I read an article on Commonplace called "Why Rap is Going Down Down Down Down Down". I really do agree with the idea behind this. The author shows that hip hop sales have declined a lot in recent years, and he begins trying to spell out why. He explains that the trend is now that the beat makes the song rather than the rhymes in it. As long as the beat is solid, the rapper can talk about the usual topics; how many women he gets, all the cars he drives, how much money he makes, etc. Whatever happened to the intelligent songs that had something to say? What happened to music that actually meant something? However, I do think there are some exceptions to this trend. Newer rappers gaining popularity are the ones with a message to send. Listen to "Take a Minute" by K'naan, "Dumb it Down" by Lupe Fiasco, or nearly any of Kanye's new "Good Friday" songs. We still have people who know how to rap to get a message out rather than rap to get money. Admittedly, we still have people like Lil' Wayne who don't really have anything to say other than how awesome they are. I think the Lil' Waynes of the world aren't the people who are gaining popularity nowadays. People are realizing where rap is and they want to see it restored to the former glory; NWA, Notorious B.I.G., Public Enemy, Tupac, etc. We've seen rappers change themselves from being rappers with a purpose just to fit into their new market (50 Cent, Eminem), but if they can change one way, they should be able to go back.
Matthew
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