Good video, as is this one:
Modern, mainstream hip hop culture is truly appalling. The promotion of degenerate lifestyles and behavior is rampant, and it effects the black youth in profound ways. To me, rap today is about making the listener not think; it's disposible music. Rap music is essentially hyper consumerism on wax. Buy my $100 clothes. Support me and by my album. Don't be a hater. Buy my products. No thinking goes into these things.
They've been conditioned so well that anyone who doesn't do the things mentioned above is labeled a "hater" by the community. Oh, you don't think 50 Cent is amazing? You're a hater. Bill Cosby and Oprah are "attacking" rap? They must be haters. It's pathetic.
The genre is based on a giant contradiction as well. On one hand every mainstream rapper describes themself as "real" and "keeping it real". Yet whenever a rapper is confronted about their lyrics, what does he say? Oh, it's no different than Scarface or any other movie. We're not really advocated anything, and nor is them violent movies. So it's all an act then?
If rappers were real, they wouldn't rent out expensive cars for their videos - they'd provide their own since they're so rich. Yet in reality most of them don't see much money off their record sales, spend their advances within weeks, and don't make much money off tours either considering the poor quality of many rap preformances - which usually consist of 4 or 5 people yelling over the actual song recording.
Rap is truly dead, and this can be seen on the charts. When it comes to singles, rap dominates the charts like no other genre; so on the surface it would seem like rap is doing well. But in reality, the album sales are terrible. Only one rap album has gone platinum this year. Despite having huge hits, artists like Young Dro ("let your shoulders lean") and Dem Franchise Boyz ("lean wit it rock wit it") have seen their albums flop. Why? People are tired of buying albums with 13 filler songs and three singles on them. With every other form of music radio play is not really a factor for sales - through tours and loyal fanbases artists are able to sell well. Yet in rap, if your video isn't being played 24/7 and you don't have a "hit" song, you have no chance of selling well. It's disposible music, plain and simple.
