What's Hot This Week

What's going on folks?!  Welcome back to my hip-hop world.  This has so far been a very interesting, yet intriguing and controversial, week and of course I must speak on these events, as only I can so eloquently do.  With that said, let's get started.  The biggest thing that really has irked a lot of people, myself especially, was the total ignorance and disrespect from Young Fool, I mean Young Thug.  Earlier this week, this so-called rapper was asked about the events in Ferguson a few weeks ago (seems like so long ago almost now).  His response, although shocking, was not at all surprising.




I don't really know why people are befuddled by his buffoonery.  He just showed the world how truly sad of a young Black man and a human being he is.  However, I'm starting to have another theory about him and how he's projected.  The bigger problem may go back to the record labels.  The Artist & Repertoire representatives (A&R's) clearly sign these guys and they feel they can make money off of his ignorance and stupidity.  Please don't forget about Q-Tip's industry rule #4080.  I'm not completely sure that they necessarily mind how he tends to act.  It keeps their "client" in the mouths of people, whether with praise or contempt.  People are still talking about this jackass, including me.  I also blame his agent.  How could he or she not prepare or train this boy on speaking publicly to the media.  He was baffled by the most simple questions, borderline elementary (by the way, who is this so-called reporter? I suppose the questions could've been harder for him).  He had a ton of trouble trying to answer those questions that even a fifth grader could've asked him.  He cared about nothing, ZERO, except his riches.  Again, however, this is not to be surprised about.  He's been one of the biggest embarrassments, not just in hip-hop, but for all of us Blacks.  He's a representation of how these labels could care less how dumb they look, as long as they put money into these execs pockets. Look at the trend: Trinidad James, Chief Keef, and the one that started all of this ignorant coon mess for our generation, Gucci Mane.  I would say Wayne too, but at least the dude is talented and he actually does care about community issues, somewhat at least.  It's unknown whether or not his career will take a big hit from this "interview", but what is known is that people now have gotten a clear look at what our hip-hop generation is being led by.  All up-and-coming emcees, and I use that term loosely, be leaders and not followers.  Don't be characters, be people.

Next order up for grabs is the apparent split between model Amber Rose and one of our favorite stoners (unlike that dumb ass I just spoke of), Wiz Khalifa.  This came out of nowhere, as the two seem to have been such a happy couple, but as we all know, anything can happen behind closed doors.  Reportedly, Rose is seeking full custody of their year-old son, but will not contest the prenup. There have been rumors of infidelity on the part of Khalifa, but there have also been rumors of another future divorcee, Nick Cannon, being involved in this ordeal as well.  What's with these hip-hop romances coming and going at such rapid cases?  There was word earlier this week of the former Bow Wow, Shad Moss, being engaged to love & Hip-Hop star Erica Mena (wasn't she dating a girl during this past season??).  then there's the back and forth romance and break up of Future (another cat I'm not a huge fan of, but at least he's not Young Thug) and Ms. "Goodies" herself Ciara.  I keep telling people, in today's society, unless you're Jay & Bey, hip-hop romances won't last.  Even then, remember those rumors of Jay stepping out?

