Rap Hits a Ceiling

The BET Awards are always one of the most electrifying nights in the world of hip-hop. For a culture that gets dissed by the Grammys and played by the AMA's, this is usually the one night where its value is genuinely appreciated. Sadly, this year the wounds were more self-inflicted.

One of the highlights of this star-studded event is always the "cyphers." The rawest most simplistic form of rap, a cypher is where a circle of emcees use rapid-fire punchlines and witty metaphors in an attempt to demonstrate their lyrical supremacy. Usually it's one of the most exciting parts of the show -- but this year, it was lackluster at best. Generic flows and subject matter mixed in with abysmal punchlines like "Your rap style is coming softer than a cats meow" and "So many rings on my fingers they call me Ringling Brothers" made the 2011 cypher a total yawn.

The uninspired performances spoke volumes about the state of the game. I mean, forgive me for not being enthused about hearing sixteen bars from Chris Brown and Estelle (Estelle? Seriously?), when I'm expecting the highest level of lyricism the game has to offer. I guess C. Breezy does have some level of street cred; when he raps about slapping hoes you gotta believe him right?

This year's installment wasn't all terrible. Newcomers Kendrick Lamar, Big Krit, Meek Mill, and the Shady Records group -- Yelawolf, Joe Budden, Crooked I, and Royce Da 5'9 -- were capable, but Eminem delivered the night's best verse ("Flipping the script up/ like Mike Vick getting bit in his junk/ by a pit yup Ima sick pup / I'd be a horrible magician cause I'll f*** a trick up"), which clearly established that he's still one of the best rappers in the game. But that's exactly the problem. This was the 2011 cypher -- why is a top lyricist from a decade ago able to demolish today's top new talent? Have we reached a ceiling? Is there only room to regress?

This isn't an attempt to discredit Slim Shady in any way. But if had been a 2001 cypher, there's no way Big Daddy Kane, a legend in his era, could've held a candle to newcomers like Eminem and Jay Z. Kane was genius, but as the game progressed, so should the art form. Imagine if Sugar Hill Gang's Wonder Mike had been able to beat Kane or Chuck D. in a '91-era rap-off! The idea is laughable.

Evolution in art should be the norm. Rap's first three decades was following suit, but now we're at a standstill. The BET Awards set out to be a yearly proclamation of hip hop being alive and well... but if BET Awards cypher showed us anything, its that hip-hop is on life support.

 

Comments

[Befree16195]

03:01 PM on 12/18/2011

Big Daddy Kane, a legend in his era, could've held a candle to newcomers like Eminem and Jay Z. Kane was genius
Are you serious? Kane is a legend in any era. Em or Jay Z don't have anything in their catalog that can hold a candle to BDK. Sorry..

[wanglog]

05:29 PM on 11/12/2011

It occurred to me some time ago, that for about 15 years now, (if not more) BET's hip hop awards have tended to be a celebration of violence, braggadocio, vulgarity, materialistic indulgence, egocentricity, gaudy and ostentatious fashion and embarrassingly poor elocution.

[VChandler]

09:52 AM on 11/12/2011

Maybe it's time we stop treating hip hop as just a young man's game. I for one appreciate and listen to rappers who have some experience under their belt and are relatable to me (De La, Roots, Common, Andre 3000, Pharoah Monch, Phonte) just to name a few. Hip Hop is the only genre of music that puts age restrictions on it's artist. This is why we have to listen to some wet behind the ears 19 yr old brag repeatedly about his cars, clothes, money and women. Wisdom trumps age to me. Wouldnt you expect a Doctor that has been practicing and refining his craft for 15 years to be more skilled than the 2nd year resident? Long live the Grown Man Emcee

[VChandler]

09:48 AM on 11/12/2011

Maybe it's time that we stop treating hip hop as a young man's game. I for one listen to rappers who have life experiences that I share (De La, Pharoe Monch, Phonte, Common, Q Tip, Roots). Hip Hop is the only genre of music which places age limits on its participants. A 19 yr old's perspective is much more limited than a 32 year olds. You actually need to be well read to write well.

