Today's Hip Hop

According to some of the "Top Dogs" of the Hip Hop Industry, the competitiveness and motivation behind writing hip hop music has gone away. Unlike it was in the 90's, hip hop and rap have taken an unusual turn when it comes to promoting music, displaying oneself as an artist, and even the intent in the meaning of the song. Nowadays the music that we now call hip hop is looked down upon by many people because of the downward spiral it has taken within the last decade. Most artists in today's hip hop culture write about money, drugs, and sex. In addition, most artists in today's hip hop age are not personally attaching themselves to their fan base but rather grow popularity through the world wide web. For example, Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., also known as "Lil Wayne," has topped hits and sells for years and may still be successful in years to come due to the high velocity of popularity he has gained from his music career, scandals, and media. However, it is unlikely that he is involved with his fan base. Has he ever took the time to get to know his fans? I'm pretty sure he is too busy finding new words to make up to even think about praising his fans. On the other hand there is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., also known as "Snoop Dogg", who has been in the hip hop industry for over 2 decades. Considered one of the Original Gangster's and very experienced rapper from Long Beach, California, Snoop Dogg is a respected individual in both music and personal life. He has created foundations and recreational activities within the communities in which he resides from, and he also is a family oriented man (as seen on Father Hood).


How long will hip hop set the trend in the world for sex, money, drugs, and partying? Will rappers/artists ever be motivated to make it to the top on the natural causes of gaining respect? For several years now I have been listening closely to hip hop music and have became sadly disappointed on many occasions. Don't get me wrong, I love going to the clubs and dancing to the beat of a lot of mainstream hits, but when it comes to understanding and grading the storyline behind the overly populated effects and widgets within the song, I am disturbed. As we all know, great artists are those that can connect to an audience in a personal way through words and innovating punctual metaphors to describe nouns and verbs in a way that comes out clever. But isn't it enough when everyone is writing about the same thing? For instance, Kesha Rose Sherbert, who goes by Kesha, is a new pop singer who jumped the mainstream through her club hitting beats and party enthusiasm. However, that is all she has. There is no story behind her words, no creative metaphors, no new style of writing, and absolutely no understanding of word articulation. However, because so many people are blind to this due to her catchy uptempo beats, she is where she is today.

With all this talk about the way artists are going about their ways in doing things, I may be wrong. There might be some sort of role that artists must fill in to get their spotlight. Here are some examples:

• Kesha, party girl with creative club beats
• Ne-yo, hopeless romantic that always misses his shot at love. He has a confusing track line with his intent. One song he is talking about being "Closer", then "Go On Girl", "Part Of The List", "Beautiful Monster" and so on. Endless struggle in what he wants.
• Chris Brown, young soul seeker wanting the perfect one
• Lil Wayne, universal artist who isn't afraid of trying new things..has a high tendency to exploit drugs, sex, and money within all his songs. There is a need for these three things in his music, or else it just isn't a Weezy track.
• Eminem, best featuring artists to have and makes it clear to all that he is not to be played with. He is known to be full of anger and tenacity in his verses. He makes it known that he is a force to be reckoned with.
• Rihanna, steady looking for love but emphasizes her will to be strong. She also is known for being lustful and writes about her body a lot.
• Justin Bieber, new face for the 12-17 crowd (not sure what the next 3 years will come of that)
• Usher, finding love through music. In his earlier days he was known for writing songs based on recent relationship activities. Now it's more about falling in love to the music.
• Drake, new face to Young Money and under-seer to Lil Wayne, popular by demand but never reaching his desired spotlight
• Ludacris, metaphorically a genius when describing female body parts and what he would do to them
• Nicki Minaj, coming off as a "girlie girl" that will stand her ground

*Again, these are my perspective examples of how I see artists nowadays in mainstream music*


To make it clear, I am not a hip hop guru or an expert in finding flaws and structure. I am simply a fan of music that is trying to get across my feelings towards music today.

"We know you want a bolder paper person"