The Sad State Of Hip-Hop Today: How The Message, The Music & The Art Form Has Lost Its…

What started as a bit of a Twitter rant, has resulted in this reflective piece on the genre of hip-hop and the sorry state of affairs the…

What started as a bit of a Twitter rant, has resulted in this reflective piece on the genre of hip-hop and the sorry state of affairs the genre finds itself today as the young generation of listeners across the world are being fed, pardon my usage of the term, “mind numbing bulls*it”.

Hip Hop is a genre that began in its infancy in the late ’70s & ’80s as black musicians developed rhymes for beats predominantly in New York at the time, with the likes of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five & several others like Lovebug Starski & Keef Cowboy pioneering the genre in its formative years after being dubbed as “disco rap” initially. However, the history lesson is for another day.

In this piece, I want to elucidate my point of view of how Hip Hop as an art form, its impact on society, & the message & meaning of the music currently categorized as Hip Hop in 2022 has simply become a lengthy “ego trip” consisting of rappers who have dragged the genre down to pathetic levels, by rapping about themes to beats with meaningless & at times idiotic lyrics.

I’m not sure whether it’s their limited IQs(don’t mean to club them together) or rather, the limited ways in which they explore & write lyrics nowadays that has led to this trend. While labels, producers, & even the Grammys applaud and promote this kind of garbage they call hip-hop today.

This isn’t the hip-hop I knew & grew up to or signed up for. I met a friend after really long today and he happened to play some of 2022’s prominent hip-hop “hits”, and I was absolutely aghast at how much crap the rappers were spewing. Whether it was Drake or Future or Migos or Post Malone or Bieber or whoever random rapper’s music he played, I was simply shocked by how much rubbish was being played through the speakers.

Nowadays, prominent hip-hop artists write lyrics which are, as I’ve mentioned a massive “ego trip” for the major part. Whether it’s about their cash, properties, their cars, clothes, their broads(a slightly lesser derogatory term for say “s*uts”), or their haters & enemies, or their rather uninteresting, yet intensely glorified lives, it’s become nonsensical and what’s more alarming is that the next generation of youth are being fed this nonsense & are consuming it voraciously.

Hip-hop when I was growing up in the ’90s and ‘2000s, had a certain finesse and class about it. Songs like Biggie’s “Sky’s The Limit” where he writes

“To protect my position, my corner, my layer
While we out here, say the hustlas prayer (yeah)
If the game shakes me or breaks me (oh)
I hope it makes me a better man
Take a better stand
Put money in my moms hand
Get my daughter this college plan, so she don’t need no man (uh)
Stay far from timid
Only make moves when your heart’s in it
And live the phrase, “Sky’s The Limit””

I mean, I get that it’s art & darker themes are prevalent. But it could be done with class & guile & meaning & depth. Just like Rage Against The Machine or Linkin Park, although that’s more Rap-Metal.

But coming back, I’m going to show you examples of Hip Hop back then, and Hip Hop now, purely from a lyrical standpoint, to explain my point.

As Eminem writes in “Sing for the Moment” where Dre sampled “Dream on” by Aerosmith

These ideas are, nightmares to white parents
Whose worst fear is a child with dyed hair and who likes earrings
Like whatever they say has no bearing
It’s so scary in a house that allows, no swearing
To see him walking around with his headphones blaring
Alone in his own zone, cold and he don’t care
He’s a problem child, and what bothers him all comes out
When he talks about, his f- dad walking out
’Cause he hates him so bad that he, blocks him out
If he ever saw him again he’d probably knock him out
His thoughts are wacked, he’s mad so he’s talking back
Talking black, brainwashed from rock and rap

Or Em’s immaculate conception of “Stan” where he creates a story & an entire song based on a conversation! That’s ingenious!

