What's next for Hip Hop?

Hip Hop and Rap music. If you didn't know there was a difference, I'm here to educate. I always try to make it simple for people who don't understand the difference between hip hop and rap music. Biggie was Rap, Tupac was hip hop. you have an artist who just raps to entertain his audience by skillfully putting content together over a beat (Biggie). You have another artist who purposefully educates his audience through his words and tries to give his audience something to think about that relates to their life (Tupac). In today's modern era you have Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Albums such as Drakes "Scorpion" and Kendrick's "To Pimp a Butterfly" are a contrast of each other and have completely different messages. Kendrick's song "I", expresses to his audience the importance of loving oneself, whereas songs like Drake's "Non-stop" expresses how great his achievements are and solely draws into the excitement of his success, and his success alone. In Hip hop and rap music today, the focus is now on what the next man or woman can't get or doesn't have. Its always been about cars, clothes, and jewellery. I personally believe it went from genuinely wanting to acquire those things due to the struggle these individuals were living, to boasting that the next man doesn't have it. Every time I listen to Nas's "Lifes a Bitch" Featuring AZ I fall in love with Hip Hop. I felt I could relate to the hardships that these young men faced in the world and the hardships I witnessed from family members and friends. I was fortunate enough to be educated by an artist such as Nas to want to elevate myself from those hardships by any means necessary. What I notice about popular Hip Hop/Rap music today is that it doesn't give you the feeling of inspiration. It doesn't motivate you to want to get up and go do that final exam or go put in that work to achieve the things you want. Today's music creates a build-up of envy inside you. The hate. Hip Hop from 2001 - 2007 generated that hate through artists like 50 Cent, for example. Now don't get me wrong I really like artists like 50 cent, The Game, YG and Cassanova right now. Their music displays the hate that they grew up in. The consumers have taken this and made it also apply to themselves when some don't necessarily live that life. Instead of taking the pieces of information as things not to do, they use it as their way of living life now. Jay Z said it best in his song "Dead presidents" "I'm here to tell niggas it ain't all swell There's heaven, then there's hell, niggas One day you're cruisin' in your 7 Next day you're sweatin', forgettin' your lies Alibis ain't matchin' up, bullshit catchin' up Hit with the RICO, they repo your veh-i-cle Everything was all good just a week ago 'Bout to start bitchin', ain't you? Ready to start snitchin', ain't you? I'll forgive your weak-ass: hustlin' just ain't you" This quote describes to you that the lifestyle that most people see as glamorous and exciting has very damaging consequences when the seriousness of the lifestyle comes into play e.g. becoming an informant, losing your assets. Jay Z gives you the understanding that this is something that comes with that lifestyle and you have to be built a certain way to survive it. This was a reflection of his life and kids today are taking information like this and misinterpreted it as something they want to emulate. We go from being given that layout of how tough urban life gets so that we don't get involved or if we already are involved, get shown it's not worth it to invest in that lifestyle, to catching bodies on a daily basis as artists rap about now. Examples of this are Chief Keef, Bobby Smurda and the GS9 boys promoting their traumas through rap entertainment. Now as I keep mentioning this is their hate they are suffering with and expressing. We need to stop making it negatively influence the kids. I also believe this is happening due to the lack of alternatives the kids have access to. I could listen to the worst of any music and I have the understanding that this was these artists' struggles. Some things I related to and some I didn't, but I could go to a youth club during the week and do things to occupy my time. These kids nowadays don't have that. All they have now is the rage. Chicago Drill, UK Drill, Mumble rap. All they display is rage and honestly, I don't even blame them cause they got no alternatives and that's something we need to look into. As I write this, a 21-year-old boy was stabbed to death on Harlesden High street, London, UK. Violence has become so normal in young adult society that it is bound to have a traumatic effect on the youth. If we don't change the message and create the alternatives for these kids to have access to, songs such as Nipsey Hussle's "Dedication", Kendricks "DNA", and J Cole's "Love yours" will keep getting overlooked with bubblegum brain numbing rage building music that will have more of a damaging effect on this generation of kids than it already does. The fact that songs like XXXTentacion's "SAD", Juice WRLD's "Lucid Dreams" and Lil Uzi Vert's "XO Tour Lif3" are the most popular right now with the message that they are sending out just goes to show the kids are really going through a very negative state of mind and need help. We have now entered the age of Emo rap and I hope conscious hip hop can somehow come back and save our kids. The rap that is being listened to now still possesses the same definition as it always has. To Entertain. I just fear that it's encouraging these kids to self destruct and supports Nas's famous line saying "Hip Hop is Dead" now more than ever.