Hip-hop is a very powerful medium. In 2017, it became the most popular genre of music dethroning Rock n Roll’s 40-year run. Whenever I think about Hip-Hop, I usually think about the 1980's rappers consisting of Kurtis Blow, and RUN DMC. These were some of the pioneers of the genre who rapped upbeat messages about themselves.
As the 90’s rolled around, we had a revamp of Hip-Hop when gangster rap came on the scene. The genre became more negative with many of the lyrics being sexist, homophobic, and anti-police. This new wave of gangster rap took on a culture of its own, with many mimicking the rapper's lifestyle of selling drugs, beating women, and killing cops.
After much outcry, the genre once again changed to a family-friendly pop sound with the likes of auto-tune. Rappers like Akon, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West found a new sound blending hardcore lyrics and R&B singing with a catchy beat. This was known as the ringtone era of hip-hop.
I grew up listening to a lot of this music and as the times have changed, so has hip-hop.
The days of blatant misogynist lyrics and music videos are behind us. Occasionally, we have an artist that slips through the censorship with out of date content but our society is getting better at what we tolerate.
Within the last few years, we have seen the rise and rebirth of a female artist like Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. They have provided a much need jolt to a genre that had started to deteriorate with corny-mumble raps.
The competition between these two ladies is necessary to help evolve the genre similar to have male artist did during my era.
Art is subjective and everybody has their own particular taste. If these ladies continue to focus on making quality music and not on beefing with each other with subtle diss- then it can be very interesting to hear what they have in store for their fans.
Haters will proclaim that hip-hop is a man’s game. However, I disagree. I believe music is an art form that should celebrate diverse voices from men and women, black or white. If the genre continues to exclude outsiders, the genre will never truly evolve into a medium of expression that all artists can partake in.
I think that music is turning into something that must adapt to the current times. If people complain that music doesn't sound the same way it did 20 years ago, they haven't adapted to the new age. With each era, there was always someone complaining about something and disapproving of artistic expression. It is important to understand perspective and where someone is coming from before we judge.
