Hip-Hop is one of the most popular and influential genres of music on earth and it has only been around for 40 years. Over the last 40 years, there have been thousands of MCs to release projects to the masses. Some projects have come and gone while others have stood the test of time and are considered classics not only for the music but the impact that the music made in the world of hip-hop. As Hip-Hop has grown and evolved so has the style of music. No longer are we in the era of hip-hop where MCs need only a beat and a mic, now Hip-Hop is a landscape where there are a plethora of subgenres and MCs that create the magic that is today’s Hip-Hop. Over the last 5-10 years, Hip-Hop has made a dramatic change as to what MCs can and cannot get away with musically. MCs are now able to experiment with sounds, delivery, and music. But where did this experimentation come from? There are certain projects over the last 10 years that literally changed the landscape of Hip-Hop that has been a huge influence on MCs today. There are many to choose from but these 2 projects that I selected are projects that I feel created the landscape of today’s hip-hop and how we receive it.
Kanye West is one of the most polarizing artists not only in hip-hop but in music as a whole. For some Kanye is one of the all-time greats whose “I don’t give a fuck” and “I’m a God” persona adds to the legacy of the music while there are others who cannot separate the man from the music and believe that his persona hinders his likeability. On November 24, 2008, Kanye West released his 4th studio album “808s & Heartbreak” which would go down as his most polarizing album. The inspiration behind the album came with the tragic loss of his mother, Donda West and the end of his relationship with his former fiancée Alexis Phifer. On this album, Kanye comes from a place of heartbreak and vulnerability which creates a relatability and humanization that Kanye during this time would try to stay away from. Collectively this album is an extremely high-quality production that instantly will catch the ear of the listener. This album is also the first time that Kanye experimented with harmonies, autotune, and Electro/Techno style music. Kanye does an excellent job of using his voice to set a tone of the subject matter on this album. His beat selection also adds a style that was unheard of to the mainstream hip-hop audience at the time. Each beat having a dark but catchy sound to them that makes them easy to follow and groove to.
Although this album was extremely experimental and different at the time, many of the critics in the Hip-Hop community hated the album when it was initially released. Many felt that this wasn’t hip-hop and that Kanye should stick to his traditional style of music. Over time the reviews of this album have changed due to the impact that this album has had on hip-hop. There are a lot of MCs that have taken this style and have turned it into their own. Travi$ Scott and Young Thug are two great example of an artist who has used the 808s blueprint to become one of the most popular artists in hip-hop. Although Travi$’ subject matter isn’t the same his style of music is at time eerily similar. Travi$’ uses beats that are extremely dark and his use of autotune creates an almost sinister atmosphere at times. Young Thug does a fantastic job of using voice as an instrument and also using it to create a vibe in his music. Also, Young Thug does a great job of catching the listener’s attention with the sounds that he creates with his voice.
Drake also like Kanye is another one of Hip-Hop’s most polarizing figures. Many of the “Old Heads” of hip-hop don’t respect Drake because of his heavy incorporation of R&B into his music while the “younger generation” of hip-hop fans believe that Drake is one of the best because of how he uses R&B in his music. Drake’s 2009 mixtape “So Far Gone” is what took him from an underground sensation with loads of potential into being a mainstream superstar at the top of the rap game. On “So Far Gone”, Drake introduces a rap style where he would rapping and then in the middle of a verse he would begin to sing and then would switch back after a couple of lines. At that point, Hip-Hop had never really seen anyone do something like that. There had been plenty of artists who had incorporated R&B in their music by way of hooks and features but never an artist who had done it in the way Drake did it. Drake also used very soft beats that allowed for him to use R&B as a tool enhance his lyrics and their meaning and power. Drake on this mixtape also showed the ability to rap at a high level especially on songs such as “Ignorant Shit” and “November 18”. Drake’s content was also something that showed him in a sensitive and soft light as a rapper. He would often spit bars about a girl he loved and lost or some girl that he wanted to pursue. Drake’s strong songwriting skills also shine through because of his lack of vocal range. His lyrics are able to create and emotion from his audience regardless of whether he is singing or rapping. Drake would go on to use this method as he transitioned into more and more projects and this would become his trademark as an artist.
Although Drake is a Hip-Hop artist, he also changed the way people have perceived R&B. Drake has created a blurred line between Hip-Hop and R&B where there is numerous R&B artist who no longer uses an extensive vocal range. PARTYNEXTDOOR and Bryson Tiller are two great examples of an artist who uses their songwriting ability to mask their lack of ability as singers. They write to their vocal strengths which allows them to still create an emotion with their music. Now in terms of hip-hop Chance the Rapper and Future are two examples of an artist who has a similar style to Drake. Future and Chance the Rapper content is very, very different from Drake but both artists has mastered the art of going from rapping to singing without missing a beat. And like Drake, their ability to song write allows for them to make up for their lack of vocal skill. Future has taken that style and brought it to trap music and allowed for another sector of hip-hop to relate to that style that would be normally considered “soft”.
Both of these projects have aged gracefully and will continue to as long as Hip-Hop is going in the direction that it has been. Drake and Kanye West are both extremely influential in hip-hop today as many artists have been vocal about their direct influence. There is no denying that regardless of how you feel about each artist they have moved the direction of hip-hop forever.
Brodcast Network 