gangsta rap: a non-violent death

for those of us who follow rap closely, and especially for all the extant hip-hop junkies of the world, it has recently come to my attention that several very subtle shifts in the subject matter of mainstream rap have culminated in a redirection of hip hop as we know it. as rappers such as lupe fiasco, kanye west, drake, and kid cudi are more and more successful, it's very interesting to see more traditional "gangsta" rappers such as t.i., lil wayne, and jay-z lean more heavily on their non-gangsta content of their lyrics. interesting. there have always been rappers, successful by other means besides counting the number of units moved, such as the roots and common who were generally very introspective and conciousin their raps, and it seems that is the direction that hip hop has taken today. historically, hip hop was very introspective and more biographical at its inception. looking back at rappers like big daddy kane, rakim, and biz markie, there wasn't the insipid attitude in rap where everyone was claiming to shoot your mother, rape your grandmother, beating "that bitch wit a bat." none of that. rap used to be conscious. one listen to grandmaster flash and the furious five's "the message", and one actually visualizes what it's like to come from the hood. imagine that.

rockin out to jay-z's the blueprint 3, helped me to come to the very apparent realization that gangsta rap is coming to a non-violent death. jay-z is more or less the head hauncho in the rap game, and he doesn't have one gangsta song on the entire album (DOA is probably the hardest song on that joint). this is an album that is brilliant by even jay-z standards. the production is tight, the lyrics are on point, and there is actually a message in most of the songs. be amazed. thinking along those same lines leads me to reflect on t.i.'s last album paper trail: not very gangsta. although, there is some g up in there, the album is very introspective and moves away from the pervasive shoot'em up motif characteristic of his previous albums.

with that being said, hopefully the current trend in hip hop will continue. it would be great to see more innovation in lyrical content and more diverse themes in rap. and don't just take my word for it, take a listen for yourself...