Many “hip hop heads” claim that the state of the popular musical genre has declined drastically over the last decade. Although on the surface this may seem true, with content and skill becoming less visible and record sales slumping more than ever, but the truth is that the golden era of hip hop still exists in “the underground.”

The Golden Era of Hip Hop

Hip Hop can actually be traced back to slavery times, but the official birthday of hip hop occurred in the 1970’s. The next two decades saw mainstream talent and record sales sore. With skilled emcees like Rakim, Nas, Jay Z, and Eminem flourishing in the mainstream.

During this era in hip hop being “wack” was off limits. If an emcee was not a creative and skilled lyricist there was no place in hip hop for him or her. However, over the last decade the necessity of an emcee to have mic skills has all but vanished. Talented emcees like the Wu Tang Clan, KRS One, and even Rakim are pushed into the underground with only a few exceptions like Jay Z and Eminem are still capable of enjoying some mainstream success.

Mainstream Hip Hop

Lyrical ability has been replaced with “banging” beats, catchy dances, and one hit wonders. Hip hop artists rarely last in today’s industry because the audience does not care about the artist. They care about the one dance song with the catchy hook(chorus). In many cases the audience does not even know the artist’s name or any of their lyrics beyond the hook.

The song “Chicken Noodle Soup” is an example of this. Most of the song is just the repetition of the title placed over a contagious beat. There are small verses in the song, but few remember them, and the rhyme scheme is so simple that little thought could have actually went into creating it. Nevertheless, this was one of the most popular songs out at the time. Ironically, Young B was a one hit wonder and few remember her name now.

Underground Hip Hop

Although many mainstream artists like Plies, Souljah boy, and D4L(Down 4 Life) fall into the same category as Young B, there are other artists that may not be as popular in the mainstream, but still place lyrics and hip hop above all else. Groups like the Roots and Kidz in the Hall hone their lyrical ability to create songs that can stand the test of time. Artists like Talib Kweli and Mos Def take chances lyrically and musically that would be career suicide for many mainstream artists. Lyrical kings that care about hip hop culture still exist today, one just has to open his eyes and ears to find them.