On a much more positive note, hip-hop heads' mouths are officially watering with anticipation as the legendary revered producer DJ Premier formally announced the collaboration with one of hip-hop's most fundamentally complete emcees ever, Royce Da 5'9, as PRhyme.  These two have gone back as far as 2002, with Royce's explosive single (no pun intended, seriously) "Boom" from his nuts debut Rock City.  They continued with his incredible cut from his dark, yet vicious, Death Is Certain album, "Hip-Hop", and they last collaborated on the cuts "Shake This" from his album Street Hop, and "Second Place" from his last solo album in 2011, Success Is Certain, which was obviously a far more upbeat album than its predecessor.  Many, including myself, were waiting for an eventual full-length album between the two and, finally last week, a brief two-minute video was released with renowned producer Adrien Younge in the vid searching through vinyl. It turns out the only samples used on the album will come from Adrien. With the Slaughterhouse album delayed until early next year, and Joell Ortiz promoting his new album, House Slippers, that just dropped, this serves as one of the single most awaited albums of the remainder of the year.  Although no definite release date has been given, just the news of the guest list alone has heightened the level of intrigue.  Features such as TDE's ScHoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, Mac Miller, Dwele, Killer Mike, Common, Jay Electronica, and the aforementioned Slaughterhouse makes this an absolute must-have for the Fall.  This has the makings to be an instant, as well as long-standing, classic, and along with albums from Big K.R.I.T., Ras Kass & Apollo Brown, Black Milk, Raekwon, Rapsody, and Kendrick Lamar arriving soon, this Fall will be on fire!  Stay tuned for news of a release date for PRhyme.  Here's a look at the blistering teaser, and PLEASE pay attention to the last line of Royce's sixteen, which will undoubtedly serve as the sticking point for the duo.




That's all for now kiddies, but before I go I must leave you with the cut of the week.  To no surprise, it's the first single from the as-of-yet-untitled sophomore major label album from K-Dot (that's Kendrick for those not in the know).  This is a clear jacking of The Isley Brothers' "Sexy Lady", but lyrically he's as sharp as ever, especially one year removed from the INSANE "Control (remix)" verse.  This is a positive, uplifting cut, but has been receiving mixed reviews.  You be the judge.  As for me, I'm out.  See you guys and gals next week.

From Homophobia To Femininity

World!!  What's going on?!  Glad you decided to ride with me again.  This will be an interesting, yet another controversial, topic of discussion in hip-hop.  By the way, shouts to the homie Jeffvory Campbell for helping me with this week's subject matter.  He was quite vocal about this subject and, after you finish reading this, you might be as well.

Hip-hop has traditionally been a very macho, testosterone-driven sport much like the NFL, NBA, or MLB.  However, the idea of anything involving homosexual or same-sex fascinations and lifestyles was practically a no-no in the game.  Hip-hop, many suggested, was a very homophobic genre and culture, truthfully reflective of the Black community as a whole.  In fact, the majority of Eminem's early material such as his debut of '99, The Slim Shady LP, and his 2001 magnum opus, The Marshall Mathers LP, were littered with homophobic lyrics that walked the lines of hate.  That was until he performed his monster hit "Stan" with one of the music industry's most beloved legends, Elton John, who himself is an openly gay man.

As times changed and continued to "evolve", guys in hip-hop started wanting to be "different", with hit or miss results.  In 2001, Cam'ron introduced the color pink to the hip-hop masses as a means of being "different".  The next year, he started wearing purple everywhere, especially when it came to promoting his Purple Haze album.  Subtle, yet overall minor, talk of Killa Cam's orientation started to surface, to which they were totally and completely shut down.  However, in a culture where anything remotely resembling males in homosexual living is extremely taboo, talks started picking up about a possible "gay rapper" in the industry, especially when the "down low" phase was in full swing (sounds nasty but it's not).  The rumors of the supposed "gay rapper" continued off and on for years until a young up-and-comer named Kawshun was named as hip-hop's first openly gay rapper.  His career came and went within fifteen minutes, but the talk was that there were more that were in the closet.

In comes Frank Ocean, the only R&B member of the West Coast collective OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All), headed by another young emcee no stranger to controversy, Tyler The Creator.  Frank was already making a lot of noise being herald as the future of R&B.  However, on July 4, 2012, he confessed on his Tumblr account that his first love was a man and that he felt "free".  In a very surprising move, the majority of the hip-hop community embraced him and supported him coming out.  A shocking, yet refreshing, move within a community that's very known for being nervous even addressing the homosexual lifestyle.

