Out with the "new"

In this day, hip-hop has nearly taken over the music industry. Being such a young genre of music, it continues to rise to the top of the charts. But, is the hip-hop of today as good as that of the past? Many of today's artists focus so much more on bumping beats rather than lyrical content. Although this is not true to all of today's artists, there is still a large portion that do fall under this category. Artists like Soulja Boy and Waka Flacka Flame, in my opinion produce nothing more than just nonsensical noise.

But going back a few decades to the 1990's, it can be said that this era was the golden age of hip-hop. Some of the most influential artists came out of this period. Many hip-hop enthusiasts will agree that some of the greatest artists are no longer living. Artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Guru, and Big L; however small their contribution changed the hip-hop industry forever.

Here is a list of the good and bad or old and new of hip-hop.

Soulja Boy's "Turn My Swag On":

Released in 2008, "Turn My Swag On" is the epitome of my earlier mentioned "nonsensical noise". If Soulja Boy's existence had never occurred, the hip-hop industry would be a much better place. Soulja Boy's success depends solely on his attraction to the younger crowd with his catchy beats and subpar rhyme scheme and content.

Eminem's "Syllables":

In 2010, Eminem challenged the music industry with his song "Syllables". In it, he rhymes about today's rappers and how phony they are. A hip-hop artists ability to quickly transition from word to word while rhyming them together can be a large factor to the quality of an artists work. But, so can the usage of larger and more complex words. The ability to rhyme together words with many syllables is a thing of the past that many newer artists lack. In "Syllables", Eminem claims, "And how do we adapt and get TRL votes, when 13 year olds control the remotes". This is a testament to the reason behind the success of many artists today despite their lack of lyrical talent.

Tupac's "Changes":

Originally released in 1992, the song "Changes" encompasses the struggle of living on the streets. Tupac claims that there must be a change made in order for the people of the U.S. to live in peace. Unlike many artists of today, this is a common theme in many of Shakur's recordings. His songs all have a deeper meaning to them than just attracting a fan base. This is why Tupac is regarded as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop.