Hip Hop 2013

It was just 7 years ago when Hip Hop Legend Nas made a water coolers and barbers shops a-like go crazy by proclaiming ‘Hip Hop is Dead’. He wasn’t speaking financially or global impact, but the art itself. Love him or hate him, you couldn’t deny that what the labels were feeding the masses around the time of the statement was a bit of a downgrade from decades previous. Somewhere the balance between fun and having a message completely got disconnected. That same rapper dropped an album in 2012(Life is Good) that, in any other year would have been the album of the year by a landslide, as many people are already hailing it a ‘classic’.

With key contributions from veterans such as the aforementio

ned Queens MC, Common, and Too $hort as well as rookies such as Kendrick Lamar, and Meek Mill, it seems like hip hop is on the right track again. Unfortunately, long are the days where hip hop artist are going gold in the first week and platinum in two. Infact, no hip hop album released in 2012 has even gone platinum as of today, but somehow those become just numbers once you realize how much better the material is becoming.

The biggest factor in the resurgence of good music has to be the internet. The internet gives people options outside what’s on their TV and radio stations. Once the people start to decide what they want to hear, the powers tend to shift dramatically  Ironically enough, the internet is also the biggest reason for the demise in sales. Between free downloads, and rappers giving away free material, the magic of going to the store and unwrapping your favorite artist CD’s are far removed from the this younger generation.

kendrick

All in all we have a lot to look forward to in 2013. With new albums from Drake, Kanye, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, J Cole and more, I’m sure we’ll get to see an artist reach that platinum mark sooner than later. Not only that, there’s always room for the new guy. Who will emerge in 2013 as the new ‘savior’? What trends will be set? Will A$ap Rocky fully cross over to being a household name with his debut album ( Long.Live.A$AP)coming out in January? Only time will tell, but in the infamous words of underground legend and New Orleans MC Curren$y ‘J.ust E.njoy T.his S.hit’.

Till next time, Peace.

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