The Current Era of Hip-Hop, a reality check for the OLD youth

These days everyone is talking about the state of our beloved music genre "Hip-Hop". Hip-Hop has had many a face lift over the years, but despite the fact the genre seems unrecognizable at times, the fact still remains, Hip-Hop is the voice, music, and soul of the youth. The reason for the constant change is...the youth gets old. Times change, styles change, people change, and in this current era of Hip-Hop that change (whether for the good or bad) is apparent. Me personally, I'm not mad at the change. Instead of hating on the mumble/melodic rappers, I embrace the ones I like and ignore those I don't. Just like when I was growing up and my mom would yell


"cut that mess down! Why would they sit there and ruin The Temptations song like that!?"


At the time I had no idea what she was talking about. "Who the f*ck were the Temptations?" "How could my favorite rappers of the time ruin their song when they made it up?" Back in the day I was ignorant to sampling, beat borrowing, and flat out remakes of older songs. The songs I listened to, were the songs. That artist was a genius and nothing came before them. My mom looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world, b/c she knew better at the time. Despite hating the music I was coming up on (Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Big L, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas, Ma$e, Cam'ron, The Fugees, DMX etc.) there were always a few songs that she would hear, listen to, and enjoy with me. She did what I do now, tuned out what she couldn't stand, but showed love to what caught her ear and kept her attention.


So now the youth likes beats and melody over lyrical content, now they're wearing super tight jeans and bright colors, now they like high top fades that lead to bantu knots and naps, and me, I still like what I like. No one is right or wrong, I just know what they're on isn't for me. But despite this new wave not being for me, there are always those that stand out, shine, and can cross over into my interests and catch my ear. So why hate on what they're doing? Your grandparents hated your parents music, your parents hated your music, and for those with children you probably hate their music because it's not for you. Let these kids live! I'm still young enough to enjoy the music I grew up on and the new music the artists I grew up on makes. When those artists stop making music, I am young enough to find new artist I like and give their music a try. My tastes will dictate who I give a chance, listen to, and accept, while my maturity allows me to respect the ones I don't like. The guys the "old heads" are always complaining about are doing the same thing our "beloved" artists are doing 20 years ago. So my advice to the readers my age and better...give some of these young artists a chance, if you can't stand it, let it be and continue listening to what suits you. To the youth living in these times, do your research, find out why the older folks are so mad. You'll be surprised at how much the older music has influenced everything that's out today. Respect the artistry, respect the culture, and respect each other. Hip-Hop is a timeless genre that belongs to the youth. Whether that youth was born in the 80's, 90's, or 2000's, Hip-Hop will always reflect what is currently happening in today's society. If you call yourself a true fan of Hip-Hop there's no way you can love the culture without embracing the current, new, and future of the genre. No matter how dumb they may sound LOL!


Suggested Artists to listen to for "Old heads"
1. Lil Uzi Vert
2. Migos
3. Desiigner
4. Rae Sremmurd
5. Chance The Rapper


Suggested Artists to listen for "Youngins" (History lessons)
1. Rakim
2. KRS One
3. Big L
4. Notorious BIG
5. Jay-Z
6. Diddy/Ma$e
7. Cam'ron/Dipset
8. DMX
9. Method Man/Wu-Tang Clan
10. Snoop Doggy Dogg (1994)
11. Dr. Dre/Eminem/50 Cent