One of many widespread critiques that lapsed rap followers will make use of when explaining their present distance from the style is that rap has misplaced its edge. With the plethora of suburban-born MCs and rainbow-haired studio gangsters that comprise hip hops energetic roster, it could appear that the as soon as hardened style has grown comfortable. I consider that is false. Hip hop hasn’t grown comfortable; it is simply grown. Earlier than it mutated into the gangster monolith that it turned the 90s and 00s, hip hop was enjoyable social gathering music that often ventured into the realm of topical with songs like The message from Grandmaster Flash and The Livid 5. Nonetheless, even in these days, authenticity- or the notion of it- was important.
At this time, authenticity in hip hop is a fluid idea. Drake is without doubt one of the most profitable artists ever to grace the style due to his potential to attach with the suburban demographic from which he emerged. This is able to’ve disqualified him from rap’s interior street-based sanctum in earlier eras. Regardless of his soft background, Drake can retain his authenticity by flaunting his lack of road cred versus hiding it. In opposition, rappers “born within the trenches” are anticipated to magnify their prison histories and affiliations as a marker of their “authenticity.” On both facet, the trade is a far cry from the period of Vanilla Ice, who suffered attributable to his plasticine character.
Within the video linked above, the YouTube channel HipHop Insanity breaks down how revolutionary Vanilla Ice truly is in modern hip hop. With the huge company influences that management each avenue of the style, Vanilla Ice could be one of the crucial influential figures in rap historical past. I do not imply that by way of lyrics, circulation, or fashion, however slightly that he was the prototype for scores of corporately created artists that presently rule rap with an iron fist.
