The Decline of Hip Hop

[Ashley Schovitz]

Who else thinks that lately that Hip hop and rap has just gone downhill? I mean we aren't getting that many good or unique artists anymore. Seriously it wasn't this bad when I was young I feel sorry for these new group of teenagers listening to this garbage. Lil Mama and Soulja Boy need their contracts ripped. Come on, that Youtune song he made that made him famous is garbage it just repeats that horrible tune and he barely does any rapping and the rapping that he does is weak. have you heard of his newest video check it out here, the worst garbage ever. Nas was right this genre's dying.

[Shoeberto]

Modern popular rap and hip hop is absolutely awful. There's no innovation or attempts to push the genre making it to the mainstream.

I blame it on the fact that most people could be qualified as musically retarded. They don't want to hear creative beats, or uniquely arranged samples, or socially biting critique in the lyrics. They want to hear the same THUMP... THUMP THUMP, with a steel drum playing four notes, and a guy yelling "SUPAMAN THAT HO" in a barely intelligible voice for five minutes.

It's sad, but it's this way with most things in pop culture. I read a good article on anti-intellectualism in the US that really explains this pretty well. People are just stupid.

[Roto13]

"Unique hip hop artist" is kind of an oxymoron.

[Ashley Schovitz]

How?

[DK]

I always dread Hip Hop threads on this forum because every time I look in it I'm afraid someone who is totally ignorant about the genre will have come in and said something dumb and make me cringe with embarrassment for them. I think post #3 is a record!

Anyway, Mainstream Rap and Hip Hop has been utter e for longer than I can recall. But the non-mainstream stuff is thriving quite well, I think. At least most of the stuff I'm hearing these days is good . It's none of these artists fault that the mainstream public are idiots. It just means you have to get out and look for good stuff yourself. Last year had one of the best Hip Hop albums come out for mine, was easily in my #5 of the year. In fact, if Windmills of the Soul was last year that would make two, but I can't remember.

[Jessweeee♪]

...but you have to wonder how they got so far


The only way I have of knowing popular Hip Hop music is people talking about it at school, since I don't really listen to it myself. Personally I thought that the Souja Boy song they kept rapping was kinda funny n.n

There was some talk about a song with the meow mix theme in it. I wanted to hear this song for myself!

[Ashley Schovitz]

I always dread Hip Hop threads on this forum because every time I look in it I'm afraid someone who is totally ignorant about the genre will have come in and said something dumb and make me cringe with embarrassment for them. I think post #3 is a record!

Anyway, Mainstream Rap and Hip Hop has been utter :skull::skull::skull::skull:e for longer than I can recall. But the non-mainstream stuff is thriving quite well, I think. At least most of the stuff I'm hearing these days is good :skull::skull::skull::skull:. It's none of these artists fault that the mainstream public are idiots. It just means you have to get out and look for good stuff yourself. Last year had one of the best Hip Hop albums come out for mine, was easily in my #5 of the year. In fact, if Windmills of the Soul was last year that would make two, but I can't remember.

You don't make a valid argument as how are these people going to find these artists if they're not even heard of. Awards like the grammys and such are supposed to promote these good artists, but they aren't even there. The mainstream hasn't always been bad you've obviously never heard from artists like Mos Def, Nas, Kanye, Tupac, Biggie, and Public Enemy.

[Shoeberto]

I'm pretty sure he actively listens to quite a few of those, actually.

You can claim that those are mainstream, but with the exception of Kanye, Tupac and Biggie, most average radio listeners probably haven't heard of those artists. On the other hand, most everyone knows 50 Cent, who is a walking travesty.

[DK]

The internet is like, the greatest tool for finding music known to man. If someone is incapable of finding new music online then I don't think they'd be capable of much else at all. Also, your arguments aren't exactly valid when you list two people who've been dead for like 12 years, and a group that have not been influential for almost as long. Clearly you weren't reading what I said anyway because I didn't say the mainstream was never good, I said it hasn't been good for a while. Kanye's last album was decent but it was hardly hip hop, and as great as Nas is he can't cancel out years of 50 cent, Ludacris, etc bullshiets that have been permeating the mainstream of hiphop for the last decade or more.

Edit: Not to mention that Kanye is a great producer but an utterly mediocre MC, and Tupac was ridiculously overrated. Sure, he had some amazing tracks, but he has a fair amount of total drivel as well.

[Shiny]

Lately? This has been happening since the late 90s and possibly even earlier. Like with most genres, some idiot always has to come in a ruin a good thing. Luckily there's still some great musicians out there, but you just have to dig a little deeper to find them. With that said, there are still good Hip Hoppers in mainstream (like Lupe for instance) though they're definitely the minority.

check it out here

No. Just no.

[Ashley Schovitz]

I'm pretty sure he actively listens to quite a few of those, actually.

You can claim that those are mainstream, but with the exception of Kanye, Tupac and Biggie, most average radio listeners probably haven't heard of those artists. On the other hand, most everyone knows 50 Cent, who is a walking travesty.

Everyone knows who Biggie and Tupac are back when they were living their songs were played on the radio, all the time but there were pojts that Tupac stopped playing here on the East Coast because of the feud, but they were like the biggest MCs known. Oh to DK a lot of these people don't have internet access and even if you do you just can't type up rap artists you haven't heard of and instantly find good underground music.

[Ryth]

Hsu got it down just about perfectly. Most people are musically retarded and have no problem listening to Soulja Boy's repeating choppy samples, awful snappy annoying beats, and repetitive shallow lyrics coupled with a sorry excuse of a "flow."

As for the rap scene today, there are a good amount of rappers nowadays still putting out some solid material. Left-Handed Scientists and Dälek come to mind immediately. The genre has declined though, you aren't seeing anyone putting out another The Low End Theory or Liquid Swords or anything but can you really expect anyone to do that?

[DK]

Put your hands up

Shiny is a big fan of this group. She actually has a little crush on the white Ice Cube circa N.W.A wannabe!

[Shiny]

Put your hands up

Shiny is a big fan of this group. She actually has a little crush on the white Ice Cube circa N.W.A wannabe!

Hey what. No I'm not! One of those guys is some hot shot actor now which just proves that actors should never be rappers and vice versa.

You are attracted to this man:



You have a picture of him plastered on your bedroom wall.

[DK]

And the other one is one of the most prolific Hip Hop producers ever now. Crazy.

Also, god damn right I do. I'd be on flav in an instant. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH BOOOOOOOYYYY