I wanted to elaborate on a post I made a while back about Hip Hop.....
I just find the music very stale and uninspiring of late. An over-saturation of rappers who cannot make songs, and talented emcees who lack potency and progressive production. It's actually made me understand why so many people like Drake, because even though I'm really not a fan of his music, he's got the right idea in terms of crafting a sound that is quintessentially him. I've used that phrase before to describe his music, and it is apt to any popular musician that people find relatable - no matter how talented or they actually are.
In terms of other rappers - I tend to find there's something missing. It will either be the beats are good but the rapper either sucks or lacks any punch or distinguishable attributes. Or the rapper is talented but the overall product is poor. The content is good but the beat is shyt. I'm encountering that more and more and more these days. And I actually think that the bigger stars in today's Hip Hop are the producers. There are some good beatmakers out there. The rappers - eh. They're not even that bad in terms of actual emceeing - for instance, I was listening to Kevin Gates recently and he's surprisingly decent, he kinda reminds me of a knock-off Z-Ro - but there's always something missing. Kendrick is the golden child according to a lot of people I know, but I always think there's something missing when I hear him.
When I was making music, I had that same feeling - that there was something missing and I wasn't quite getting it. I spent a long time trying to figure it out, and I think I've found out what it was. Sometimes things get stale and you have to evolve. I'm expecting Hip Hop to evolve quite soon. For myself, I'd like to create a hybrid sound that can potentially aid that evolution. Because that's what I feel is missing. Need to get that potency, that lyricism, songwriting and progressive production together, rather than fragmented on different parts of the scene.