Let's fast forward to today's era.  In the pic above, Birman and Lil' Wayne had a kiss that rang alarms all through the community.  Wayne has said in the past that Birdman was his surrogate father and that kissing him was okay.  I reserve comments on that notion.  Anyways, lately in hip-hop, artists like Young Thug and Rich homie Quan have been known to use pet names like "boo", "bae", and "baby" to describe their homeboys and friends.  This is clearly a changing culture once we start seeing young rappers start talking and dressing like females and its apparently perfectly acceptable.  Remember the photo a year ago with Kanye dressed in a dress and stockings while performing?  What about recent pics and images of Young Thug (who has been rumored to be gay himself, although he denies these allegations) in a dress, stockings and a halter top?  The confusion starts to set in at this point.

As the LGBTQ lifestyle and culture continues to be openly accepted, there are people who tend to mock the culture by dressing like women in order to either make statements or to be "different".  Please keep in mind: this is NOT a gay-bashing or criticizing post.  Not at all.  However, what this post is about is people that continuously pronounce their status as straight men or those that proudly hail their sexual conquests with different women, but then they appear with friends and colleagues addressing them as "boo" and "bae".  This subject area goes back to the origin of sagging pants.  We all know by now that sagging pants started in prison as a way to promote homosexual activity, and sadly it started picking up within the community without so much as a thought.  When asked why they sag their pants, the quickest response is "It's cool", but very quick to refute the claims of them being involved in that type of lifestyle.  Such blatant ignorance.  Now it appears that guys like Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan think it's quite okay to address their friends and colleagues as these pet names.  It's totally and completely unacceptable.  As a culture that tends to be followers instead of leaders as of late, this will make young Black men (and probably young men in general regardless of race or culture) imitate these guys and start calling their friends the same types of names, which could very likely cause a ton of problems.

In short: if you're not in a relationship with your partner, lover, etc., leave that kind of stuff alone.  Your sexual preference is your business, but if you want it to stay that way, and you're not about that life, stop it now.  Take off the skirt and stockings, and put some jeans and a shirt back on, and make sure the pants are up too.  Get back to being MEN and stop acting and looking like damn idiots.  I'm quite sure gays and lesbians have a hard enough time trying to defend their lifestyles and having to get scrutinized by the court of public opinion and judgment without people almost basically mocking the lifestyle just to be "different".  I said it once, and I'll say it again, unless we start becoming leaders and using our own minds and intuitions, we'll continue to be seen as laughing sideshows and minstrel-era cartoons come to life.  I still have hope in my hip-hop culture, but we need better people to answer to and whom we'll allow to be among the leaders of our culture.  Before our leaders were people like KRS-One, Chuck D, and Afrika Bambaata.  We then looked to Diddy, Master P, and Birdman.  Soon after, we looked to Gucci, Waka Flocka, and Wayne.  Now it's Young Thug and Quan.  Are we progressing or regressing???

That's all for now kiddies.  Before i go, I must leave you with  not one but TWO cuts of the week.  The first is a big time collaboration between Detroit's heir apparent to Dilla, Black Milk and hip-hop legend Bun B on the track "Gold Piece", which will be featured on Milk's forthcoming album, If There's A Hell Below.  The second one is another ridiculous track from the duo of Ras Kass and one of hip-hop's hottest up-and-coming producers Apollo Brown.  The cut, "Humble Pi", is a blistering ode to the state of hip-hop and serves as another tasty treat from the forthcoming album Blasphemy.  Both albums are due October 21.  Enjoy these outstanding tracks, and I'll get at you guys and gals again next week God willing!

