Hip Hop: For Better or Worse?

Recently I had conversation with an industry professional and they asked for my thoughts on the current state of hip hop. I shared what I could at that moment and when I came home later I thought more about it. In the spirit of sparking a conversation...Here are my thoughts on the current landscape of hip hop:

First & Foremost:

LOL. Moving along...

I think rap is moving into a more positive light.. however coming from where rap was in the late 90's to early 2000's there was no place to go BUT UP; I'm referring more so to subject matter. Now you might be thinking that the subject matter can still use some improvement and that's fine- tell me allll about it in the comments section-...but for now ride with me.

In the mid to late 90's, which were the latter years of hip hop's golden era, we entered a real dangerous period where gangster rap and rap

that embraced violence was at the forefront of the commercial market. Throughout the 80's & 90's hip-hop became synonymous with urban black culture, and in my opinion, the views expressed in our music played a significant role in  way other cultures perceived us as well as the way we perceived ourselves. Most people in the urban community lacked the platform to express the issues that they face on a daily basis... and for better or worse, hip hop became a platform and that platform gave many a voice and an outlet that they didn't previously have.  

Some may say that there are very few ways to make it out of inner city neighborhoods and grow to become a prominent figure in society  In regards to getting out of the hood, Notorious B.I.G stated,  "Either you're slinging crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot." If I dared to add to those lyrics I'd say, "And if you can't do that....now you got rap." 

When rap began to break through on the commercial market it quickly became a preferable escape route out of urban poverty. When rappers began to have success they portrayed a lifestyle that seemed to be genetically appealing to people in our culture. They had money, nice clothes, big chains, beautiful women, big house, fast car etc (Just thinking about almost makes me want to dust off my music equipment lol) Just about everybody and their daddy had a rap CD out in the 90's.

By the turn of the century rap began to integrate itself more into the culture with other business ventures and with increased media attention it became an even stronger voice and outlet for the urban community. If you wanted to have that voice then you needed to live that conversation. No perpetrators allowed! To be relevant, aspiring and established rappers alike, most commonly lived a lifestyle that would launch them into the middle of the conversation. So we got a lot of talk about drugs sells, violence, criminal activity, gang affiliation etc...because that's what was selling. 

Fast forward a few years later, and the conversation begin to change. A lot of which I attribute to Kayne West finally getting a chance to express his thoughts and not just make dope a$$ beats. On his first commercial single Through The Wire he rapped:

What if somebody from the Chi' that was ill got a deal  

On the hottest rap label around?

But he wasn't talking about coke and birds

It was more like spoken word

Except he's really putting it down?

He asked a valid question. At the time, the thought of somebody getting a deal that wasn't rapping about drugs and violence was very rare. I'm sure there were other rappers doing the same thing but in my opinion, Kanye was the poster child for commercially successful non-gangster rappers. He was too commercial to be labeled conscious and too conscious to be labeled commercial. At first, nobody knew what to do with him but... Rocafella rolled the dice and made a new niche. It was a change in the conversation. Then he dropped Jesus Walks and other soulful hits that took you back to when rap lyrics covered more than just stuntin', drugs, and violence. His music was well received to the tune of a mutli platinum selling album, so apparently music lovers and people in the urban culture was craving a change as well. 

As the conversation changed, so did the voices. I don't think Kanye is solely responsible for the change, there were plenty of other rappers that had success at the time who also contributed such as: Jay Z, Outkast, Ludacris, Nelly, Nas..even Diddy came back.

Then Drake came and changed the conversation a little more when he released So Far Gone. He had a high level of emotional awareness and fused self sung melodic R&B vocals to his raps and the world went nuts. He blew up off of a mixtape.

Before Drake, other rappers made a living off of singing in their songs, most notably for me is Bone Thugs and Harmony...but timing is everything. They could really dominate the charts today. Now it's becoming cool for rappers to sing, cool to talk about their insecurities, cool to be pop, and overall cool to just be you. I respect that. Rappers are taking bold creative risk that would have been laughed at 10-15 years ago.Everything in life has room for improvement but for the most part I like where hip-hop is now and curious to see where it can go.
I want to hear what you think... leave a comment below or hit me up on twitter. 

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Twitter: @B_Wellington