This ain’t your fathers’ Hip-Hop. The days of soulful samples being the focal point of every rap artists’ repertoire are gone. Not everyone wants a beat from Premo or a verse from Hov. Not Everyone knows the most popular Tupac songs or can quote Biggie at the drop of a hat, and that’s okay. This new era of what few who’ve grown up with along with Hip-Hop culture would call “rap” is different from the past, and that’s okay They are carving their own lane of artistry with different methods than their predecessors, and that’s okay. They are the truest representations of an Internet Rapper. Soundcloud artists are going Platinum and beefing with Rap’s biggest star. They have been able to utilize their talent along with the internet to even go from stripping to having the #1 single on the charts. The next generation of rap stars have arrived, and they have chosen to be true to what influences them the most musically and create music that represents them. They may not have the same staying power culturally as other Rappers we have grown accustomed to, but they are positioning themselves better financially and within the music genre better then we have ever seen before. We may not see them as the same rap artists we’ve grown up with, and that’s okay. We may not ever have them in our top rappers of all-time list or ever consider them a G.O.A.T., and that’s okay. The music they make may not even be considered rap anymore, but as a sub-genre, and that’s okay. This new crop of talent is paving their own way. We as consumers don’t have to listen, but we can appreciate their grind and hustle
Your Move,
Rook