September 13: Bittersweet Date In Hip-Hop

What's up world!  This is a special edition of CMEWHH today.  Today commemorates two very iconic periods in the history of not just hip-hop but music as well.  Today is the 20th anniversary of Biggie Smalls' seminal debut, Ready To Die, an album that has been universally acclaimed as one of the greatest albums of all-time in ANY genre.  This album was compared to another benchmark album in music, Nas' Illmatic.  The irony is that Illmatic entered the game in April of the same year and became known as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time.  Years later it has been widely noted that in fact Illmatic IS the greatest and most influential album of all-time.  However, Ready To Die was definitely not far at all from that same title.  In fact, there were, and still are quite a few comparisons.  Although Biggie's album was way more graphic and vicious in nature, it nonetheless told a vivid story of a young guy from Bed-Stuy Brooklyn adapting to the harrowing streets and atmosphere that surrounded him.  Not to mention issues of his mother's cancer, dealing with baby mama issues, and plots of people out to get him.  This album showed his knack for storytelling in very surreal fashion that often entailed hustling, an excessive lifestyle, and violence. From the aggressive tracks like "Gimme The Loot" and "Machine Gun Funk" to detailed stories like "Me & My Bitch" and "Warning" to the ridiculous battle stylings of the DJ Premier-blessed "Unbelievable", this album was practically flawless (his closing song "Suicidal Thoughts" still remains his most haunting opus twenty years after its release). Unlike today's rap that clearly has little to no innovation or standout mark to distinguish themselves from every other "thug" or "trap star", Biggie's convincing rhymes and unmistakable delivery separated him from most among his East Coast peers during that time.

The album ended up selling up to four-million units and solidified his position as the next to watch in hip-hop.  His singles of "Juicy", "Big Poppa" and the Faith Evans/Mary J. Blige remixed version of "One More Chance" propelled him into one of the brightest new stars in the industry.  Don't let the radio fool you, however, because the album was not for the weak at heart.  It was rugged, mean-faced, and above all else, RAW.  Many dispute as to which was his better album: this or his final studio album Life After Death?  Truthfully, it's irrelevant.  The point is, this started the legacy of a prodigious emcee gone way too soon.

Unfortunately, with some sweet also comes the bitter.  Today's date marks the death of one of music's most polarizing figures ever in Tupac Amaru Shakur.  Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas the week prior and died seven days later.  Personally, I was very affected by it.  In spite of how controversial he was and how infamous he was with starting beefs and his "D.T.A." attitude (that's "don't trust anybody"), nobody can deny how talented he was as a rhymer, a poet, a thinker, and a revolutionary.  Seen as hip-hop's Kurt Cobain or Jim Morrison, he was a visionary in spite of his hostility and angst towards the world.  Although his albums of 2Pacalypse Now and Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. were strong releases, it wasn't until he dropped his magnum opus, Me Against The World, that he really reached critical acclaim, and truthfully it was my favorite album from him.  Although released while he was in prison for a sexual assault charge, this was his most personal and most reflective album.  To this day, his cut "So Many Tears" remains as his most brilliant, although chilling, cut ever written.  Over a sample of Stevie Wonder's "That Girl", Shakur presented a track that could very well be the most depressing song ever made, yet so excellently done.  Here's a look at this amazing track.




In lieu of the recent string of suicides, especially in the public eye, this is not for the suicidal minded.  Otherwise, this is one of many brutally honest and introspective cuts that Shakur left for us. His final in-studio album was the excellent All Eyez On Me, which was released in February of '96.  The album spawned monstrous cuts like the anthemic "California Love", "All About U", "2 Of Amerika'z Most Wanted" and the heartfelt "I Ain't Mad At Cha", which produced an almost foretelling video, as he was rapping from heaven as an angel.  From there, he delivered TONS of posthumous cuts that appeared on albums such as Don Kiluminati: The 7-Day Theory under his Makaveli alias, R U Still Down? Remember Me, and his collaborative album with his group Tha Outlawz, Still I Rise.  Seen as one of, if not the most, prolific and influential artists of our time, Tupac will forever be an icon in every sense of the word, love him or hate him.

These two incredible emcees, although embroiled in the most personal and memorable rivalry in hip-hop history, were also ironically connected in a very fateful way.  While we saw the birth of an emerging star in the business with a phenomenal debut, we also witnessed the tragic death of an emcee we'll never ever forget in our lifetime.  The next year, this same promising emerging star met his death in what was clearly a setup, pre-meditated killing just like Shakur's death.  Please, kill all these conspiracy, death-faking talks of Shakur and just keep remembering how tremendous his talent was and how insightful his lyrics were.  Alive or dead, these two will always be cornerstones of what we call hip-hop.

