What happened?

Whatever happened to rap? Now I'm not a big fan of it, but it's really changed over the years. Think about it. Back in the late 70's, and the 80's is where it became a recognized entity. And it was fun. Sure, it's had controversy about it's messages, but so have other major forms of music. For instance Rapper's Delight. To this day it's become a staple of the beginning of the rap industry. It's one of those songs that you don't know, and don't really have to know the lyrics to enjoy. It's catchy and takes you for a ride.

The delivery methods started to change quickly, as did the beat and sound mix it was put too, however it stayed true to its roots up until the 90's. MC Hammer, and Vanilla Ice were the big hitters that everyone loved at the time. Sure, now they'll claim they didn't, but it's garbage. Especially when it comes to Vanilla Ice. Even DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince where success stories. While many will pan the Fresh Prince today (aka Will Smith) he's stayed loyal to his roots as well, and is just about having a good time.

But then the sun began to set. The new heavy hitters came to play, and they were looking for an outlet to bring attention to where they came from. Ice Cube, 2Pac, Notorious BIG, Snoop Dog, Dr Dre. 2Pac I especially like to point out as a person of interest here, because he was a huge part of the transition. He went from the late part of the early era with Digital Undergound to this new era as a solo artist. While there was some fun and games here, the tone became dark. Instead of talking about good times, they began looking at where they came from. Hard hitting streets filled with drugs, alcohol, and violence. It was different, edgy, and hard hitting. An overnight sensation saw the birth of gangster rap. There were few alternatives to this style without leaving the genre.

Then came what I call the dark days, which we are still in. Ever since these few stepped of to the challenge and made the gamble to fall flat on their face, few have actually had the intestinal fortitude to follow suite. A few players have come and gone from the game like Will Smith, Ice T, LL Cool J, but they don't have much left for the music world, and certainly have enough other things on their plate. ICP, and Eminem have brought their own moves to the game, but overall the boat has run derelict, and is lost at sea.

There's nothing new being offered up. Basically people are just following a set template, and mimicking what's already been done. Really it's at varying success as well as what the money men want to cram down our throats. Some artists, shouldn't even be called artists in my opinion. They offer little more than back up, "yeah" or "yea-uhhh" or some stupid word(s) that don't add, but can certainly takes away from what is out there.  And they're as fake as it gets. The irony being they rap about getting rich from crime, but raise hell about pirated music. It's called karma you fake musician!

While I'm not a fan of modern rap music, it's not to say I've never been a fan or don't have respect for the artists. I have been a fan, and occasionally come across something I like. But these days it's very rare indeed. As a one time musician myself, and growing up in a musicians house, I know how hard it can be. What I do want to see, and what I am saying is that it's time for a new era. Originality, and creativity need to come back. Ludacris has offered a glimpse of some of that, as have few others. Sadly, most are gone before they even really get started in the industry though. Meanwhile we get more garbage building up.

The sheep continue to be herded.