Is Hip Hop Dead?

(http://www.cratekings.com/official-top-11-reasons-why-hip-hop-is-dead-dj-trends/)

Many people who are fans of classic hip hop say yes, hip hop is dead.  These are usually the same people that grew up listening to the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem, Big L, and Dr. Dre, just to name a few  What makes all of these rappers similar is the fact that they are all very lyrical rappers that were prevalent during the era of gangsta rap.  Their style of music relied heavily on complex rhyme schemes and less on complex beats littered with a heavy bass.  Their music had much more of a shock factor and was not produced to be played on the radio.

At the turn of the 21st century rap music began to morph.  It became less negatively stigmatized and radio stations began to play it publicly on one condition.  It had to be enjoyable and appropriate for the public to listen to, and the audience had to be able to relate.  The birth of pop rap emerged and artists began to use less lyrical complexity and more catchy beats and hooks.  The kids forgot all about the pioneers of rap music and started listening to the next best thing.  If they could dance to it then it was an instant hit.

Individual artists will continue to push their fame to the limits by trying new things and experimenting with their music.  In the case of Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa, and Meek Mill this tendency can be seen easily.  In the end it really just matters what means more to the rap artist.  If you have to tweak yourself to become more famous then is it really worth losing your fans in the process?  Even of those fans are the very reason that you gained your fame in the first place? 

To the critics of rap music, hip hop is not dead.  There are still rap artists out there that imitate the classics.  Listen to rappers like Jon Connor, Odd Future, Kendrick Lamar, Yelawolf, and Nipsey Hussle to name a few.  They make music to show off their ability to manipulate words and make them rhyme together in ways that literally blow your mind.  They have that shock factor that is reminiscent of the rappers that were prevalent from the '90s.  Since the radio doesn't give them any play, it just makes it that much harder to find the quality rappers in the mess of one-hit-wonders.