Hip-Hop is in a whole new world now, even though the 80’s and 90’s are still met with fond recollections of a Golden Era long gone. The Hip-Hop heads of that era are now in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s…or older. And these folks, by and large, are unhappy with the state of affairs in the rap game. We’ve seen this play out in a number of ways. We thought we’d run down a list of the primary things that annoy Older G’z about the present state of Hip-Hop.
1) “My Generation Is Doper Than The 90’s”
The main thing Old Heads take issue with the present day of Rap is that is ain’t like the good old days. Most forget that there was a plethora of garbage floating around the Hip-Hop universe at every turn. And, make no mistake…each era tends to like their own era. So, buck…don’t you ever think about saying Drake is better than Jay unless you want a real serious argument on your hands.
2) “On Fleek”
Just don’t say “on fleek” to anybody that has a real sense of Hip-Hop Culture from back in the day or they will likely roll their eyes like a pair of dice as they write you off for dead.
3) “Who is (Fill In The Blank With A Legend)?”
Please. You may not care , young buck. And, to some extent, that is OK. However, it is best to know who the hell the legends are in the culture of Hip-Hop. That’s like being a revolutionary and not knowing Malcolm X, but not Elijah Muhammad.
4) Gay-Like Hip-Hop
In the mainstream of Rap music, there have been more and more rappers with a penchant for traditional female tendencies. Back in their day, it was ok for acts like TLC and Boss to take their fashion cues from men. With Young Thug, Daylyte and a few choice others, they have flirted with gender-bending in rap, much to the chagrin of your average old head.
5) The Belief That ANY Rapper Is “Real” Today
The OG’s may OD on love (often mistranslated as hate) for current rap music, but a lot of that is because their era was before the culture was overrun with money and corporate interests. These older heads have a point. You could do like Suge, Just Ice, or Treach and there was no TMZ, Hip-Hop police or social media to blow up the spot. The “real” stayed in the streets. The crazy thing is, a lot of the young boys want to earn their stripes or are simply living the life. And the results are disastrous. Just look at the incarnation rate in the last few years. Anyway….yeah.
The writer of this text came into Hip-Hop as Run DMC bodied s**t. Admittedly, there were lyrical greats before them, like Kool Moe Dee and Grand Master Melle Mel. There are those that think Grand Master Caz and the aforementioned brothers are better than Run, D and Jay. So, this is an age old conversation, not limited to Drake, Iggy and Wayne.