In Praise Of Rap

By Lev Novak

Rap is better than ever.

That’s a pretty bold statement to make, and it may well be unfounded. But, in my humble opinion, rap is terrific these days. Here’s why.

1. Rappers Are Weirder Than Ever.

If you ever meet anyone talking about bland, basic stereotypes of rap, smack them up with some truth.

Rappers these days are weird. And that’s a good thing. Let’s talk about some of our biggest stars today: a former producer turned fashion-thinker who subverts genre, and a Jewish Canadian former soap-opera actor who can blend pop and rap and helped pioneer emotional rap. That’s Kanye and Drake. Or let’s talk about a New Orleans rapper who insists he’s a martian, flows off cough-syrup, and pioneered his success by up-staging rappers on their own beats, on free mixtapes. That’s Lil Wayne.

Those, for the record, are the mainstream rappers. Action Bronson is a an obese ginger-man who is terrific. Riff Raff is a knowingly gifted and absurd sketch of a southern rapper, a winking parody with overwhelming sincerity. And there’s Chance The Rapper, a Chicago prodigy who pioneered something called Acid Rap. Also, Kitty Pryde is “rap game Taylor Swift.” Earl Sweatshirt and Odd Future work as a bizarre collective.

Anytime someone tells you rap is all the same, show them these music videos. Notice how different the tone is, how different the flows are, and how different it is from what your aunt thinks rap is. Feel free to watch them yourself.

Riff Raff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EdViQm0J74

Action Bronson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfP7qK0khuQ

Chance The Rapper. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8nIHZ-0kS4

Kitty Pryde https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NNbeS-_EEA

Earl Sweatshirt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FcDXL5Aw0o

There was a time where Lupe Fiasco was weird. Now, rap is more diverse and strange than ever before. If nothing else, keep in mind how uniquely interesting our mainstream rappers are. Our less known stars are weirder still.

2. Standards Are Higher

Back in the day, all you needed for a hit was words that rhymed. That’s still all you need for a hit; but the quality of the non-hits are so, so much higher.

That’s because rap, having hit such saturated peaks, means that you have to evolve new stuff.

Auto-tune was a step backwards, but it’s the example that proves the rule. Things have to develop and change; rappers have had a whole generation to pioneer new skills. Kendrick Lamar’s album can operate as a movie, with the order screwed like a Tarantino film. That’s cool, and what’s cooler still is the collective reaction was positive, but not overwhelmed. After all, Kanye had just reinvented rap, and with Yeezus, about to change it again. New mixtapes were jumping out everywhere. Nas and Jay-Z- heavyweights of the older years- were still putting stuff out.

3. Old Stuff Never Dies

If you want to listen to Biggie, as you should, you can.

Want to listen to Tupac? No need for a hologram. Get on iTunes.

All the old classics are still part of the rap lexicon, and that’s why rap is so strong today. That’s the foundation that rap was built on, but the corny stuff- the Vanilla Ices of the world- disappeared. The result is that we have all the best stuff of the past to listen to, on top of all the developments of today. Rap is turning yet another corner, but as it turns, we don’t have to lose the best parts of it.

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