Rap music is certainly changing for the worse, in my opinion. T.I.’s album this year is certainly good in the realm of rap albums that come and go. Naturally, like all artists, all of T.I.’s critics are comparing him to his older work. Critics compare his current work to his other names and alter egos, including the Rubber Band Man and T.I.P. Some say he is on top of rap based on one of his singles, “Swagga Like Us”, off his latest album Paper Trail.   

Some people, hardcore fans that have listened to rap since the beginning, think material like T.I.’s is just mediocre. That it and most mainstream rap could be so much better and Lil Wayne as the carrier of hip-hop into the new millennium is a lame excuse for being the King of Hip-Hop. I disagree, I think Lil Wayne is unique because of his vocal sound, and his raps are weird, making him stand out because he does not make sense most of the time. But that’s what makes him great. Rap has come to a time where rap is full of hot beats, but I do have to agree that most of the lyrics could be better. The samples are cool but I do get tired of all the rappers rapping about the money and stuff; who cares? I want the rappers to return to rapping about the ghetto, the hard times, the struggles. Maybe all the rappers are all past the days of the ghetto. There was the gangsta rap era where 2Pac and so many others struggled with living in LA, Compton or New York, respectively. There were even earlier artists like New York City’s Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five with songs like “The Message”, where they talked about surviving in poverty in the inner city. Now that all of the rappers are rich and famous, full of bling, cars, women and fun times at the clubs, the past is gone. Perhaps we are in the next step of evolution for rap.

Jay-Z is the rapper probably most famously known for bringing a drug dealer-turned rapper from the ghetto into fame and success: The true rags-to-riches story. Jay-Z brought everyone into the good life and made everyone talk about swagger and stuff. I am sure there are rappers out there that keep it real and true to form, Immortal Technique is one of them. However, rappers are not getting into the mainstream, as they deserve. Common is out there, but I do not feel it from him like I did from Grandmaster Flash. I do not hear the inner pain, the eternal struggle of being a black man in a white man’s world. Moreover, isn’t that what it comes down to?