The Current State of Hip Hop

 Currently in Hip Hop there is a very concerning disconnect from the generations of artists that helped pioneer rap. Artists like Pete Rock and the group De La Soul chimed in with how they felt about the current state of rap. Pete Rock stated in an interview, “These Kids Don’t Give a Fuck About The Culture.” De La Soul was quoted as saying, “Rap is redundant now” in an interview with popular hip hop media magazine, Pigeons and Planes. However I think that this is inherently a problem and flawed argument. The “old heads” of hip hop say that the new age rappers don’t care about Hip Hop culture but cultures change and I think they just don’t understand that change is inevitable. Hip Hop at its purest form started with a dj mixing records accompanied by a MC who delivered rhymes and kept the crowd rocking. Then transformed into a mix of gangster and “conscious” rap in the 90s. That seems to me like the culture changed then. If the pioneers of rap changed the so called Hip Hop culture of their time why is it a problem now that the younger generation has begun to shift the current state?

I think personally that artists should be able to express their music in any way that they like. Rap is an art. You cannot tell someone how to express their art. You can not put art into a box and that is what the new Hip Hop artists are truly doing, expanding. Infusing different genres and unorthodox techniques into their music has allowed for the sound of Hip Hop and its fans to broaden into a much more expansive “culture.” There are still new age rappers that still stick to what would be deemed as classic hip hop. Artists like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Earl Sweatshirt and Joey Bada$$ are prime examples of new artists who keep the culture the way older generation prefers. Classic hip hop will always be the best but many new age artists like Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, 21 Savage, and others have pushed the boundaries of Hip Hop that tried to mold artists into the prototypical rapper. They went against the norm and have seen new mainstream success at 18-21 years of age. In an interview with The Fader, Lil Yachty’s father addressed all of the comments the “old heads” had about his son’s music. “His music is for the kids” said the father of the 19 year old star. These new age rappers are making music for their generation many don’t care if their predecessors love their music or not, it is truly for the love of their fans.

Part of this has to do with the internet and the cult like following many of these new artists receive with the help of streaming platforms like Soundcloud where everyone can tweet about an artists song and it can go viral over night. I believe that rap is in a great place right now because of the many different sounds that have come into the game to give  Hip Hop a breath of fresh air. There are still the top notch MCs like Kendrick and company but there are also more melodic rappers like Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi who are creating a wider spectrum for what the culture is.