Rap’s rise and fall was inevitable. The media couldn’t stop it from
growing in the 90s and now, the rappers can’t stop it from declining.
Twenty years ago, in rap’s early ages, the music form had actual substance and
reason. It was called Rap’s Golden Age because the genre was growing
exponentially, selling more and more albums with every release. During
this time, the division of West Coast and East Coast hip-hop had its
start. New York City in the East with Run-DMC, LL Cool J, and most of Russell
Simmons’ rappers. West-Coast rap, predominately based out of Los Angeles,
included rappers like Ice-T and N.W.A.In this feud, which later grew to
murderous proportions, East coast rappers would badmouth the West Coast and
visa versa. Mostly, they would talk about their struggles and who were
the “real” gangsters. This battle may seem trivial to some who weren’t
involved, but its impact has changed rap music forever.
Even in this decade, ten years ago, rap was at its height, with Eminem
releasing the fastest selling album of all time, The Marshall Mathers LP.
It sold over ten million copies in one year, a number that had been unheard
of. Almost on his level, Nelly sold over nine million copies of his hit
album, Country Grammar.People couldn’t stop going to the record
stores and investing in this music. According to Billboard, the music trade
publication, rap sales have declined 44% since 2000 and went from 13% of music
sales worldwide to only 10%. In a day where hip-hop is almost dead,
rappers try to blame the media for making them look bad, when really all they
can blame is themselves. Where is the subject matter? Where is the
creativity? Nowadays, it feels like the beat makes the song, rather than
the rhyme. The more creative the beats get, the less creative the words
are, and the true lovers of hip hop have noticed.
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