That's it for now, but I will leave you with two more cuts: one from the memorable Ready To Die and another classic from Shakur.  See you guys and gals on the re-up!

Fashion (De) Evolution, One Big Oops, & Mystery Uncovered

What's going on kiddies?!  Good to have you back with me and all my opinionated-ness (for all of you English majors, I did that on purpose) for another week.  I wonder how everybody liked the first official weekend of the NFL regular season?  Although my people lost (Cowboy Nation always and forever), it was still an exciting time and awesome to have football back in full swing.  This week I'll be examine three different subjects.  The first one will be the somewhat downward spiral of hip-hop fashion.  The second subject will be the huge firestorm involving Grammy Award-winning artist Cee-Lo Green over a very controversial tweet.  The third subject involves the curtain being pulled down into the mystery of the identity of underground sensation Your Old Droog.  Let's start shall we??

I could've done an entire piece on this first one.  Fashion has been as big of a piece of hip-hop culture as anything else.  From the emerging popularity of Adidas due to Run-DMC to Cam'ron bringing the color pink to the overly macho hip-hop audience, fashion and style sense has been very integral in hip-hop.  Although like any other trend, most phases came and went.  In the eighties, we had the previously mentioned popularity Adidas, the gold rope chains that Eric B & Rakim and LL Cool J introduced, and the fisherman hats that LL and EPMD made contagious.  Let's also not forget about the hairstyles such as the notorious lean high-top fade (Kwame, anyone??).  The ladies had the huge bamboo earrings and some of the most regretful hairstyles in our culture, yet still fun and nostalgic to look at and reminisce about.

Once the nineties hit, we became even more innovative.  I was guilty of fads like the proverbial 'Hammer Pants', the afro-centric Cross Colors, and sneakers such as British Knights and the Reebok Pumps.  The culture also got introduced to more Black owned clothing companies such as Karl Kani and the guys behind Fubu.  However, we still got behind popular brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, and Nike to put hip-hop spins on clothing traditionally designed for White consumers.  For the ladies, names like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vatton, and Versace were made extremely popular by the likes of Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, a far cry from prior b-girls like MC Lyte, Bahamadia, and Yo-Yo who were more about lyrics rather than promoting clothing and accessory brands that didn't enhance or uplift us as a culture.

However, once the new millennium emerged, we no longer wanted to make statements to make sense, we started, well, started looking stupid for the purpose of wanting to be "different".  It was circa 2003 that Cam'ron introduced pink into hip-hop.  He was literally draped in a pink Range Rover, pink Nikes, pink doo-rags, and just everything pink.  The next time we saw him, he was draped in purple.  Critics were pointing out that it was mainly to promote his Purple Haze album (his last truly dope album), but a lot of cats weren't really up on it too much.

Now we have truly hit our worst moment with Kanye West being in a skirt.  The image of him in a skirt and leggings and sneakers at a Hurricane Katrina concert in December of 2012 still haunts people to this day.  We thought that this period would be over with and never duplicated.  I wish I was right.  There have been pics and images of people in skirts, leggings, and the like and they truthfully think they're doing something big or breaking new ground.  There are fashion trends that make statements, and then there are trends that make us as a culture look very stupid and attention-needy.

We've seemingly started to take from cultures such as Goth and Grunge and tried to put hip-hop spins on them, and for the most part, they fail.  We need to geo back to being trendsetters and innovators that make sense and that defines us as true thinkers instead of spoofs and side shows.  For those that like to dress in skirts, leggings, and anything else overtly feminine, STOP IT!!!  At one time, hip-hop was among the most feared, yet intriguing, cultures and genres in the world, now with hip-hop going commercial and eventually corporate, we're sincerely non-threatening in this current day in age.  Let's not add looking like idiots on purpose for the sake of being "different".

