1, or DJ Premier. And that is sad.

Kanye had ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS being on that recording with those other emcees.  Simply a bone thrown to the younger generation of rap music listeners.

Yes, nothing will save hip hop, but there are at least some few up and coming cats who keep the spirit alive, like Hopsin for example. But yes, the golden days are defintly over. Commercial (c)rap is what we mostly get...

[Benny B]

Immortal Technique is the only relatively young emcee consistently putting out new material that truly impresses me. Admittedly, I don't follow the new music scene all that closely anymore.

Sadly, I get the feeling Tech is largely only appreciated by older rap heads like myself, and is somewhat of an "underground" rapper who probably is largely unknown to high school and college age rap fans.


Representing Harlem, USA! 

[claymore]

Hasn't Wyclef always been a f a g g o t?

But let's be honest, any man that sings is really a homo. Those gangsta rapper's can act tough all they want, no true heterosexual would pick up a microphone and start singing.

"Hasn't Wyclef always been a f a g g o t?"....Yes

[Moen]

"Immortal Technique" hahahaha

Played a little too much Mortal Kombat probably

[Nicademus]

Wyclef was never hip-hop more like hip-pop.  The South ruined a generation of rap starting with Master-P and the HotBoyz.

The best rap right now you won't hear on the radio. 

[bigmc]

what happened to hip hop

that got tupac shot

[Benny B]

Wyclef was never hip-hop more like hip-pop. 

incorrect

The South ruined a generation of rap starting with Master-P and the HotBoyz.

tend to agree

The best rap right now you won't hear on the radio.

Most likely true. However it didn't used to be that way during rap's golden age, and I don't have the patience to search for hidden gems by scouring the internet.

[Option D]

Immortal Technique is the only relatively young emcee consistently putting out new material that truly impresses me. Admittedly, I don't follow the new music scene all that closely anymore.

Sadly, I get the feeling Tech is largely only appreciated by older rap heads like myself, and is somewhat of an "underground" rapper who probably is largely unknown to high school and college age rap fans.


Representing Harlem, USA! 

Kendrick Lemar.
Section 8.0 and Overly Dedicated... dope

[tbombz]

hip hop isnt really popular anymore.. you still get a little bit here and there..  

this is pretty good..  snoop and wiz.. soundtrack to their movie "high school"  (if you havent seen it, its on netflix. pretty good if your into marijuana and bitches)

[/youtube]

[Benny B]

what happened to hip hop

that got tupac shot

The best rap was made before Mr. Shakur came on the scene as a solo artist.  He was a very charismatic, if schizophrenic, dude. However, he didn't do much to advance the lyricism of the art form in any significant way, in my opinion.

You can listen to virtually any Tupac song and be able to recite the lyrics word-for-word along with him after hearing it three times. Try doing that with some of Rakim's, Big Pun's, G Rap's, Nas's, or Treach's best work, to name a few. It'll take you five or ten tries to get it right at a minimum. 

Had he not behave so erratically during his short time on earth and get himself killed, I think Tupac may have had a more impressive career as an actor than as a music artist.

[tbombz]

your talking about hip hop, benny.. spoken word hip hop mostly.. rap is something a little different.. more about the rhythm than the lyrics.. tupac absolutely crushed it in terms of rhythm..  lyrics not as much..

[Big Chiro Flex]

Most likely true. However it didn't used to be that way during rap's golden age, and I don't have the patience to search for hidden gems by scouring the internet.

Then you are not a true fan, you are a fan of convenience. Hiphop is not dead, it is alive and well,  but it does not reside on the airwaves of mainstream America. As posted above, hipPop rules the airwaves, dominating top 20 lists. It's all monkeys yellin over club beats. 

[Nicademus]

incorrect

No that is correct.


The best rap was made before Mr. Shakur came on the scene as a solo artist.  He was a very charismatic, if schizophrenic, dude. However, he didn't do much to advance the lyricism of the art form in any significant way, in my opinion.

