Despite the fact I am a huge metal/rock fan, I have always loved rap/hip hop as well. When I started getting into the genre I found plenty of great artists. I was exposed to amazing records by artists like Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Dr.Dre, and of course Tupac and Notrious B.I.G. All of these artists are legendary and made a lasting impact on the genre by creating phenominal albums that will always be regarded as classics. Currently, the rap genre has pretty much no one who even holds a candle to these legends and the current state of rap is truely pathetic.
The biggest problem with rap right now is the lack of overall talent within the genre. Most rappers talk a big game about how amazing they are and most people buy into that shit. The biggest offenders of the no talent movement in rap is Young Money Entertainment. This record label has pretty much taken over the rap game right now and have pretty much the same level of influence that Death Row Records had in the 90's, except replace Death Row's stacked lineup with a bunch of a cocky, brainless, overhyped morons. Young Money has the most profitable MC's in the game right now and even though they run things, their is not a single good artist on their entire roster.
Lil Wayne, co-founder of Young Money, has been dubbed "greatest rapper alive" by millions of people(and himself, every time he gets the chance to say it he does). This claim seriously baffles me. Lil Wayne should do some research before he says that. Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and Dr.Dre are just 3 icons that are still ALIVE.Lil Wayne hasn't made a record as good as "Illmatic", "36 Chambers" or "The Chronic", he hasn't even made an album that is remotley listenable. I could write another whole long post about why he is so fucking awful, but I will try to keep it as brief as possible. First of all, his lyrics are garbage. He writes nonsencial rambilings about nothing. He has about as many coherent lyrics as the Buffalo Bills have Super Bowl rings. For example, here is a sample lyric from his hit "Got Money". "She Wanna Fuck Weezy, but she wanna rape Wayne". Apparently he is unaware the Weezy and Wayne are the same person. I understand he has an alter ego, but they are still the same fucking person. That's just a warm-up in the shitty lyric department, here is one of my cringe-worthy favorites from his guest apperance on Flo Rida's "American Superstar", "I'll be on a boat, feeding a bitch grapes and crapes, by the way that's French pancakes". Thanks for the lesson Lil Wayne, I was really in the dark about what crapes were. You sure saved me from a Google search! There are endless examples when it comes to his lyrics, the guy doesn't know how to write lyrics for the life of him. In addition to his absymal lyrics, he about as much flow as a corroded artery. He sounds like a frog with Laryngitis when he raps. Half the time he has to be auto-tuned to shit because he mumbles so bad you can't understand what the fuck he is saying. The fact that he is even in the conversation for greatest rapper alive is a joke, he is a hack. I just read an interview with him talking about prison and how he is going to change his music and how he is a changed man and all this shit. Mark my words his next album will be a half-assed ripoff of "All Eyez on Me" by Tupac. He will just talk about how hardcore jail was and try to make emotional tracks that he doesn't have the skill or brains for. My advice for Lil Wayne if he wants to be the "greatest rapper alive": Stop drinking cough syrup, get someone with an education past the 5th grade to write your lyrics, and most importantly, find some talent. Lil Wayne is an abomination that is truely a cancer to rap music.
Young Money's garbage arsenal doesn't end there. Drake has exploded onto the scene recently. Much like his mentor, Lil Wayne, Drake is also one of the worst and most overrated rappers of all time. Rolling Stone claims he is the next Tupac, that saddens me so much. Drake will never be close to Tupac, hell he won't even be the next DMX, Drake's skill is completely absent. On top of his lack of skill, he does more singing than rapping anyways. He is basically the chessy R&B singer that is on every shitty rap song except he is also the shitty rapper, making Drake's music pure torture to listen to. All of his song's he just brags about how fucking good he is and how he's the best ever. This goes for all rappers not just Drake, If you are cocky, have the skills to back it up, Drake doesn't. One track in particular that made me laugh is "Miss Me" were he claims Drake stands for "Do Right and Kill Everything". Seriously? It's kind of hard to act like a badass when you where the kid in the wheelchair on "Degrassi" just a few years ago, so shut your fucking mouth Drake, my grandmother has more street cred than you.
Young Money's empire doesn't end with Lil Wayne and Drake, their next generation is just as bad and will most likely be just as popular. Nicki Minaj, Tyga, and Gudda Gudda are all rising stars on the fast track to super-stardom. Minaj has already pretty much exploded with a string of guest apperances and a couple of hit singles. Just like all of Young Money's roster she thinks she is the shit and thinks she can rap. The funniest thing about Nicki Minaj is her flow, she sounds like Elmo sucked in a bunch of helium. Tyga and Gudda Gudda, like Minaj, are getting big by being on other's peoples songs. They have the Young Money keys to success: shitty lyrics, non-existant flows, cocky attitude and just an overall lack of a clue to what they are doing.
