Quote:
Originally Posted by
trumptman 
Not to be rude, but these years fly by too fast and more often or not I keep scratching my head wondering how an even that seems like it was "recent" somehow become "retro."
So? What are you saying, that even under 40 you are getting so senile that you think the dot-com boom was in the early 90's, too?
Quote:
Eitherway, my view is that present rap is finished and hollow as a cultural force.
It's clear that your view of hip hop is dominated by a disproportionate focus on west coast g-funk, particularly that of the actual late 80's/early 90's (ice-t, tupac, nwa and its offshoots), a pinch of bad dirty south and capped with the modern "gangsta" hip hop version of bubblegum pop that virtually only exists in the minds of marketers and 13yo suburban kids, ignoring that underground hip hop in most of the country and worldwide is dominated by other sub-genres and that many of the largest acts of the past 10 years (or even 5 years), including those in shawn's list and others like outkast, gorillaz and gnarles barkley, are making some of the most interesting contemporary popular music.
And, frankly, your view "that present rap is finished and hollow as a cultural force" is really totally irrelevant since most genres in the world's cultural centers (aka, not beaumont, ca) have been increasing cross-pollinating with hip hop, to the point where hip hop artists are now often drawn from the indie, electronica and shoegaze ranks. Even the neptunes, who have been responsible for a huge percentage of the biggest pop and rap hits in the past 7 or so years, have basically an electronica production style and have also put a huge amount of energy into NERD, their rock/electronica band. That's increasingly the case with hip hop producers, and dangermouse is another chart-topping example. This trend is reflected 10 fold in the underground hip hop scene.
