I don't listen to music much anymore, but when I do listen to hip hop specifically, I noticed it's changed to a whole different type of sound. I hear sounds from guys or groups like Chingy, D4L, Lil'Jon and Soulja Boy, just to name a few, and feel the quality declined dramatically. The beats are more intense which is more suitable for dancing, however the lyrics behind those beats are garbage. In my time, I was never a big fan of the mainstream hip hop, like Notorious Big, Tupac, Eminem but some of their music I got and even liked; I can't say the same of the hip hop today. Maybe I am just showing my age but feel the 90's was the best era in Hip Hop music; young Nas, the Genius, Method Man, Gang Starr, Group Home, RZA, Boot Camp Click, Can-I-Bus, Keith Murray, Redman, the rest of Wu-Tang, Erick Sermon, Mobb Deep, Originoo Gunn Clappaz, Channal Live, The Alkaholiks, Xzibit. Most of these guys never made it into the main stream and the ones that did where more due to their exuberant personality, i.e. Method Man and Redman doing Mountain due commercials and making movies. This group of artist created some of the most intelligent lyrical poetry ever created in hip hop history, yet really did not get noticed outside of the underground hip hop sub culture. I remember people calling this the real rap of the day versus that mainstream stuff people called hip hop. These artists didn't hide behind the beats with mediocre catch phrased filled lyrics. The beats of the underground hip hop artist were filled with infectious beats laced with sharp background sounds that blended perfectly with each other. Most importantly, their lyrics were smart and thought provoking, combining straight forward street lingo with historical metaphors put together seamlessly like the stitching in an authentic Gucci bag; I consider the hip hop of today more like a knock off.

Again, these might be the rants of a guy nearing his 30's and just not understanding the culture of the current times. I just feel the great hip hop artist of yesterday should be mentioned in conversation and the 90's should be recognized as the best era in hip hop music; in my opinion. Unfortunately I know they wont as they will go as unnoticed now as they were in their times.