Hip Hop Block: The Struggle to Remain Current

Although many of our favorite artists stay too long in the game and turn stale, some manage to stay fresh.

I remember back in March when I downloaded Ludacris's new album Battle of the Sexes. Shortly after my first listen, I proceeded to rant on Twitter. Let me explain why.

Ludacris used to be one of my favorite artists, if not my favorite. Key phrase: used to be. Don't get me wrong. I still appreciate Luda. That's why I still bought his album. I was hoping to hear a glimpse of the Luda I used to know and love. Unfortunately, all I got was "This one is for the club/bed rocking music" Luda.

Luda, who released his debut album in 2000, has always been known for doing songs like this, but he used to do more than that. He used to make anthems. Take Southern Hospitality for instance: “Hand me down flip-flops, hand me down socks/hand me down drug dealers, hand me down rocks/hand me down a 50 pack Swisher Sweets box/and goodfella rich n****s hand me down stocks.”

He told stories as well to convey points. Saturday is probably one of my favorites from him. “Grease don't pop on the stove no more, moved on up/double shot Hennesey fill my cup/
Luda choke smoke in a big black truck/should I wild out, what the f***?!”

Luda even got a little conscious with Runaway Love. And of course, his intros and freestyles on his first four albums are classic examples of lyricism to this day. I mean, even when he did do the strip club joints, he still did it creatively, like in Youze a Ho.

But now, all his music just sounds the same. There's not much variety. His wordplay and lyrics used to excite me. Now I just listen for the hook and the beat like every other average rap song.

I see it with a lot of hip hop artist that stay in the game for prolonged periods of time. It's as if they lose their flare. The hunger and pain isn't there anymore, and they start making music to either get paid or to answer the cries of their fans. The passion is gone almost.

Look at Busta Rhymes, who came to the scene with Leaders of the New School in 1991. He used to be ill, getting people hype of a song as he spit his first lyric. When he shouted “Woo-ha!” he would have us all in check. Now he'll drop an album and no one will notice. How many of you knew about Back on My B.S.?  It’s the only of his eight albums that didn’t gain RIAA certification. That was the album Arab Money came from. I give you props with you remember that single.

The same goes for Snoop Dogg. He made his debut on Dr. Dre’s Deep Cover in 1992. Don't get me wrong, he still has skills. But he doesn't sell like he used to.  His latest album, Malice n Wonderland, is also his first to go without RIAA certification.

Eminem, until recently, was the rapper that upset me the most. Not counting Infinite (which dropped in 1996), his first two LPs were certified classic. You could hear the pain and the passion. Even when he did fun tracks like The Real Slim Shady, you were still enticed because he loved doing it. It was around the 3rd album that he started to falter. With Encore and Relapse, he just seemed plain out of it. These albums, however, have still managed to go platinum or higher.

However, some artists still manage to stay dope, Jay-Z being the most obvious example. He comes out with hot album after hot album. All eleven of his solo albums have gone Platinum, even in this age of illegal downloads. I could easily dedicate a whole article to Hov, as many others have in the past, so I'll just stop now.

Snoop and Luda have managed to stay relevant, however, by appearing on songs with Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, respectively. Speculation causes me to believe that these could become spring boards for these rappers to rejuvenate their careers. I hope.