A troubling thought that I have had over the last few years is wondering if the time of the veteran rappers is over. I grew up listening to all of the classic rappers from the late 80’s to the late 90’s. It just seemed like a treasure trove of dope, lyrical rappers at the time. I don’t think I realized how lucky we all were to have such great and talented artists. Then the late 90’s and 2000’s came along and I saw the trends moving more towards a southern style. It’s pretty much been that way since then too. The Atlanta mumble scene has pretty much taken over. At first I hated the likes of Cash Money Records and Ludacris and countless others. Over time, I have come to appreciate those acts more since I see the likes of newer artists coming out like Riff Raff, Lil Yachty, Tekashi 6ix9ine, The Migos, and others. Sometimes it just seems like it is getting worse and worse as far as the quality. We always could rely on the veteran rappers that we loved from the 90’s. They were still dropping projects the whole way through this transition and the seemed to stay true to their original fanbase. But, as of the last few years, it just seems that the vets aren’t holding their weight as they once did. As a broad generalization, (there’s always exceptions to the rule), it seems that the projects aren’t as good as earlier releases. The vets are getting up in years and perhaps losing their young spirit for the game. They have grown comfortable in their lives of abundance and no longer relate to the struggling majority. A lot of times, their music loses it’s edge and they don’t sound as sharp as they once did. One of the only MC’s that I have seen be truly consistent and truly great is Jay-Z. His last 2 albums 4:44 and Everything Is Love were both near flawless just as all his work has been. He hasn’t missed a step at all. Him aside, we’ve seen this troubling trend of albums flopping like Eminem’s Revival and I’d even argue that his Kamikaze album suffers from the same thing (although not quite to the same degree as Revival). We definitely didn’t get the same Eminem that we did in the past. He’s been slipping for quite some time. Look at artists like Nas and his catalog. Then you listen to his most current album Nasir, which Kanye West probably had a hand in butchering. I don’t think Nas really slipped too far back on the lyrical side of things, but the beats that were put together for that album were terrible for the most part. Even Kanye West’s latest album Ye was a complete mockery and not worthy of anyone’s attention. Gone are the glory days of albums like The College Dropout or Late Registration. The last time Kanye did a great solo album was My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. With other vets slipping like Noreaga’s 5E and Ice Cube’s Everythang’s Corrupt, I just see the pattern again and again of all of my hero’s becoming less than what they were as they grow older. It’s a sad thing and I truly hope it is not the end of their stories. Let’s all try harder to create quality content. Pour your heart and soul into everything you do. Tell stories and be vulnerable. Confide in your audience. By doing these things, we can all get better, relate to each other more easily, and create more quality content to be treasured for years to come instead of giving the next generation our disposable garbage.
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