Dear Slim, I wrote you but you still ain’t callin’
I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom
I sent two letters back in autumn, you must not’ve got ‘em
There probably was a problem at the post office or somethin’
Sometimes I scribble addresses too sloppy when I jot ‘em
But anyways, fuck it, what’s been up, man? How’s your daughter?
My girlfriend’s pregnant too, I’m ‘bout to be a father
If I have a daughter, guess what I’ma call her?
I’ma name her Bonnie
I read about your uncle Ronnie too, I’m sorry
I had a friend kill himself over some bitch who didn’t want him
I know you probably hear this every day, but I’m your biggest fan
I even got the underground shit that you did with Skam
I got a room full of your posters and your pictures, man
I like the shit you did with Rawkus too, that shit was phat
Anyways, I hope you get this, man, hit me back
Just to chat, truly yours, your biggest fan
This is Stan

Or on “When I’m Gone”, for his daughter Hailie, where he writes

“Have you ever loved someone so much
You’d give an arm for
Not the expression, no
Literally give an arm for
When they know they’re your heart
And you know you are their armor
And you will destroy anyone who would try to harm her
But what happens when karma
Turns right around and bites you
And everything you stand for turns on you to spite you
What happens when you become the main source of her pain
“Daddy look what I made”
“Dad’s gotta go catch a plane”
“Daddy where’s mommy?
I can’t find mommy, where is she?”
“I don’t know, go play, Hailie baby, your daddy’s busy
Daddy’s writing a song, this song ain’t gon’ write itself”
I give you one underdog, and you gotta swing by yourself
Then turn right around in that song and tell her you love her
And put hands on her mother who’s the spittin’ image of her
That’s Slim Shady, yeah baby Slim Shady’s crazy
Shady made me
But tonight, Shady’s rock-a-bye baby”

Or in another emotional piece for his daughter Hailey, on “Mockingbird” he raps:

Hailie, I know you miss your mom, and I know you miss your dad
When I’m gone, but I’m trying to give you the life that I never had
I can see you’re sad, even when you smile, even when you laugh
I can see it in your eyes, deep inside you want to cry
’Cause you’re scared, I ain’t there, daddy’s with you in your prayers
No more crying, wipe them tears, daddy’s here, no more nightmares
We gon’ pull together through it, we gon’ do it

Or even Jay-Z’s “Anything” about his beginnings & mother

I’d do a bid, loose a rib, bust a cap, trust in that
Run up to heaven doors, exchange my life for yours
Leave a steak out the door, mi casa, su casa
Just remember to turn the lights off in the hall
My brother from another pop, minus one shot
We Nino and Gee Money, man, we all we got
From the stoop to the big dudes, stoppin’ us from playin’ hoops
And us getting mad, throwing rocks off the roof
Straight thuggin’ man, I thought we would never progress
But look at us now man, we’re young execs
My nigga Dame, my nigga Biggs, my nigga Ty
My nigga High, my nigga Gotti
We embody all that’s right with the world

Or Jigga or HOVA’s “Death Of Autotune”

Only rapper to rewrite history without a pen
No I.D. on the track let the story begin
Begin, begin

This is anti-Auto-Tune, death of the ringtone
This is Sinatra at the opera, bring a blonde
Preferably with a fat ass who can sing a song

Wrong, this ain’t politically correct
This might offend my political connects
My raps don’t have melodies
This should make jackers wanna go and commit felonies

Get your chain tooken
I may do it myself, I’m so Brooklyn
I know we facin’ a recession
But the music y’all makin’ gon’ make it the great depression

Or your lack of aggression
Pull your skirt back down, grow a set men
Yeah, this is just violent
This is death of Auto-Tune, moment of silence

The Game’s underdog anthem “Hate it or love it”

Coming up I was confused, my mommy kissing a girl
Confusion occurs comin’ up in the cold world
Daddy ain’t around, probably out committin’ felonies
My favorite rapper used to sing, “check, check out my melody”
I wanna live good so, shit, I sell dope for a four finger ring
One of them gold ropes
Nana told me if I passed I’d get a sheepskin coat
If I can move a few packs I’d get the hat, now that’d be dope
Tossed and turned in my sleep that night
Woke up the next morning, niggas had stole my bike
Different day, same shit, ain’t nothing good in the hood
I’d run away from this bitch and never come back if I could