Obvious East Coast bias.  That's cool though because my golden age is 90's West coast rap.  I'll take 2Pac, Dre, Spice-1, Quik over any East Coast MC.

[Benny B]

your talking about hip hop, benny.. spoken word hip hop mostly.. rap is something a little different.. more about the rhythm than the lyrics.. tupac absolutely crushed it in terms of rhythm..  lyrics not as much..

PLEASE do not attempt to lecture on what is the meaning of hip-hop, son.  I have forgotten more about this cultural art form than you will ever begin to know. You read about it...I lived it.

the greatest 

Eric B. & Rakim - My Melody

[Wiggs]

your talking about hip hop, benny.. spoken word hip hop mostly.. rap is something a little different.. more about the rhythm than the lyrics.. tupac absolutely crushed it in terms of rhythm..  lyrics not as much..

Hahahahahahhahahahahahha hahahahha...Leave it to Tay-Tay to open his mouth and insert foot or cock in it.  Why don't you continue to educate a n*gga from NY about the finer points of hip-hop and rap.

You're such a nasty, confused little imp.

[Benny B]

Obvious East Coast bias.  That's cool though because my golden age is 90's West coast rap.  I'll take 2Pac, Dre, Spice-1, Quik over any East Coast MC.

Dre? Quik? L-O-L.

There have been some great rappers from various parts of the country, but Dre & Quik do not qualify.
Snoop? Xzibit? The D.O.C.?, among many others? certainly

Of course I have an east coast bias. That is where the art form began [BRONX, NEW YORK], and where the greatest lyricists resided during the golden age of hip-hop (New York metropolitan area).  

From wikipedia:
Hip hop's "golden age" (or "golden era") is a name given to a period in mainstream hip hop, usually cited as being a period varying in time frames during the 1980s and 1990s said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence. There were strong themes of Afrocentricity and political militancy, while the music was experimental and the sampling eclectic.The artists most often associated with the phrase are Run–D.M.C., Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, De La Soul, EPMD, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Jungle Brothers. Releases by these acts co-existed in this period with, and were as commercially viable as, those of early gangsta rap artists such as N.W.A, the sex raps of 2 Live Crew, and party-oriented music by acts such as Kid 'n Play, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and MC Hammer.

[Benny B]

Personally, after the top two well-earned spots, I would definitely move some artists around in the pecking order. However, without really studying it too closely or going through the list with a fine-toothed comb, I think they did a solid job of at least getting the right names on the list.
Note: I love Lauren Hill, but I feel like she was put at #9 in order to get a female in the top ten (ie., political correctness).


The Source's Top 50 Lyricists Of All Time
Here's what it is according to The Source Magazine Issue #253 on newsstands now:

#1.Rakim



#2. Nas

#3. The Notorious B.I.G.



#4. Jay Z

#5. 2PAC



#6. Eminem

#7.KRS-ONE



#8. Big Daddy Kane

#9. Lauryn Hill

#10. Melle Mel

#11. LL Cool J

#12. Chuck D



#13. Andre 3000
#14. Ice Cube
#15. Slick Rick
#16. Scarface
#17. The D.O.C.
#18. Kool G. Rap
#19. Big Pun
#20. Q Tip
#21. Redman
#22. Common
#23. Mos Def
#24. Jadakiss
#25. Queen Latifah
#26. Big L
#27. Pharoahe Monch



#28. Talib Kweli
#29. Snoop Dogg
#30. Guru
#31. Kanye West
#32. GZA
#33. Method Man
#34. Black Thought
#35. Bun B
#36. Lil Wayne



#37. Busta Rhymes
#38. Posdnous
#39. Prodigy
#40. T.I.
#41. Fabolous
#42. Ludacris
#43. DMX
#44. Canibus
#45. Lil Kim
#46. Rick Ross



#47. Styles P
#48. Royce Da 5'9"
#49. Lupe Fiasco
#50. 50 Cent

[Parker]

Immortal Technique is the only relatively young emcee consistently putting out new material that truly impresses me. Admittedly, I don't follow the new music scene all that closely anymore.

