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postdubstep:

Let’s not talk about innovations here, but there’s still a trend on the scene that we should not ignore. Thanks to Drake, it’s perfectly fine for everyone, hard or soft, to become the next best rapping singer. Or singing rapper. Or… you know, whatever. I seriously believe that it doesn’t make hip hop any worse or better if you include a heart wrenching hook, just right now, “the soft guy image” has become a bit worn in my book. See, there’s nothing wrong with showing emotion, even 2Pac did it (while he shot someones face, but still). Male rappers deserve the right to be soft as male rockstars. Like Bon Iver, or that dude from Lifehouse.

It’s not like this is a new breed we’re talking about, either. I mean, this Auto-Tune thing really fucked it all up. T-Pain and Weezy and Yeezy and Akon (shudder), everyone had their turn. And then, as if it was the next logical step forward, Drake appeared. Although thankfully he erased the Auto-Tune pest from his releases, I didn’t know whether to accept him as a rapper or as a walking emotional crisis. When his passion for singing was backed by The Weeknd’s success, all hell broke lose and now everyone’s doing “it”. You know what I mean.

I’m not talking about J.Cole, who might fall into the same category of softness, but who still manages to go Platinum with “Work Out” without completely forgetting that he’s a rapper. I’m talking about people like Kirko Bangz. Although Auto-Tune apparently has been re-instated into contemporary music, that’s not my premier issue. It’s that he’s R&B through and through on Drank In My Cup, and then he’s rapping on Tripping On Her. I get it: an artist has to try out many things to compete. Even Frank Ocean did the rap sport on Tylers “She”, although he does not identify as a rapper.

You know, I’ve been putting “soft” with “R&B”, but I don’t mean that in a sexistic way. I just put soft with singing because it’s obviously not as aggressive as the spoken, rapped word. Now put these two together and you’ve got somewhat of a dichotomy in hip hop. Most songs have a singer do the hook while the rapper does the rapping, in some cases, the rapper does the singing too when he has the appropriate voice and knows how to use it in a way where it doesn’t undermine his rapping skills. With Drake, Michael Francis and Kirko Bangz, it tends to be an awkward experience at times because you don’t know whether they lack authenticity (trying to be hard rappers first, then sing about not so hard things) or they just caught up in the Pop Music State Of Mind (“The Artist Is an Entertainer”).
I don’t mind borders fading and limits being pushed, yet hip hop is undergoing some radical changes these days and this might be a dangerous one. One that lets R&B identify with rap attitudes. Essentially, one that lets people like Justin Bieber - who may be very gifted in his own ways - become a part of that circle. He’s growing up, so are his fans, and now the producers and marketing managers behind him are giving him a facelift. With that in mind, our kids will believe sooner or later that Justin Bieber is just as good as Kanye West. But he’s not, he’s not even close.
By Yeah Sara

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