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This is not an opinion piece; it is indeed a fact that the new and upcoming rappers will be (are) pop-stars. Somewhere, rappers went from featuring R&B singers on the choruses of their tracks to actually singing (or attempting to sing) the R&B choruses on their tracks. My question is who is to blame? Is it the rappers themselves? Are the manufactured personas becoming more generic? Or is it the consumers’ (us the fans) fault? Below are explanations as to why the fault may belong to both groups.

Why the rappers are at fault…
You will find very few rappers (nowadays), who do so for the love of the art form. Most fall into one of following categories: 1. they see it as an escape, a way out of their current situation, 2. They are (former) drug-dealers who need to launder some money, 3. They love the flash of the entertainment business, and this is their way to get a piece of it. I am not going to judge any of the reasons listed, if you fall into any one of those categories, you had a need and you found the solution. What I am saying is that those reasons create a problem, otherwise known as monotony. If every rapper has the same background, the same reasons, you get the same music (they turn to pop because it is a safe bet, pop is immortal!), and as of lately that music has been crap. In the past, before hip-hop became a business, it was an art form (it still is, but that only holds true on an individual basis), a way to express yourself, and the result was a variety of MCs, with different backgrounds, and endless creativity. While your reasons for loving hip-hop may be similar to someone else’s, the odds of them being identical are slim to none. Those who ‘do it for the love of it’ have taken a back seat to those who ‘do it for the needs it fulfills’, and that is partially where the fans are at fault.

Why fans are at fault…
I hear a lot of talk about how influential rappers are, and I have mixed feelings about that idea in general. Rappers only exploit the trends we accept, meaning they can try and bring new styles, but if we don’t accept it, if we don’t follow that style, then guess what happens? To explore the reasoning behind why we have become a society of followers would send me off on a tangent, so I won’t (maybe later). If you want to know why hip-hop/rap is in its current condition, you have to look no further then the mirror (you may want to check out your friends too). Rappers who ‘do it for the need it fulfills’ will bend to whatever the latest trend is, or find another avenue. So, make the new trend, good music! Then, we won’t have to scour the internet for the Rappers who ‘do it for the love of it’. I’m tired of the ‘good for the next 5 minutes’ crap, I want that ‘play it 10 years from now and it still bump’ back!

Well, that was my soap box for the day, leave a comment below and tell me what you think!