… Hate It or Love It, the underdog’s on top
And I’m gon’ shine, homie, until my heart stop
Go ‘head envy me, I’m rap’s M.V.P
And I ain’t going nowhere, so you can get to know me

Or from one of my favourite rappers, Prodigy (HAVOC) which is slightly dark

Morning of the day, evening of the killer kids
City of the Gods, money stack pyramids
Esoteric knowledge and I’m criminal minded
A lady’s wet dream and the devil’s worst nightmare
Cause so help me God
I will exorcise demons see ’em scheming real hard
Pop the cork on the Perignon, or turn the Henny on
Spit my timeless flow, my priceless lexicon
Get at you like the Zetas when it comes to cheddars
I set traps, I’m a predator, I pray I catch a
Black Mafiosi, rogue vigilante
The shit is sad but it get me real trigger happy (ha!)
So keep talkin’ that ho shit
And I’mma part your 360 waves like Moses
And get the Red Sea flowin’
That’s an awful lot of blood
Look at how it keep pourin’

Or KRS-1 in “Poetry”

Well, now you’re forced to listen to the teacher and the lesson
Class is in session, so you can stop guessing
If this is a tape or a written down memo
See, I am a professional, this is not a demo
In fact, call it a lecture, a visual picture
Sort of a poetic and rhythm-like mixture
Listen, I’m not dissing, but there’s something that you’re missing
Maybe you should touch reality, stop wishing
For beats with plenty bass and lyrics said in haste
If this meaning doesn’t manifest, put it to rest
I am a poet, you try to show it, yet blow it
It takes concentration for fresh communication
Observation, that is to see without speaking
Take off your coat, take notes, I am teaching
A class, or rather school, ’cause you need schooling
I am not a king or queen, I’m not ruling
This is an introduction to poetry
A small dedication to those that might know of me

None more so typified than by 2Pac’s ‘Changes’ where writes

“I see no changes, wake up in the morning and I ask myself
Is life worth livin’? Should I blast myself?

We gotta start makin’ changes
Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers
And that’s how it’s supposed to be
How can the Devil take a brother if he’s close to me? Uh
I’d love to go back to when we played as kids
But things change, and that’s the way it is

2Pac was right, things “change”. But is this really what hip-hop is about?

Hip Hop as a genre has so much to offer, there are so many themes, narratives, stories & ideas rappers used to be able to put forward in rhyme that explored so many various aspects of life when I was younger, & listening to it growing up.

And now this is Drake on “Rich Flex” from 2022

Go buy a zip of w-, hit the club
Pay for like ten n- to get in, we crunk, lit in this b-, yeah
Know we walk around the world
Steppin’ not givin a damn ‘bout where our feet land at
Yeah, get your a- mushed, smooshed (6ix)
Yeah, 21, the biggest
Put a n- in the chicken wing

21, can you do somethin’ for me? (21)
Can you hit a lil’ rich flex for me? (21)

And Future’s “Wait For You”

I can hear your tears when they drop over the phone
Get mad at yourself ’cause you can’t leave me alone
Gossip, bein’ messy, that ain’t what we doing

Travel around the world
Over the phone, dropping tears 
I get more vulnerable when I do drugs 
When you drunk, you tell me exactly how you feel 
When I’m loaded, I keep it real

Or Post Malone in ‘Cooped Up’

I’m about to pull up
Hit switch, pull curtain (hit switch, pull curtain)
And I’ve been waitin’ so long
Now I gotta resurface (I gotta resurface)
And yeah, we ‘bout to toast up
All that bread that we burnin’ (burnin’, burnin’, burnin’)
’Cause I’ve been feelin’ cooped up (yeah)
I’ve been fuckin’ cooped up (mm-mm-mm)

