Okay...it's been a whiiile since I posted my last blog and I know I'm probably gonna get a lot of heat for this but seriously Hip Hop isn't Hip Hop anymore.
Let me explain myself...About 90% of Hip Hop artists are releasing nothing but garbage today. "But the artists are selling millions upon millions of records...how can you say that???" Because it's a fact.
I'll give you a quick example...Lil' Jon. Lil' Jon's producing mediocre beats at best. All the man got famous on was saying "YEAH!!! OKAY!!! and WHAT?!?!?" Does anyone remember Lil' Jon's album??? I didn't think so. I mean let's take that song with him Ludacris and Usher "Lovers & Friends." The song is fine when Usher kicks it off. Ludacris keeps the vibe going but when Lil' Jon puts his two cents in he ruins the song with his raspy *** voice. Jon, you belong in a love song as much as Pee Wee Herman belongs in a Sumo Wrestling match.
Another thing, Lil' Jon is doing nothing but recycling his beats just adding a little chyme or slowing down a track...there's no talent in that. Lil' Jon is not "CRUNK" he is "JUNK!"
Okay...EVERYONE wants a Ciara in their camps now adays. First off...as pretty as Ciara is the girl can't sing to save her life. And now P. Diddy has Cassie which is just another little girl who can't sing trying to be like Ciara. Why would you want to emulate someone that has no kind of talent??? It makes no sense...if you're going to emulate somebody let it be someone like Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Aretha Fraklin, Mary J...no, no...I take that last one back.
Mary J.might be able to sing and hold a note. And no, I'm not picking on Mary because she denied being from Yonkers...I'm waaaaaaaaay over that. I just can't stand Mary because she got famous off of other artist's hits. Mary didn't have anything original to offer until two albums ago. It's about time she got off her *** and started writing her own music.
RAPPERS!!! I haven't forgotten about you. The good majority of you in one word SUCK!!! I'm sure you can eat me alive in a lyrical battle but the records you're putting out are nothing but a waste of wax. You're not saying anything of importance or to make an impact. As a matter of fact, I'm still stuck on stupid as to why the Three 6 Mafia won a grammy. Just shoot me in the head.
Southern Rap for the most part is nothing but a black eye on the face of Hip Hop. Who the hell is T. I.? I don't see why people are going nuts over a guy with two letters in his name. I mean you're rapping over a Crystal Waters beat. The producer of this song did nothing but slow the track down and add a base line. Jesus, what does it take to get some originality around here???
Thinking about it now, Hip Hop really went to *** when Master P and the No Limit camp came onto the scene and now because of an artist like him you've got some guy rapping about a shoulder injury (Shoulder Lean) which is a rip off of Fat Joe's "Lean Back," some guy rapping about MySpace.com (shameless plug) and a couple of little girls singing about what they plan to order at the Chinese Restaurant (Chicken Noodle Soup).
Hip Hop was at it's peak in the mid to late 90's and maybe even the first two years of the new millenium. I mean you REALLY had artists who gave a damn about their work. Who cared about their finished product. You had people like A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, Digable Planets, The Wu Tang Clan, Red Man, The Fugees, The Pharcyde, The Lost Boyz, The Ghetto Boyz, Tupac, Notorious B. I. G., Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, Heavy D, The Flava Unit MC's, Queen Latifah, Salt n Pepa, Jay Z, there are waaaaaay more than this but if I'd list them all I'd probably need to write a second blog.
Sometimes in order to continue moving forward one has to take a step back and in the case of Hip Hop, artists need to take a step back and look to the old. Not to sample or to remake but to be inspired by the originality and the work ethic that these artists of days gone by when artists had something deep and meaningful to say.
Until Hip Hop artists come to realize that they are doing nothing but releasing garbage that do nothing but polute the minds of our youth Hip Hop will continue on its downward spiral.