The Decline of Hip Hop

Whatever happened to the days when hip hop was about the message, the streets and an ill flow? The days when you spent years honing your craft. Battling to establish your credibility. Hanging with your homies. Chronicling life in the hood.

Now we have the likes of Plies, Flo Rida and 50 Cent defaming the genre. No wonder Nas thinks Hip Hop is Dead. Its no longer about the music anymore. Now its strictly about the money. Its true what they say; " if it don't make money, it dont make sense".

Even the producers these days. See Timbaland oh! The guy will do anything for dough. Given the chance he would be trying to produce Celine Dion and Tom Jones. The dude is just doing it by numbers these days.

I have even tired for Missy Elliott. Its difficult to see any merit in any music she has come up with over them past few years. It seems she only does music so she can showcase her videos. Seems she would just quit music if she was no longer able to make promotional videos. She's gone from cutting edge to just cooky.

Jay-Z is gaining kudos but I have really been feeling his stuff. Maybe just '30 Something' and 'Roc Boyz'. He seems to be dialling it in these days. Maybe Beyonce is infecting him with the pop bug. Too much airy stuff.

I have been loving some of what Ghostface Killah's been doing. He tells it like he feels it. And the stories are always a blast.

Really haven't got too much time for Lil Wayne's nursery rhyming. He's just doing what a lot of others did 10 years ago with the popular culture referencing.

Hip hop has not just gotten dull and uninspired it is increasingly becoming irrelevant. It doesn't speak to issues or have any substance. Its become devoid of heart and soul, what used to be its two major selling points. The current auteurs of the genre just don't have either the light comedic touch or the gravitas to speak to the issues of our times. Even the violence they are accused of is all so very contrived. They are barely worth a mention compared to the streets, TV, books or the big screen. Nowadays they cant wait to get off the street, are desperate to get on any screen and cant read.