Feelin’ like an outcast, I’m the only guy in slacks
That’ll cost you three stacks (three stacks, three stacks)
Now you savin’ that check, why you takin’ my swag?
Can you give me that back?
Gucci my Prada, Miyake (ooh)
Louis, Bottega, and Tommy
All of these things on my body, let’s party (ah-ah-a

Or Migos in ‘Hotel Lobby’

Diamonds be dancin’ like Bobby (they dancin’)
Don’t touch it, this Glocky be cocky (don’t touch it)
Shroom, and G6 departed (we geekin’)
Bitches gon’ trend, I’m the topic (keep trendin’)
The way I pull up, I’ma pop it 
And none of these niggas gon’ stop me (pull up, gone)
Put that shit on, get a cup for the drip 
I’m a motherfuckin’ faucet
Keep low, keep stackin’, your bank’ll get bigger (go)
Never will I throw some shade on no nigga (on Take’)

I don’t even know half the rappers nowadays but you get my point right! It’s right in your face, the meaningless crap that they’re spewing & and the garbage in terms of depth, meaning & lyrics & themes, narratives & rhymes they’re feeding young kids & might I add a more engaged audience worldwide in terms of youth because of the internet. This kind of rubbbish is shaping our kids.

The implications it has on society are alarming, it’s derogatory to women, promotes violence, & drugs & just is influencing young kids and impressionable listeners who begin to idolise these celebrities(I’m not even calling them real rappers) for this kind of crap they’re putting out. The implications to society are terrible. Is this how we’re raising a generation of youth to follow this kind of behaviour, mindset & ideology?

Again, I get that it’s an art form and Pac’s lyrics & a many rappers of the past also have a brash violence to them & a lot of them explore their darker side.

But what I’m saying is Hip Hop was meant to be a genre that evoked & made you feel, emote, think, question, revolt, rebel, take you on journeys, & through stories, & all the mind opening things & themes the genre was meant for.

I’m sure I’ve overlooked a lot of rappers like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre or Ice Cube and NWA & Coolio & a plethora of others, but I just wanted to highlight how the genre has lost its way.

Violence is part of life, and darker themes to music are things I & many people enjoy & like to listen to from time to time, whether it’s Radiohead, Metallica or other bands when I’m grooving to Rock & Roll.

There’s also Trip Hop which is an offshoot of hip-hop that I enjoy like Tricky & Massive Attack etc. Or Gorillaz and they’re take on the genre.

Or for that matter even new-age spoken word alternative artist Ghostpoet, and his take & lyrics in his music.

The point is, hip-hop as a genre has completely changed & you can see the difference yourself.

It’s so glaring and apparent. And it’s the main reason I completely stopped listening to hip-hop entirely after 2013. The last decade has seen the genre plummet to such low levels that I’m not sure whether, there’s any hope for it in the future.

I might be old school, but hip-hop back then meant something to me. Especially being from Mumbai(Bombay), India where hip hop thrived back then along with rock and roll when we would buy Eminem’s ‘The Eminem Show’ on tape.

Comparing hip hop back then & now clearly shows how the genre has fallen from grace & become a laughable & plainly, has seen its very essence removed & eradicated from it.

It no longer means anything. Although technology has progressed miles ahead, & producers now have even better tools to create better beats & music, but the lyrics, are just pathetic. Labels just cash in on the number of streams & views, and all else is lost.

I think there needs to be a significant shift in how labels, producers, & mainly artists need to rethink and re-envision the genre, with their lyrics at the center of it all.

Even more importantly, listeners need to reject & stop listening to this rubbish that they are being fed, and usher in a new generation of rappers who can actually carry the mantle from back in the ’80s, ’90s and 2000’s.

For the moment, if you’re actually happy with this evolution of hip-hop I seriously think you should revisit the classics, to understand what I’m talking about.

This is where hip hop is at. And society, whether black, white or whatever race they are, need to begin a movement to restore the genre back to it’s respectable, thought-provoking & glorious past.

(Mic drop)