A wise man once said, "Hip hop is dead." Call Nas a pessimist, but since the early 2000's, rap seems to have gone downhill. It has fallen into the same vortex that pop music went down a long time ago, where it seems to be less about the meaning behind the lyrics and more about finding catchy beats and hooks that people will want to blast in their cars or listen to while they are working out.

Prior to the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of rap music reflected societal issues. Artists like Grandmaster Flash and N.W.A. were instrumental in giving a voice to the racial injustice occurring in America at the time, ranging anywhere from the pressure to participate in gang to institutionalized racism within the justice system. N.W.A.'s 1988 song, "F*** the Police" was among the first to voice injustices such a police brutality or racial profiling that were happening in inner city neighborhoods that the rest of America had little to no knowledge about. According to University of New Hampshire communication professor Michael Soha, "[This song] came out at a time when most mainstream media outlets did not routinely look at or cover those issues. It wouldn’t be until the 1991 police beating of Rodney King, which was caught on camera and later broadcast around the country that these issues began to receive more attention."

"F*** the Police" and other popular hip hop songs from the 80's, such as Grand Master Flash and The Furious Five's, "The Message," were important because they gave voice to the reality of incidents similar to that of the Rodney King case and showed that such instances were more common than the seldom few that were featured on the news. The lyrics in these songs voiced the hardships faced by members in urban communities. These songs were influential because they shed light on a struggle that was not shown in mainstream media. According to Soha, "Early rap and hip hop was not always political, but much of it was, and a lot of the political anger and energy from hip hop highlighted the black experience, especially of urban ghettos, which were markedly different from the world of “middle America” being portrayed on television, even with shows like “The Cosby Show” which featured a black family."

So why is, "Hip hop dead," then? Well, since the turn of the century, honest lyrics like those of N.W.A. and Grand Master Flash gave way to more insignificant, borderline misogynist lyrics. Rappers like Eminem, Nelly, Lil Wayne and Drake seem to care less about real life problems and more about degradation of women, flaunting money and inherent drug use.

However, within the past several years, a new star has risen among the Drakes and Rick Ross' of the world who has brought back an element to the rap game that we haven't seen since the 90s: Kendrick Lamar. Lamar first gained popularity in 2012 with the release of his Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City album. After this release, Lamar became a favorite to hip hop fans nationwide and established himself as one of America's favorite hip hop artists, among modern and old school hip-hop fans alike. According to filmmaker and author Nelson George, "He is the first person in a long time that a lot of the old heads respect."

In March of 2015, Lamar released a new album, titled, To Pimp a Butterfly, which was by far the most influential hip hop album of the 21st century thus far. As Lamar stated on the release of his album, this album, "...represents using my celebrity for good." To Pimp a Butterfly channeled the spirit and passion of N.W.A. and Grand Master Flash to make a commentary on the many instances of racially motivated police brutality and injustices that occurred in 2014 and early 2015 prior to the release of the album.

During this period of racial tension Lamar's album not only served to paint a picture of the reality of the brutality, but was a beacon of hope for black communities nationwide. Journalist Aisha Harris coined Lamar's song Alright as the, "new black national anthem," because, "The chorus is simple yet extraordinarily intoxicating, easy to chant, offering a kind of comfort that people of color and other oppressed communities desperately need all too often: the hope—the feeling—that despite tensions in this country growing worse and worse, in the long run, we’re all gon’ be all right."

On the other hand, some songs such as, The Blacker the Berry, speak to the "Black Lives Matter" movement and comment on the struggle blacks face working and living in often institutionally racist environments. In the song, Lamar says, "The plot is bigger than me, it's generational hatred, it's genocide, it's grimy, it's little justification." Lamar does not sugar-coat the situation, but rather, uses his power as a celebrity to voice the struggles that black Americans face too often.

In a world of rappers who find importance in talking about, "good kush and alcohol," Lamar isn't afraid to channel the old school legends and use music to spark societal change. Rap is often blamed as an enabler of violence, yet artists like Lamar prove that rap is a reflection of society and is a true form of art. Influential rap such as that of Lamar and N.W.A. serve a greater purpose other than just something to put on as background music. So thank you, Kendrick, for providing Americans with hope and for reviving the hip hop that was once dead.