Is Rap Music Ready for its Next Evolution?

Similar to other genres of music, rap has been evolving since its birth. Whether a new artist comes out and completely changes the game, or existing artists slowly perfect their craft into something different, or simply because fans have grown tired of what they have been hearing, change has always been a necessary part of keeping the music we love alive. There are moments in time where rap music can be visibly seen as transforming and I believe that we are at one of those moments right now. 

N.W.A

One of the first big mutations that rap music saw was when N.W.A. hit the scene. The Compton based rap group came out guns blazing, reflecting a time of rebellious youth and social injustices. Before them, rap can be defined as a little corny as it was still in its infant stages, but they completely shifted the game towards more violent, hard-hitting meaningful lyrics, creating what is known as ‘Gangster Rap’.

B.I.G and Tupac

The next big step that rap took was with its late-greats Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. These two legends are argued as the two most influential rappers of all time. By perfecting the genre of ‘Gangster Rap’, they both were able to unite massive regions of the country, polarizing fans into an east coast Vs. west coast battle to see where the best Emcee’s come from. Biggie introduced completely new flows that were smoother and cooler than anything that we had heard before, and used his  deep, unique voice as an extra instrument on the track. Tupac expanded on the music created by N.W.A. but offered his own flavor to its aspects. The west coast rapper used his genius to bring new light to social commentary in music and won the hearts of his fans by trying to be the realest artist that there ever was. 

Eminem and the 2000’s Era

After these legends lived out the height of their careers or got tragically killed doing it, rap itself seemed to be in a volatile state. Fans may have been growing a little tired of hearing the same music that had been coming out for years at this point. This set the stage for Eminem to take the country by storm with his new style of comedy, controversy, and raw emotion. Being the first white rapper to be backed by a legend like Dr. Dre allowed him to open the doors to a much larger fan base than his predecessors, intriguing both whites and blacks. With word play and lyricism that has never been matched throughout rap’s history, Eminem set the bar extremely high with frustrated, in-your-face songs partnered with the less popular style of ballad rap. 

Mumble Rap- The Teen Takeover

Eminem dominated the game for years and influenced many artists that came out towards the end of his career, like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. Kendrick and Cole should be regarded as having their own styles and their own genius, but the verse-chorus forms of their songs and their focus on lyricism and story telling should be attributed to the style that Eminem invented. So after lyricism had lived its day in the 2000’s, rap was, again, in a turbulent state. People seemed to be tired of rap involving smart lyrics that called for intense listening and a shift towards a more superficial, pop-sounding genre of rap was emerging. This new style was dubbed ‘mumble rap’ and has dominated radio stations and award ceremonies for over the last five years. It features autotune-using artists, that are usually still teenagers, who are captivated with three simple ideas: money, drugs, and sex. There is nothing wrong with being young and having fun, but this is not what rap was created to be.

The Next Step

Now, as the world is going through a time of extreme hardship, it seems like another metamorphosis is occurring. One-dimensional lyrics and hit songs are starting to take a back seat as emotion becomes the driving force for a lot of new music. It will be interesting to see where rap music goes as it is definitely not at the end of its life span.