Drugs Ruined Rap
If you were never a rap fan, chances are modern rappers aren’t going to sway you in favor of the genre. After all, they can barely stay awake between incoherent mumbles. The new wave, for those wise enough to be unfamiliar, is melodic murmuring over heavy 808s. Lyrics haven’t been important for quite some time, except of course in the underground scene. However, even the more lyrical, meaningful content is becoming increasingly watered down. Standards are lower than ever, and drugs are as much to blame as stupidity.
The early 2000s saw the rise of the Dirty South’s “Crunk” scene, pioneered by Lil’ Jon and the Eastside Boyz. One might mark that as the beginning of the downfall. Rappers like Soulja Boy, Dem Franchize Boyz, and others of that nature popped up and began focusing more on creating a fun, dance vibe as opposed to making music with any substance. Travis Porter set off the strip club anthem trend, and others followed in their footsteps. Sure, the subject matter was simple, but at least these southern MCs had positive intentions. The aim was helping listeners “turn up,” purely for the sake of having a good time. There was no intent to be deep. With that being said, there was also no anger behind the melody.
Throughout that same period, rappers of the “trap” variety rose to prominence — namely T.I. and Young Jeezy, the unofficial kings of the south at that time. Trap rappers may have endorsed a kingpin lifestyle, but there was an impacting message behind it. Fellas like T.I. and Jeezy spoke of their struggles. They came from nothing; found their voices, and great success in the process. Additionally, they were spitting their trials of overcoming adversity through the art of poetry. Whether you want to admit or not, T.I. and Jeezy had bars. Their flows may have been more apparent, but their lyrical ability was also very evident. Early trap rappers weren’t solely rapping about money and drugs for the sake of it. They were artful storytellers with an underlying purpose of encouraging the underprivileged to chase a dream.
Today’s new rap wave is void of any purpose. Thousands of rappers are coming out of the woodwork daily to mumble the same nonsense in the same recycled flows. It’s almost impossible to find a “popular” rap song that doesn’t mention lean, Xanax, and of course the usual Italian designer brands. It’s clear all these wannabe DragonBall Z characters are only entering the game in the hopes of making some money. Few have any point of delivery aside from “drink cough syrup, sell pills, and stack money.” Every other song has “trap” or “sauce” in the title. Unoriginality is unsettling in itself, but these new rappers’ overt drug abuse is what causes the most discomfort.
Worst of all, much of today’s youth idolizes these drugged out, half-asleep, muttering idiots. Beat makers do the heavy lifting. Then rappers lazily jump on a track to murmur the same sad material, and for some reason kids admire that. Toting a glock and passing out from opiate abuse is considered cool. Discussing murder is “lit.” Materialism has always been a hot topic in hip-hop, but new guys have added gang involvement and addiction into the mix. One could touch on these subjects through song and convey a somewhat inspirational message, although that’s not the idea. The message is no longer about overcoming anything. Modern rap is absent of a message. It’s merely about glorifying degenerate activities in an effort to seem cool, and hopefully “get some paper” in the process.
You need not head down to your local methadone clinic to hear some dullard mumble about liquid heroin. The plethora of pink dreaded posers in our recent rap game have that covered. Rappers went from selling drugs to being addicted to them. Thank God for MCs like Kendrick, Cole, Chance, and guys in the underground who at least try to formulate meaningful subject matter via artful expression. Everyone else is the same face-tatted leaned out ghoul who’s muttering about murder, endorsing hard drugs, and poisoning the minds of dumb impressionable youth who buy into it. Most listeners of the genre don’t seem bothered by the tragedy it has become. They no longer expect lyrics or a point. They simply want a booming beat and melody. That wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for drugs being the most notable cause of this mess. Rap, as a genre, will not last more than 5 years. That is if we’re lucky. One can only hope for lyricists taking back the field
