"Is HipHop dead or has it just been reborn?"
For some time now, this question has been the spark that would cause many heated arguments in the hair salons, barbers, streets and schools. With that said, it is about time I address it on this page. With the raise of artist's such Gucci Mane, Soulja Boy, Flocka Locka and even Flo-rida it is pretty clear as too see why some feel HipHop is now dead and no longer relevant and in its place is this new generic form of rappers rhyming about materials and life style. It is clear to see that HipHop has now been centred around "bling" and groupies. In all honesty when I first heard Soulja Boy's debut single I thought it would be a one off, that it was just a fun summer song released by a young boy. Unfortuntley I was wrong, this was indeed his peak. From that song on he continued to murder this beloved genre I call HipHop. I won't even bother with Gucci Mane or Flocka Locka because as you can tell from their name, they are jokes.
On the other hand however we have rappers such as T.I, Kanye West, Eminem and Jayz who still carry the torch of HipHop in a relevant manner. I know that Eminem was somewhat not a serious rapper when he was on the come up but with his latest three albums he has proved that he can rap serious about something meaningful and he can do it well. We all know what Jayz has achieved in the rap game but as Eminem him self, "He is still under rated." T.I continues to charm audiences with his old school swag and Kanye entertains others with his new school persona. I know that from looking at this list you see that all the positive rappers are also the four top selling artist in the genre and all that is missing is Lil Wayne. Well once Wayne wakes up and starts rapping about something other than his money, fame and start to rap about his come up and rap relevancy I am positive he could be ranked as a great HipHop artist. In the mean time, he clearly is not the Best Rapper alive but indeed the Best Rapper alive according to non fans.
To conclude, HipHop is not dead, yet, it is dying. But will be able to survive if the love for the music over rides the hunger for fame and fortune.