Next up, the most heated backlash of this past week came from Grammy Award winner and Goodie Mob member Cee-Lo.  Cee-Lo went on Twitter and made very insensitive remarks about the subject of rape. This coming on the heels of his no contest plea of being accused of slipping ecstasy into a woman's drink and then waking up in bed with him with no recollection of events.  Here's an excerpt of what he tweeted, before he deleted it.

Is it disgraceful and tasteless?  Completely.  I'm completely about the first amendment and freedom of speech.  However, if you're famous and a celebrity, EVERYTHING you do and say gets scrutinized to the tenth power.  He apologized for his tweet but the fallout started to spread.  His sitcom "The Good Life" got cancelled by TBS and he has been dropped from benefit shows due to his comments.  If I'm Cee-Lo, I would lay low for a while and let the fire settle.  Comments like that will make him lose the majority of his female audience, maybe even all of them.  I'm a fan of ol' Shuga Lo, but this was a big mistake.  Here's to hoping he can recover from this situation and making new music, whether it's with Gnarls Barkley, the Goodie Mo boys, or solo.

Now, we have the unlocked mystery of arguably the most talked about underground artist in the game right now, Your Old Droog.  Earlier this year, this young cat dropped an EP that was quite heralded but one thing stood out more than anything: how much this kid sounded like Nas.  The EP showcased the SUPERB lyricism of this guy but very quickly the Internet was buzzing about the identity of him.  His EP, in fact, is in my top ten or fifteen of hip-hop releases so far this year.  Multiple theories suggested this was really Nas, and many actually made lots of sense.  Some actually claimed they met him and suggested he was a Russian, twenty-something Brooklynite.  Finally, last Wednesday he the curtain dropped, and after spitting some razors for the already hyped up crowd, he finally walks on stage and in comes this tall, lanky, caucasian complexioned young emcee that proceeded to kill the audience with outstanding bars that mirror greats like Rakim, Eminem, Jay, Big, and the aforementioned Nas.  He even performed "Free Turkey", which actually uses the same sample Nas used for the track "One Love".  We haven't had this much hysteria over the identity of an emcee since the early days of MF DOOM, but it sure was fun.  The question is: now that we know the official identity of Your Old Droog, will he still be as checked for as his enigmatic nature beforehand?  Only time will tell but one thing is for sure: this dude is a BEAST.  Here's a freestyle from Your Old Droog that he dropped last week.  You be the judge of the future of this up-and-comer.  In my opinion, he won't be underground for long.




Finally, before I get out of here for today, this is the cut of the week.  This comes from west coast lyrical phenom Ras Kass and he's joined by fellow monster lyricists Pharoahe Monch and Dilated Peoples' Rakaa Iriscience over a RIDICULOUS beat from hip-hop's newest prodigious beatmaker, Apollo Brown.  The track is called "H20" and is from Kass & Brown's upcoming album, Blasphemy, coming in October.  If this track is ANY indication of what's to come, this album will be nothing short of a new benchmark for Kass.  Anywho, peep this track and will get at you guys and gals next week.

Generation Gaps

What's good people!  Hope everyone had a great Labor Day and enjoyed your three-four day weekend.  This piece will concern something that a few of my friends and I often have heavy discussions about, and that's the evolution (or de-evolution) of hip-hop over the years.  As us hip-hop fans get older, we often times criticize generations that come after us.  I ended up doing the same thing as I got older.  I came up in an era where hip-hop was the most brilliant piece of music since Jazz.  During the early eighties, pioneers such as Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, and LL Cool J introduced the masses to hip-hop and it was so fresh (not the slang terminology) and artists were hungry to establish longevity and immortal respect.

Let's fast forward to the early nineties, where more legends emerge such as Nas, UGK, Biggie Smalls, Wu-Tang Clan, and Outkast to completely reshape the structure of the game.  There were little rumblings that some of the older cats occasionally frowned on artists that would consistently promote violence and mysogany, however they would still give these same emcees props for remarkable talent.  many would say the besides the eighties, the nineties were the most successful and critically impactful period in all of hip-hop's history.  While the eighties brought us iconic albums like Raising Hell, Strictly Business, Long Live The Kane, and Paid In Full (which was my first forty-five inch record), the nineties presented us with monumental masterpieces such as Illmatic, Ready To Die, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, and The Chronic.  All these and quite a few more showed the exquisite nature of how talented these artists are.

However, as time passed on, the music became more about the radio and hits rather than talent.  At this point, the game became highly commercialized and watered down.  Talent, longevity, and respect became an afterthought.  We started being exposed to stuff like "My Baby Daddy", "Because I Got High", and other bouts of foolishness that started to make a lot of hip-hop's elders and forefathers cringe.  This was all around the late nineties and early thousands.  Iconic albums and artists started to come few and far between.  For every seminal album like Madvillainy, there were plenty of duds that started coming out around the same time as well.  Seemingly the music only got worse as time went along.  Artists (and I use that term loosely) became fixated with dance crazes and one-hit singles rather than immortality.  From Cali Swag District to Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, rappers wanting to be instant stars started discrediting the art form.  It became more about money and prostituting themselves for labels rather than being innovators and future legends.

Here's a timeless cut from ridiculously underrated emcee, O.C., that sums up what today's generation of radio-friendly, degenerative rappers need to start doing.  Check out the classic, "Time's Up."





 

 In today's climate of hip-hop, more artists are opting for independent routes rather than the pimp-and-ho game of the industry of major labels today.  More artists want more of their own creative visions and their own ways of expressing their art.  When listening to mainstream and commercial radio, people within my age bracket or older don't criticize the youthful enthusiasm and energy to create new movements.  We tend to have alts against some of the stylings of people like Young Thug, K Camp, and Chief Keef, who all represent a youthful period of drugs, mysogany, and violence in ways that aren't breaking any new ground, and in fact play into exactly what these greedy corporate A&R's are banking from.  Before we start accusing the South of all of this stuff, let's not forget the influence of the South with their own legends in the aforementioned UGK, Scarface, Eightball & MJG, Luke, and later icons such as Ludacris, T.I., and Jeezy.

It's imperative that the youth in today's hip-hop climate keep the game going, but please don't forget the roots of the art form.  Coming up, people like Nelly were seen as one-hits and didn't want longevity, however after his debut, Country Grammar, sold diamond units (that's over ten million units), it was clear he had a movement of his own and he wanted to get taken seriously.  In hindsight, purists like KRS-One frowned upon Nelly, but now Nelly has frowned upon this current crop of young up-and-comers that aren't doing anything to revolutionize the industry.

This is not to say that all of these young gunners are not doing anything to help the business.  In fact young artists like Joey Bada$$, Tyga, Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T., Fashawn, and Bishop Nehru are examples of light in the darkness of bland, uninspiring rap.  Coming up in an era of skills, that developed into hardcore and gangsta, and then into gimmicky rap, I have become that disgruntled hip-hop critic that listeners that were older than me would complain about when it came to the generational sound after theirs.  The one thing, in spite of subject matter and themes, that the older generation would agree upon was the talent.  We seemingly have no future icons like Nas, Jay, Biggie, and Scarface in the current crop of young rappers, and that will ultimately kill the culture and continue to make a cherade and a buffoonery of the culture that Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaata sacrificed for and pioneered.

Gone are the days of the creative (Organized Konfusion), insanely lyrical (Eminem), poetic (Common), and insightful (Scarface), and now we're living in the days of "I'm A Stoner" and "Cut Her Off".  If these are the voices of the new generation, hip-hop as we know it will die a slow death , at least critically speaking.

That's all for now kiddies.  Before I go, I'm going to leave you with two different contrasts: a video of Young Thug and a video of criminally underrated duo The Underachievers.  You be the judge of where our culture needs to go.  Until next time!