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What happened to good gangsta rap?

(cont'd) Now, I’m a square white boy, so by default I do enjoy my fair share of “indie backpacker shit” such as Atmosphere, Sage Francis or Aesop Rock. I’m not some hacky-sack-playing, granola-eating cracker with gross dreadlocks, but I do enjoy clever hip-hop with substance. On the other hand, sometimes I want to hear some angry, violent, blatantly misogynistic black gangsta rap. “Ready To Die” by The Notorious B.I.G is my all-time favorite hip-hop record because it’s clever, catchy, humorous, graphic and above all else: real. Does that make me a misogynistic, violent drug dealer? Hell no. I listen to stuff like “Ready To Die” and 2pac’s “2pacalypse Now” because I’m interested in the socially oppressed rebel culture that has produced such anger and resentment towards mainstream American values and lifestyle. I relate to it because I also feel alienated from a lot of mainstream American culture as a white twenty-something male with who feels like he has little to no control over what goes on politically in this country. And as Nelson George puts it in his book “Hip-Hop America,” “Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. didn’t make records for the NAACP; they made harsh, contemplative, graphic, deliberately violent American pulp art.”

So what happened after the late 80’s and early 90’s explosion of gangsta rap that has brought us to the current situation of benign mediocrity? The game has changed dramatically. Production values in mainstream hip-hop have progressively gotten slicker with the advancements in technology. The grittier, more old school sounds of the 80s and 90s have been replaced with refined beats that focus more on pop sensibilities.

Far too many current mainstream emcees seem out of touch with reality. Songs are too focused on cashing in on the next big catch phrase, such as Lil’ John’s ubiquitous yelling of “Yeah!” and “Ok!” or D4L’s club hit “Shake That Laffy Taffy.” In fact, it might be nearly impossible to count the number of big rap singles in the past 5 years that have had a chorus that requests a woman to shake her (insert euphemism for “butt” here).

The steady obsession with material items among rappers has become more popular and absurd. Making material gains has always been a part of hip-hop dating back to 80s duo Eric B and Rakim rhyming about getting “Paid In Full” and the acronym of the group EPMD meaning “Eric and Parish Making Dollars,” according to author Tricia Rose’s “Black Noise.” But, it seems this fixation on “gettin’ money” has completely taken over. Whether it’s Cash Money Millionaires rhyming about their cars on the song “Let Us Stunt” or Nelly devoting an entire song to “Grillz,” as in the removable cosmetic mouthpieces made of gold or platinum with diamond inlays that have become synonymous with current mainstream hip-hop culture according to a Jan. 12 Hartford Courant article.

This focus on commercialism in order to make more money has lead to the annoying trend of every major rapper having at least one club track/radio single on their albums. Whether it’s Jay-Z, Eminem or Snoop, in order to have a successful album, there’s got to be that one blatantly pop-styled song on an otherwise fairly substantial album that gets brutally overplayed on the radio and MTV. Cases in point: Jay-Z’s “Change Clothes,” Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady,” and Snoop’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” —>