Why Hip-Hop is Further from “Dead” Than it Has Ever Been

Dominic Baglier
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read

It plays like a broken record, “Hip hop is dead” and “Mumble rap ruined the genre” are phrases that any fan of the genre is all too familiar with. Many times these criticisms are spouted by old-heads and veterans of the genre, however many young people share the same sentiment, which is quite unfortunate. From parents who claim “rap isn’t real music” to stars in other genres praying for the death of the music as a whole (i.e. Gene Simmons), the genre is subject to more criticism than any other, and yet it’s still the largest genre in the world as of 2017. How could this be? Well let me explain.

As hip-hop expanded, as with anything else, it became increasingly commercialized and in many cases “dumbed down” for radio, however this doesn’t mean that the genre as a whole is dead, nor does it mean that anything other than traditional boom-bap is problematic or fundementally flawed as music.

As the internet and sites like Soundcloud have saturated the music world with more music than ever before, many make the argument that the music has become “diluted” and meaningless, however the latter couldn’t be more incorrect.

I’m going to begin my dive into the current state of hip-hop by explaining why artists who many people write off as “substanceless” and “mumble rap” are actually some of the most creative and inspiring artists in the genre right now. Take an artist such as Young Thug, one of the most frequently criticized creators in the genre, and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Sure, Thug isn’t the most intricate of lyricists, however his bars are entertaining enough to satisfy his massive audience. The real strength of Thug as an artist is in his innovation. From his flows to his genre bending and risk taking, Young Thug is through and through a top tier artist. If you don’t believe me, listen to his recently leaked remix to Elton John’s “Rocket Man”. Thug can switch from fast paced, trap-flavored bangers to smooth R&B ballad’s like none of his contemporaries, so why don’t we give him the artistic credit he deserves? Why do so many write off one of the most innovative artists in modern music as “just another mumble rapper”?

I believe that so many listeners are stuck with this one, narrow concept of what the genre should be. As I said before, Hip Hop is the largest genre in the world now, however it’s no longer just one soundscape. Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest story tellers and lyricists ever to live, yet he is thrown into the same realm as Young Thug, who croons in autotune about drugs and fashion. Comparing these two artists in any capacity is obviously unfair to both of them as they don’t make the same music. In fact, you’d be pressed to find a single simliarity in their styles other than “lots of drums” so why would anyone ever put them into the same genre? This is far from an isolated case in the genre and it’s more than problematic for the artists who desire to create and innovate, as they’re constantly boxed in and told how to sound.

Kendrick Lamar (Left) and Young Thug (Right)
  1. Brockhampton
  2. Childish Gambino
  3. JPEGMAFIA
  4. Lil Uzi Vert
  5. Vince Staples
  6. Travis Scott
  7. A$AP Rocky
  8. Lil Peep
  9. Denzel Curry
  10. PARTYNEXTDOOR

Not a single one of the artists that I listed above (I could list so many more) sounds relatively comparable to the others, from production to their artistic direction, it is inherently unfair to pit these artists against each other and box them into one genre. We are in the midst of a shift in music, but in order for things to change we need to acknowledge that it is detrimental to the innovation of modern music to hold creators to criteria that hasn’t ever and won’t ever fit them.

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