Has Rap Music lost its soul? Hip Hop is Dead? The Lil Wayne vs Biggie debate

So I’m a long time advocate of Hip Hop and Rap music. Since 2005 I have seen article after article about how “Hip Hop is Dead!” There is no explanation; there are no comparisons other than names of artists. To be honest, my opinion is… Stop living in the past. I grew up in the 90’s, there were lots of artists before I got into Hip Hop who I hadn’t heard of, I did my research and listened to the greats of each era. Now I’ll lose so much “street cred” for this type of post, but realistically, street cred ain’t paying no bills. Respect ain’t replacing my 9-5. I have 2 mixtapes out, my last mixtape reached over 1000 free downloads, yet only 40 sales. That mixtape was Hip Hop and earned me plenty of stripes in the Rap and Bboy community (2 of the fundamental areas of Hip Hop). But did any of these dudes pay for my sh*t? Nope, mostly white kids from European countries (not UK). If I rapped over a couple of House beats, I would have probably sold 400 mixtapes, ballin. Before we begin, there might be a lot of points you disagree with, so here's a random disclaimer...

The Jolly Consumer

Here’s the thing, the problem with the state of Hip Hop isn’t down to the artists, it’s the consumer. Think about it, you spend 15 years of your life doing something that earns you respect, but isn’t paying the bills. These same people who aren’t buying your album then have the audacity to turn around and call you a sell-out when a different demographic want to hit you up with some cash for shows, and albums. Ching Ching, c’mon bro, you would do the same sh*t. So what if I have to compromise my art, and change it up slightly to fit the appeal of this new audience. If you were a plumber, plumbing for free for 15 years in the same neighborhood; then some dude comes along from another neighborhood and tells you “mate, come and work for me, you have to change the way you dress, but you will get paid nicely!” Are you really gonna be like, “hell nah, I’m just trying to keep it real, my children and girlfriend will be fine, they street.” Yer f**k that, show me the money holmes!

Hip Hop today, isn’t so bad

So all of you “Hip Hop” heads should be ashamed of yourself for even considering what’s in the charts Hip Hop. Sure the media refer to it as Hip Hop, but they don’t know any better. Why would you be butthurt over what some large corporations are calling it. If you are gonna cry about that, then Hip Hop should be crying over you glamorizing Rap music as the only element of Hip Hop. I’m a bboy myself, and in my opinion, the bboy community has grown in a positive way. Bboy is 1 fifth of what Hip Hop is, just like how rap music is only 1 fifth of Hip Hop. There are 5 elements of Hip Hop, but I don’t feel like educating you on that right now. I find it funny how these Rap fans are crying over real Hip Hop being overlooked by the masses, but they will quickly overlook every other element of Hip Hop. Slap yourself, the world doesn’t revolve around your definitions of what Hip Hop is. The fact is Hip Hop in the mainstream now is this party music that you have grown to detest. But answer me this, do you remember Hip Hop from the 80’s? It was funky, people would dance to it, the lyrics weren’t too deep, it was a get up and dance type vibe. Of course you had some artists who would cover important topics, but in general, people listened to Hip Hop, and danced Hip Hop to have a good time.

Do yourself a favor, find out where the next bboy jam is in your area, click attending on Facebook and go check out some real Hip Hop. You will quickly see how hot the community is right now. Get out of your little bubble, you’re one of the reasons why Hip Hop is seen as dead (your words not mine). Because you ain’t trying to show homage to Hip Hop, you’re upset that your old school rapping ass ain’t making no money from a mainstream medium that wants pop music, not Hip Hop. Hip Hop is bigger than it has ever been, you will find communities anywhere in the world, there are probably some Martians bumping Wu Tang on a spaceship somewhere.

Lil Wayne isn’t the worst rapper alive

We ain’t getting the mainstream back, and let’s be honest now; in the 90’s we only really mention the Hip Hop artists that we remember for being great. You mean to tell me in a 10 year period, you can name around 30 rappers who changed the game? There were plenty more rappers who at the time were brushed off as clowns, or killing the culture. But history never tells the story of the losers, only winners. Who remembers the big money makers from the late 80’s early 90’s like MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc, PM Dawn? Oh all of a sudden that doesn’t count as Hip Hop right? Exactly what is going on now, went on then, you had rappers who were making money from Hip Hop who weren’t even doing Hip Hop.

Ok finally, if you want to brush aside today’s Hip Hop music as being all about Money, Cars and Bitches… The entire Bad Boy persona was about that. Loon, Lil Cease, Mase, Lil Kim, sorry to say it, but even your boy Biggie. “The back of the club macking the hoes that’s where you’ll find me”, so if this line is a metaphor for some real deep ish, please share it with me. Straight off of the most viewed Biggie track on Youtube. His lyrics are filled with these types of lyrics, although he also created masterpieces, nobody could ever take that away from him. I don’t mind if you have an opinion, just like I don't care if you disagree with mine, and here it is… You are all afraid to move on, you heard Lollipop by Lil Wayne, and Best I Ever had by Drake and dismissed every mixtape, album and feature that anybody in Hip Hop today had to offer. You will never come across a Hip Hop artist you like again because you refuse to give them an actual chance. To be honest, you don’t know what you’re missing, there are too many hot rappers nowadays to even list, but as for the ones who are recognized worldwide, we have Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Pretty much the whole Odd Future clique, Ab Soul & Chance the Rapper just to name a few. I challenge you to search up any of those artists and hold back from bumping your head to it.

Anyways, long ass post, much love and respect for everybody who made Hip Hop great, rappers, bboys, graffiti artists, DJ’s alike. If you disagree with anything I said in this post, unlucky, go write your own post, it will probably get more views than your mixtape anyway… It worked for me! Always remember, if you want his old s**t, buy his old album.