What's Real? What's Not?:The Current State of Hip Hop

Much has been said about the current state of mainstream rap music. If you ask the fans, you may get mixed reviews. Some people think the music that goes viral on your local urban radio stations "Isn't real hip-hop/music", or you may hear people say they like the music that plays on the radio because it puts them in a good mood and they don't have to do much thinking to listen to it. Unfortunately, that's the problem. Most people are ignorant of the distinction between hip-hop and rap, and many see the two as synonymous. While the two are connected, to say that they are the same thing would be incorrect. Hip-hop can be defined as "a culture which allows self-expression through many different avenues." The three main pillars of the culture are: DJ'ing, Breaking (incorrectly called break dancing), and MCing (informally known as rapping). The word "rap" itself is used to describe the music an MC (master of ceremonies) performs over. So basically rap is the music within the culture of Hip-Hop. The unique thing about rap music is that there is a wide spectrum when it comes to content. When it first began in the south Bronx in the 70’s and 80’s it was more centered on the struggles of the middle class and growing up in such a rough era. In the mid 80’s to the mid 90’s there was a period of mass innovation called  “The Golden Age”. Everything about rap music was new back then because so many artists were finding ways to reinvent the genre. As the 90’s came to close, "gangsta rap" took a choke-hold on the industry in what would be the beginning of a decline in the culture which held so much promise. Through the early 2000’s rap music saw the heavy presence of innovation dwindle to a sound of heavy bass drums as southern rap held the crown for a decade. Southern rap was a huge catalyst to the industry going into the 2010’s as most mainstream music surrounds booming bass and synthesizers combined with materialistic subject matter. Despite this imbalance within the culture, one shouldn’t say that mainstream music “isn’t real”. The music designed for party scenes and nightlife serves its purpose. Unfortunately due to a high demand from big record labels to feed this monster, fans miss out on the music that relates to real-life situations and issues which most rich and famous rappers of today’s industry cease to mention.