Young Money Entertainment as a whole just blows my mind with amount of pure garbage they produce. It also blows my mind how they were able to find most of the worst rappers on the planet and put them on one label. They are like the rap equivalent of the 2008 Detroit Lions: a disgrace to their respective game. In a genre that is currently full of so much shit, Young Money are the kings of the bottom of the barrel.
Another trend that is currently sickening is how some of the once great have fallen from grace and taken a turn for the worse. The biggest offender of this is Eminem. Eminem was once at the top of the game. His first 3 records are masterpieces, Marshall Mathers LP and Slim Shady LP, in particular, are some of the best rap albums I have ever heard. He was a clever, fantastic rapper who didn't give into anyone's shit and did his own thing. Sadly, those days are behind him. Encore, started the decline. Relapse despite being alright, reduces in quality each time you hear it. Very few tracks are above average and it lacks the power of his older material. The transformation into complete shit was complete this year when he released Recovery. When I listened to that record I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I can't even convey into words the level of dissapointment I had while listening to that record. Recovery is mainstream, lackluster, bullshit. He no longer raps with any intensity or intelligence, he just writes uninspired trash to get a paycheck. Radio airplay is clearly a factor as well, the old Eminem would never bring in Rihanna, Pink or Lil Wayne for guest spots. The fact that he has stooped to this level is truely pitiful and just fucking lame. Jay-Z has done pretty much the same thing. Jay-Z has never been one of my favorites, but he was pretty good and his talent was undeniable. Then came The Blueprint 3: what the hell happened? Again, just mainstream shit, bring in Rihanna and other awful guest artists for mainstream appeal, get lazy in your lyric writing and create the same recycled shit to get your records to sell better.
During this time where the mighty have fallen, Nas has stayed true to his roots. He has been conistent throughout his entire career. He has stayed prevelent without the help radio airplay and gimmicks. The most impressive feat in my opinion, while most of his peers from the 90's are selling out and making the worst records of their career, Nas still has a creative vision. This year he teamed up with Damian Marley and released a record called "Distant Relatives". "Distant Relatives" is amazing, unique, and experimental. It's refreshing to see a mainstream rapper like Nas still making killer records. He is a bit under the radar right now and the punks like Lil Wayne, Drake and Gucci Mane should take notes and think twice before they say they are the greatest around.
Underground Rap on the other hand, is currently loaded with talent. Underground Rap is why this piece isn't called "Hip-Hop: A genre that is completely dead". This genre, despite all the talent present, is completely ignored by radio airplay, magazines,TV and most improtantly fan bases. The lack of radio airplay and all that shit could be why this scene is so good, but it's just pains me to see these talented artists getting no attention while talentless, overhyped, hacks get all the glitz,glamour and acclaim. Artists like Atmosphere, Jedi Mind Tricks, MF Doom, Immortal Technique, Brother Ali, Celph Titled and countless others are among the artists that are amazing in this genre. They have intelligent lyrics, tremendous flows and diverse, memorable beats. These artists are such a breath of fresh air in this wretched rap game right now. Underground Rap is the lone saving grace that gives me a slight ray of hope for the future of rap. Hopefully more people can find out about these artists and their exposure and popularity rises. It's truely a travesty more rap fans don't listen to these artists.
In conclusion, the balance of power in Rap needs to shift. I am really sick of talentless douchebags like Lil Wayne,Drake,Gucci Mane, Rick Ross etc of getting all the spotlight and accolades. I am not a "hater" and I know I will get a barrage of comments from saying that. In all honesty, I wrote this piece as a rap fan who is just sickened by what has happened to rap, It's really an outrage. Rap now is just all about stupid shit like swag and money and other songs are truely about nothing. Another issue is the wrong people are famous, the talented artists are trapped in the realms of obscurity, while the lesser artists reap the benefits of millions of fans and shit-tons of attention, that's a fucked up system. I think people just need to branch out, listen to the lesser-known acts instead of the same 3 artist rotation and see for themselves the amount of talent that isn't being exposed. I know one article from some prick on the internet won't change that, but if just one person reads this and checks out some lesser-known rap, I have done my job. When it comes to most rap right now, shit sells and everyone's buying.
Muse hit a home run with Black Holes and Revelations. Rarely is a record this layered and perfect. This record is filled with epic song structures,amazing hooks and an array of different sounds. Matt Belleamy is one of the best vocalists in music right now. His voice is so powerful and makes these tracks even better than they already are. Black Holes and Revelations is a stirring classic by one of the most talented and just plain best acts in all of music right now.
MF Doom's visonary oddball masterpiece MM..Food is the best record of his career. His signature blend of fun and intelligent is at it's peak here and MM.Food features a good amount of MF Doom's best tracks on here. MM..Food also features the most intresting samples of Doom's career. Rap needs more creative and smart artists like MF Doom.
