And while we applaud
these advances to further promote Hip-Hop, we all know that the foundation of
Hip-Hop is the music. 2013 has seen a good gumbo of veteran emcees still
delivering high quality music as well as rookies making their mark in the game.
The artist formally known as Snoop Doggy Dogg dropped a Hip-Hop tape on 4/20
and is now trying to make his mark in the Reggae game. Big K.R.I.T. hit us with
a few tapes, included his nearly classic 4eva N a Day. Of course since this is
a stayfly article I have to acknowledge Nas’ Life is Good album which peaked at
#1 on Billboard 200 (Nasty was even labeled the “finest emcee” by CNN). 9th
Wonder seemed to work with everyone and was able to drop two collab
albums with Murs and another with Buckshot. We’ve even seen Shady records make
one of the most successful X-Factor type Hip-Hop groups in recent memory with
Slaughterhouse. The year even ended with the much anticipated collabo ablum
from Wu-Tang and D-Block and a very strong showing from T.I. with Trouble Man: Heavy
Is the Head.
Arguably the most successful debut album came
from Kendrick Lamar with Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. K Dot started the year off
signing with Dr.Dre in a joint venture with his Top Dawg Entertainment. From
that point on his buzz grew in the mainstream light (he had already been
getting underground recognition with Overly Dedicated and Section.80). Since
then he has been featured on tracks with Talib Kewli, Game, J Cole, Dido, A$AP
Rocky, Pac Div, Big Sean, E-40, and of course his Black Hippy crew. I feel the
most underrated and slept on debut album came from Rapsody (read her The Ideaof Beautiful review). These two emcees probably had the best debuts in the rap
game. You can really tell when you listen to their bars that not only are they
incredibly gifted writers but that they are both students of the culture. Another
young cat I felt embodied the “student of Hip-Hop” aura is Mac Miller. His
lyrical ability is def not as strong as the aforementioned emcees but you can
tell this kid has been eating, breathing and living Hip-Hop most his life. From
his “Beats, Rhymes & Life” tattoo, to naming Big L as his biggest
influence, this kid has the foundation to make a big change in the rap game
(even though you have to mush through a lot of lazy rap songs in his catalog,
but the kid is only 20).
My hope is that Hip-Hop continues to take more
steps forward in the New Year. We've had the Google “Hip-hop on Trial” debate
which tackles the ongoing issue of Hip-Hop’s eternal struggle: the balance between
the positive it can have, against the negative images it portrays in main
stream media. While Hip-Hop is a “young man’s game”, we are at an interesting
point in which we have an overabundance of new rappers coming out the woodwork and at the same time have the 30/40+ emcees still going strong. The mentoring
process is evident with some artists (ie. Dre and Kendrick). Just like
immigrants (who come the States) have to make an effort to make sure their
culture/language isn't lost with the next generation, it too falls on the
shoulders of the veteran emcees to make sure the new wave of artists know what
came before them. I normally get on my old man “back in my day” rants whenever I
talk about Hip-Hop, but this is not a blanket statement. I single out those
whom I feel does nothing to help the culture and further perpetuate the
stereotype of the “rapper”. Yes, most of these rappers happen to be young guns
coming up with overnight success from their club singles, but I do not think
all young artists are void of substance. And I hope 2013 provides more examples
for me to choose. Our mark in society has been expanding exponentially, and
Hip-Hop has already proven it is not a fad. Now it is time continue the legacy
and make sure the baton gets passed correctly to those who deserve it.
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