[freefreememe]

03:14 PM on 11/11/2011

As someone who came of age when rap was in its infancy..late 70's early 80's. You are right. In my collection it is mostly rap from 7 yrs ago beyond...The storytellers in rap today are either gone or not being pushed by the mass media. A lot of the stuff today revolves around standard central themes, cars, women, money. Not enough clever wordplay and a good story in rap form being told in the genre much. There is no ceiling in art, lets just say...the walls are pushing out...in other words rap is stagnating a bit, but with the dumbed down education, the kids today dont know and that is the shame, they should be required to listen to the rap classics

[Chim Richalds]

03:48 PM on 11/11/2011

I torture myself at least once a week by listening to some of the older rap (Digable Planets, Eric B & Rakim, Nas, Biggie, Shabazz Palaces, Mos Def, etc) and wonder what the hell happened to rap. Is talent no longer required in the rap game? It's kind of depressing to see the direction rap is headed towards. Back in the day (I know I sound like an old man), you could understand every word that came out of a rapper's mouth and you could relate to the story they were telling. That is no longer the case.

[wizkid14]

01:37 PM on 11/11/2011

And let me add this to your comment about Chris Brown and "slapping hoes", you do know JayZ beat up two of his WELL-KNOWN ex-girlfriends and can be seen on youtube smacking around a little girl who was trying to take his picture? How about the many years of abuse Kim Mather's suffered at the hands of Slim Shady? Don't go there unless you go there.

Also make sure you add a little something about America's A-List Hollyweird actors: Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, Jeff Goldblum, Sean Penn, Sean Connery, Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee, Axle Rose, Christian Slater etc. who have had many DV episodes with wives/gfs! Let's not continue to discuss the one fight that a TEENAGER had 3 YEARS ago while NEVER DISCUSSING THE ACTIONS OF ADULT MEN!


Thanks bunches....xoxo

[smoothsmitty]

02:50 PM on 11/11/2011

I have to fanned you on this one. It just seems to be so cool or hip to talk about the Chris Brown thing when slapping up women (not just by rappers but other sorts of entertainers, rock stars, actors, politicians etc....) has been around shamefully forever.

[wizkid14]

06:43 PM on 11/11/2011

Thank you! It sickens me that 1 fight a teen had 3 years continues to be discussed while grown men like Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, and Vince Neil (Motley Crew) have had more recent incidents but receive no backlash from anyone EVER !

[kimujnr]

06:35 PM on 11/11/2011

If you've ever bothered to do research on that vid, Jay was playing around when he smacked her camera, its also very convenient how the video ends as soon as he does the act but doesn't catch the subsequent laughs between the two.

[wizkid14]

07:17 PM on 11/11/2011

You are kidding right? How was smacking a little girl and shoving her to the side - in a crowd of ppl mind you - a gag or a joke? The video I saw showed him smacking her then pushing his way through the crowd right past her! I saw not smiles! I'm not sure what you saw? Hey, you can love Jayz all you want but dude has a disgusting history concerning women but since he's married to Beyonce I guess all is forgotten and forgiven right?

[kimujnr]

08:45 PM on 11/10/2011

Fans I believe are just as much to blame as the new artists. When people are demanding for bumping beats with little to no regard for lyricism it leads artists to produce what the believe the masses want. Radio play also dictates this, if you wanna make it on the radio as a new artist you can't really go the crazy lyrical spiritual route. In the 90s the fans wanted clever wordplay and attempting to make a Waka Flocka record would spell the immediate demise of your career. We live in a dumbed down era but I think its only temporary because as is always the case quality always trumps quantity. Eventially Darwinism will take place and weed out the garbage but for now we have to make do with the Jay Z's and Eminem's who are only going to satiate our lyrical thirst for another 2-4 years then its pension time lol!

[wizkid14]

01:19 PM on 11/11/2011

LOL JayZ and Eminem have always fallen short on their lyrics...."Ma you got to learn to ride nice d***"? ....."Da-da made a nice bed for mama at the bottom of the lake"! Come now really? Both have been horrible misogynists from the very start. These two are the commerical darling's of the hip hop world but fall far behind very well known and established acts that the music industry/fake controlled media refuse to play or give respect to! No offense to the lovers of these two! LOL

[kimujnr]

06:32 PM on 11/11/2011

Yikes, and who are these spectacular artists that make Jay and Em look like mediocre rappers? and Expound explicitly on their techniques, skill and talent because seeing as how you just brazenly generalized the aforementioned artist's talent, your knowledge on the matter is suspect!