What has the rap game come too?

It is better or worse? Well, it’s safe to say that the “substance” part of rap is just about extinct. Unfortunately, it seems as though Kendrick Lamar and J Cole will be the last of an era. These two artists are the only two conscious rappers in the game that have been able to make an impact on mainstream culture at the same time. Of course you still have conscious rappers in the game like Mick Jenkins, Noname and Saba, however these artists have yet been able to pass the threshold into becoming household names. Quite frankly, we wouldn’t be surprised to learn that these rappers have no desire to be in the spotlight.

So with conscious rap seemingly going extinct, what is it we have left? The answer is the emergence of relatively new rap genres such as Emo rap, Trap, Drill and other songs that can just be described as “Slappers”. Although some of these genres can turn some attention to mental health, there isn’t much substance published on a frequent basis. Just your typical song topics like women, drugs, cars and jewelry.

We aren’t going to go on bashing these genres the whole editorial. Old heads do that enough. Although I would love to pick apart the mediocrity put into the lyrics of these genres’ songs, I will give them some credit for the things they’ve brought forth in culture. For example, the diversity in rap listeners have noticeably grown thanks to these genres. No…we don’t have stats to back this up. If you don’t believe us, go to a Playboi Carti concert and see for yourself.

It seems like the new subgenres of rap have given ethnicities besides African Americans the green light, helping them to feel welcome to listening and engaging. And who hates diversity? The Young Thug country-rap mixes ended up doing something positive. Who would have thought? Or maybe is was the rockstar-like flow of Lil Uzi that made rock fans say…”hey, that’s pretty hardcore”. Anyway you choose to look at it, there is soooome positivity that’s been present in the degradation of conscious rap and the emergence of the new subgenres. In my personal opinion, I would take Kendrick songs like “U” over Young Thugs, “Family Don’t Matter”. However, the next time I choose to bash the new era of rap, I will give them some credit for welcoming new types of rap fans. Then, I will proceed bashing.