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I wouldn't say that he's responsible single-handedly for destroying hip hop (nor do I think it's been destroyed), but if I had to pick one rapper who represents more than any other the negatives of hip hop, it would be 50 Cent.
50 Cent to me is the Britney Spears of rap. That is to say that, like Britney Spears, there is absolutely nothing remarkable about him in terms of talent, charisma, looks or voice. Some rappers are known for their witty wordplay (Ludacris, Eminem), their unique flow (Snoop Dogg, Nelly), their sociopolitical commentary (Nas, Mos Def), or their innovative music (Kanye West, Outkast, The Roots); and to me, 50 Cent has none of those things. His rap skills are unremarkable, the beats to his songs are virtually all the same and the subject doesn't change from the rap stereotypes of pimps, drugs, women, flashing wealth and violence. Quite a few of the artists I mentioned earlier do the same, but they at least have some sort of saving grace usually in that they have something that makes them unique whereas I feel like you could take almost any kid out of a housing project in Jamaica, Queens and with the right producers, handlers and trainers turn him into a "50 Cent" (which is the same way I feel about Britney Spears).
There are plenty of other artists in hip hop who I have similar criticisms of. Hip hop is rife with one hit wonders who record a song about ass-shaking, have it shoot to the top of the charts, release a platinum album full of generic rap and then fall off the face of the Earth. T-Pain, Juvenile, Lil Jon, Ja Rule, Soulja Boy, MIMS, Mystikal. I could go on and on. The reason why I pick on 50 Cent more than these guys is the sole reason that he has sold more records than any of them and continues to have a stellar career. More than any other rapper, he has made a career out of generic mediocrity and that's why I think he's the poster boy for what is wrong with the state of hip hop music today. No other rapper to me has been able to stretch their lack of talent as far as he has.
If I had to single out one rapper, it would be Master P. I'm not saying that he singlehandedly made hip-hop go downhill, but he started a wave of music that has brought rap to a new level of ignorance. The sad part about it is that is it doesn't seem to be going away.
It's too bad that hip hop, like so many other genres, ended up with its own no-talents who float by with some style, but little substance.
Maybe hip hop "died" but maybe it will undergo a rebirth.
Last edited by christina0001; 12-09-2007 at 12:25 PM..
Reason: widowed/referenced posts deleted
It would be helpful to the discussion if contributors would move beyond the view of hip-hop that is offered by the Top 40 charts.
Many of those artists are abhorrent and just plain bad.
But Top 40 rappers do not define hip-hop.
Anyone interested in hip-hop will need to do some research of their own - there is a whole world of music out there that has nothing to do with Eminem, 50 Cent, Master P, etc.
B Frank, I am not exactly an initiate into the esoteric world of hip hop, either.
No doubt there is good stuff outside the mainstream, just as there always is in rock, despite the naysayers.
My remark referred to the Nas record, it was not some sort of elegaic declaration.
I think the villains who chip away at hip hop or any other genre tend to be the record companies.
The record companies do not want groundbreaking compositions and innovations; they want to move product.
Last edited by christina0001; 12-09-2007 at 12:25 PM..
Reason: widowed/referenced post deleted
You're right b. frank, the mainstream artists do not define hip-hop. I guess a better way to put it would be what artists give hip-hop a bad name to the masses. I'll admit I haven't been keeping up with hip-hop because I've been "discovering" new genres that I like. The rappers that I like (Common, Talib Kweli, Nas etc.) tend to be more mainstream compared to some of the other hip-hop artists, but they are still less popular than Spare Change and Feminem.
I'm old enough to have actually lived the disco days, and owned the LP vinyl of "Sugar Hill" with Grand Master J. My son STILL thinks I'm not cool. And he is into the Gangster rap, which there are different genres of HipHop. Its not easy to categorize; No proper way to answer it.
I will say that the ignorant illiterate guys that make up nursery rhyme-sort of lyrics are un-talented and exploiting consumers.
...I had a little girl, her name was Jill, she dressed quite ill and we be doin' it on a hill....
It isn't really the rappers.....it is the public and the people behind the rappers. Without them there would be NO crap rap now-a-days. People are getting stupider and impressed more and more by expensive looks...and it is affordable so that everyone can do so, that it goes hand in hand and people think they are the same as rappers...even if they go in their Geo Metro to their apartment in the hood.
It's just art imitating life.......and in return life imitating art.
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move beyond...
