Bad Rap

In 2006 Nas dropped the album Hip Hop is Dead and oh my damn Hip Hop went crazy. In 2013 I’m startin to ponder how true those words could be? Especially considering what the first few months of rap music has seemed to be in comparison to its supposed more sensitive and softer spoken sibling, r&b.

Gone are the days where the r&b singer is suppose to be masters of love: singing about significant others, heartache, and random love making (not sex, but makin love). No more playing in the background of a rapper’s platinum pop hit or even playing background when a rapper features on their song. The current crop of R&B stars are stepping out with just as much swag as their hip hop counterparts.

So far some of the biggest songs that have dropped this year and got the hip hop sites buzzin have involved R&B artists. Everybody went crazy when Beyonce  dropped “I Been On”. Yeh ppl have hated on it but in an artistic value. And yes there has been buzz about which rappers is and will be on the remix and future remixes but have to point out the fact that an R&B singer started this whole thing with a song. Beyonce’s joint is just an indication of the aggression you can feel from these singers nowadays. Take Ray J for example. Drops a diss song “I Hit it First” against Kim Kardashian out of nowhere. Ray J!! Aint that Brandy’s brother? But the one to really take the spotlight right now is Chris Brown. Last week a video was released where just tears through a freestyle on Hot97. Not to mention his much talked about verse (partially because of the Drake diss) on Young Jeezy’s R.I.P. remix.
 

So all this talk about R&B but what noise have the rappers made lately? Oh I dont know maybe about nothing related to art too much. You want notoriety, how about Lil Wayne offending a civil rights activist during Black History Month? Or what about Rick Ross’ rape line. It wasnt even his song!! That will get you noticed but that’s not what hip hop is about. Yes rap music is controversial at times raping women comparing civil rights workers’ faces to vaginas really aint helping the cause. Neither is the fact that the one anticipated song this year (Drake’s Started from the Bottom) has lead to criticism that he really didnt start from the bottom.

So is hip hop dying right now? Hard to argue considering the things going on right now and hard to believe after the year of albums which has happened and those projected to happen. But how long is it going to last for R&B right now. Big Krit has just dropped a mixtape already crowned a classic and J. Cole is well on his way to drop this year. Cause while these singers may be trying out different styles, their taking away from the romantic aura of R&B which is gonna eventually that genre. and it wont be long before we’re giving them a “Bad Rap”.