Is real hip-hop dead?

Answer 1

lyrics went underground a decade ago.
to be competitive in the club -- hip hop has to emphasize the beat and underplay the wordplay. The MC is there to hype the music, to unify everyone under an anthem. The underground hip hop artist isn't speaking to the crowd. Jay-Z is the paradigm.. and he's really brilliant at what he does. Any pop music can be seen on the edge Jay-Z faces when he says "If I had to do it all again, I'd probably be Talib Kwali"-- the compromise and synergy of the carefully constructed music hit is both an art in-itself, and a consequentialist nightmare that runs away from what the artist might consider the "real" form of art.

Hip-hop, like any other music, will always be around, but is it vital? Do we have ears to hear it anymore? I suppose that the answer is ambiguous. It depends always on what we define as "we". There seems to be the factor of the "hot" along with the "cool". One a kind of revelation and excitement, the other formal and contemplative. But do we ever have any legitimate standpoint to say: this is real jazz, blues, soul, rock, punk, hip-hop.. and this other isn't? It's an organic kind of thing. If we call real hip-hop what it was in the 80's: mixed tapes, MC and DJ battles, breakdancing: we are also condemned to that history, idolizing it. The relationship of the music to the people has to be re-contextualized.

Answer 2

Not dead, but ailing. Long ago (I don't know the history that well, but am thinking mid-late 80s) it was a new genre being developed by talented performers/songwriters. Each artist had their own unique elements that diversified the genre.

From what I have seen, the women and money became more of a recurring theme and, given the simplistic nature of many music fans, music with this content became popular. New artists, inspired by the music that was already available and wanting to become a part of that scene, made hip hop by reusing the most popular elements (as above, money and women) without necessarily adding anything new. This is true to an extent for many genres; hip hop has suffered most from this trend because the music itself is technically very simple and the sound is easy to recreate by novice musicians.

There are new innovators in hip hop, but there are so many wannabe 'gangstas' it gets hard to find the truly good music. Hopefully, this will not stop the progression of the genre.

Answer 3

boost somewhat, provide up only searching for the recent Nas, basic, and Jay-Z album. Percee P purely released an album, he's been rapping because the 80s, military Of The Pharoahs new CD is popping out in 3 days. in case you do not pick to check out them then fantastic, yet provide up telling me there is no denying hip-hop is lifeless, because i'm no longer denying hip-hop is lifeless, you're denying hip-hop is almost as good as always.

Answer 4

Depends. If you think hip hop is about sex drinking or drive bys, I hope it does die. If not, there is still hope! I like hip hop still, but it just depends. I hope true hip hop is alive like Eminem or Kanye West and hip hop like 50 Cent and Lil Kim dies.

Answer 5

It sure isn't. There is still a huge audience for it. It's just a shame so many artists have gone mainstream.

Answer 6

Hopefully.
ok well now I'm editing this......SORRY! hopefully NOT! I can't imagine what I would do if ROCK was dead....i would go nuts! lol so keep on truckin'!
Have a nice day! :)

Answer 7

Not yet

Answer 8

yes! have you heard that "crunk" stuff?! terrible.

Answer 9

No.

Answer 10

No.