Sadly, I get the feeling Tech is largely only appreciated by older rap heads like myself, and is somewhat of an "underground" rapper who probably is largely unknown to high school and college age rap fans.


Representing Harlem, USA! 

A lot of people are down with Immortal, as well as Jay-Dee (RIP), and MF Doom.
It is the college age and HS that best appreciate the underground rappers. Where do you think Kanye got his biggest push from? It was the college age, and Kanye was considered a groundbreaking producer. Remember him walking around with a backpack, like he was still underground after he blew up.
Then you have guys like Clipse who are that fringe of underground and mainstream, they have sleeper albums, and so does RZA, but he's more into producing.
I mainly listen to R&B, and I have to search for the good shit, because like hip-hop, r&b is mostly garbage. It's the "neo-soul" artists that I like the most.

[Benny B]

A lot of people are down with Immortal, as well as Jay-Dee (RIP), and MF Doom.

Perhaps. Honestly, I wouldn't know. If so, good for them.

It is the college age and HS that best appreciate the underground rappers. Where do you think Kanye got his biggest push from? It was the college age, and Kanye was considered a groundbreaking producer. Remember him walking around with a backpack, like he was still underground after he blew up.

Kanye? For me, who cares. He is overrated and puts out mostly wack garbage. An ego run amok.

Then you have guys like Clipse who are that fringe of underground and mainstream, they have sleeper albums, and so does RZA, but he's more into producing.
I mainly listen to R&B, and I have to search for the good shit, because like hip-hop, r&b is mostly garbage. It's the "neo-soul" artists that I like the most.

RZA is almost as old as many of the early rappers out of the Bronx. He's definitely no kid...likely in his late 40's.

I will always have an appreciation for the art of rap, but its a new day and the sound is different. I mostly only listen to the old-school stuff I like and that bring the nostalgia for me. lol Occasionally a newer artist like a Lupe Fiasco comes into my sights, but that is more and more rare. I don't even listen to music like I used to. You are more likely to find me listening to 70's-80's R&B, or some jazz or classical music if anything.

[Rudee]

If I had legs that skinny, I wouldn't dare wear shorts or trunks.

[NYSTATEOFMIND]

Hasn't Wyclef always been a f a g g o t?

But let's be honest, any man that sings is really a homo. Those gangsta rapper's can act tough all they want, no true heterosexual would pick up a microphone and start singing.

wyclef is................a..... ..... gangsta......rapper? 

[Palpatine Q]

Lol...as if talking is a skill.

Anyone can rap.  Benny B just admitted it, it takes a whole TEN tries to mimic to most complex rappers.

Try picking up a guitar and see how many trIes it takes to mimic Eddie Van Halen.

FucKing rap is a joke, and only morons listen to it.

[The Abdominal Snoman]

Wyclef had a relationship with Lauren Hill, and he's been known to get some fine females.

And as far as rappers singing, thank Nelly for that.
And what happened to hip-hop, people can say Kanye happened to hiphop, or one can say that hiphop is burning itself out

Did you catch the VH1 show about some married couple who's husband does g4p yet claims he's straight.lol


http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/846503/nick-and-becky.jhtml#id=1695588

[Benny B]

Lol...as if talking is a skill.

Anyone can rap.  Benny B just admitted it, it takes a whole TEN tries to mimic to most complex rappers.

No I didn't. 
You can recite the lyrics to a Sam Cooke song after listening to it once or twice. Does that mean you could therefore make a record and become a legendary music artist on that basis?

Try picking up a guitar and see how many trIes it takes to mimic Eddie Van Halen.

Yes, learning to play a musical instrument is more difficult than reciting the lyrics of a song. No shit, Sherlock. 

FucKing rap is a joke, and I am a moron.

On the moron part, yes I believe you are right. 

If you don't like or can't relate to a certain type of music, that's fine. However, being an arrogant asshole about it is not.

You like Eddie Van Halen...I prefer John Coltrane. I am not going to call you and everyone who likes the sound of a screeching electric guitar a "moron."  C'mon son! That's lame.