I've given it some thought and now that I think of it, mainstream Rap doesn't seem to be as bad as it once was.  Now, it is still full of terrible music.  The fact that a horrendous rapper like Lil' Wayne and a chessy gimmick like auto-tune is popular is proof of that, not to mention Soulja Boy just not dying.  However, it doesn't seem to be quite as bad as it was back in 2006-2007, at least from a top 40 perspective.

Over the past, say, ten months or so, I have yet to hear any rap songs as utterly horrendous as "Laffy Taffy", "Grillz", or "Crank That" (all #1 hits) were.  Not to mention all the horrendously cheesy songs that populated the top 10 like "Chain Hang Low" and "Ms. New Booty", as well as just plain horrible songs like "Ay Bay Bay" (a song I wish I could forget), "Cyclone" and "Party Like A Rockstar."  Compared to those songs, recent hits like "Right Round" (despite the hook being a ripoff) and "Live Your Life" aren't nearly as bad.  

That isn't to say mainstream Rap still isn't bad.  Lil' Wayne is, as already mentioned, terrible and featured in way too many songs, auto-tune is a cheesy overused gimmick, Soulja Boy still won't go away, and Eminem's newest song "Crack A Bottle" is pretty much the definition of a humongous letdown.  However, while it is still bad, it doesn't seem to be as bad and cheesy as it was before.  I guess I would call that a slight improvement.  Then again, there is less Rap in the top 40, so maybe the reason is because the crap just isn't as prominent as it was.

I've given it some thought and now that I think of it, mainstream Rap doesn't seem to be as bad as it once was.  Now, it is still full of terrible music.  The fact that a horrendous rapper like Lil' Wayne and a chessy gimmick like auto-tune is popular is proof of that, not to mention Soulja Boy just not dying.  However, it doesn't seem to be quite as bad as it was back in 2006-2007, at least from a top 40 perspective.

Over the past, say, ten months or so, I have yet to hear any rap songs as utterly horrendous as "Laffy Taffy", "Grillz", or "Crank That" (all #1 hits) were.  Not to mention all the horrendously cheesy songs that populated the top 10 like "Chain Hang Low" and "Ms. New Booty", as well as just plain horrible songs like "Ay Bay Bay" (a song I wish I could forget), "Cyclone" and "Party Like A Rockstar."  Compared to those songs, recent hits like "Right Round" (despite the hook being a ripoff) and "Live Your Life" aren't nearly as bad.  

That isn't to say mainstream Rap still isn't bad.  Lil' Wayne is, as already mentioned, terrible and featured in way too many songs, auto-tune is a cheesy overused gimmick, Soulja Boy still won't go away, and Eminem's newest song "Crack A Bottle" is pretty much the definition of a humongous letdown.  However, while it is still bad, it doesn't seem to be as bad and cheesy as it was before.  I guess I would call that a slight improvement.  Then again, there is less Rap in the top 40, so maybe the reason is because the crap just isn't as prominent as it was.


I agree with you. The worse was 2005-2007! Music is not horrible, just really mediocre. The worse music in general was 2001-2006. It's just that pop culture needs some time to heal from this horrible decade! Yes, and rap is less popular now than it was in 2007.

Nope, it's still pretty much the same.

::)

I really want to see rapping in the styles of Tupac and Biggy Smalls back.  I just can't today's dance-rap.

I don't know, I like some of the urban pop stuff like say Right Round or Day n Nite is good. Those are built around catchy beats and good hooks which is what I look for. I also like T.I. who's one of the better "mainstream" rappers at this time. There's this one song I saw on iTunes called "Stanky Legg" that is terrible and right along the lines of "Laffy Taffy", not to mention Soulja Boy still being relevant for some unknown reason. "Crack A Bottle" sounds like a reject from Encore, Em's lost it. I'd say though that yeah, I think 2007 at least was probably worse because there seemed to be more of the "Stanky Legg" types than there is right now, it's still definitely worse than 2004 though. 2005 was key, rap generally fell off a cliff by summer 2005 or so and hasn't really recovered much since. I personally have always liked pop/top 40 more than like the hardcore gangsta rap however.

Yeah, the recent rap (or what little there is of it now) is not as bad as the corny and gimmicky stuff such as the ring tone rap that was big in 2007. Some of the new stuff is pretty descent, such as Kid Cudi, which is actually a mix with electropop, and Asher Roth, which is a mix with alternative. I also think they are getting back to the basics, like with Eminem, 50 Cent, and Dr. Dre's new albums coming out, and late last year The Game, Ludacris, Common, Kanye West, and T.I. all releasing good albums. I don't really care for "Right Round" by Flo-Rida, maybe because IMO we're past the days of remaking 80's songs. Soulja Boy has a new song "Kiss Me Thru the Phone", and even that doesn't sound as bad as "Crank Dat".

Nope, it's still pretty much the same.

::)
The same as it has always has been right from the start.

I think rap music now is just a watered down version of itself from early to mid 2005 now currently. With that said usually later in each decade there's poppier music than there was in the early to mid part of a decade. I think Rap music now is basically where Hair Metal was in 1991-1992. I mean sure Grunge was big in 1992 but there was still some Hair Metal left in that year like Mr. Big or even an 80's band like Def Leppard having hits even if Def Leppard wasn't hair metal they were pop-metal though.

Few people were talking about worst music. My vote goes to 2008. Worst year for music every this decade. It was good up until 2006, at least in my opinion. So far in 2009, it's not too bad. It's picked up. but 2006 - 2008 were not good music years. This is just my opinion.

I like rap when it wasn't so damn pop.  I like hip hop from the mid to late 80s and 90s.  I don't like today's rap at all!  It's nothing but a bunch of BS.  Rap has been disproved in my opinion.

I preferred rap when it was all about blunts, 40's, b*tches, and 'hos....