Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, often rhymes about his struggles in the acting industry and the steps it took to get there — he currently plays Troy from NBC’s “Community.” The ever-aggressive Hopsin expresses his frustrations with the hypocrisy that permeates the music industry these days. Even Kid Cudi, who is considered a major force in the hip-hop community and has the label to back it, honestly expresses his vices through his music.
The public has supported this uprising of relatability and humanity through sales, and we have seen a resulting rise of humility in the rap game. With rap, emcees are giving the public a platform they can relate to, rather than distancing themselves as untouchable creatures of perfection through their lyrics.
A quick look at today’s charts might suggest that the hip-hop industry is still stuck in the egotistical extravagance that nearly killed the genre back in the early 2000s — tracks such as Kanye West’s “I am a God” and Eminem’s “Rap God” exhibit anything but humility.
Yet a closer examination into the rap game reveals a growing niche separate from major labels and self-aggrandizing. What we have today is a far cry from the real-life gang drama between such groups as Murder Inc. and G-Unit that was fueled by a plethora of dis tracks and self-boasting. Any tension that appears between artists in the media is likely just done for publicity.
There is still extravagance to be found in rap, but little of what, in that way, can truly be called beef. As much as anyone wants to claim that Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Control” has rekindled that flame, that’s only one song. Today’s drama is whiney, a random scuffle or an indirect verbal arguments through various mediums — Drake and Chris Brown act as prime examples of theatrics.
While Kanye West occasionally has a target for his rants — like Justin Timberlake —most of the time his tirades are spectacular digressions and one-man shows. With his nebulous focus and immoderate emotions, West seems to be single-handedly fueling the negative machine in popular rap.
Adam Kargenian is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].