Blasphemy!

I know what I'm a bout to say will sound blasphemous to hip-hop fans that are about 26 and older but,we need to get past Big and Pac.
Really, we do. I'm a huge fan of both and I can't deny the impact they had on hip-hop's history. Many rappers have emulated their styles and their words (Jigga...). Many rappers owe their careers to the late icons, but at some point the idolization must stop.


People need to stop using them to make themselves money while claiming to honor their memory,(Diddy...) and artists need to stop using unreleased tracks to bolster their own mediocrity (too many to name). True Keyshia Coles' new joint with Pac is hot, but he's been dead for over 12 years. Find another rapper please.

I think our hesitance to release them speaks to lack of any great current rappers and our reluctance to accept atrists that push the boundaries of hip-hop.
Jay-Z - Swagger jacker.
Nas - Inconsistent.
Andre 3000 - I don't think music is a priority for him right now.
Eminem - Less about yout wife and mother please. We get it. Life sucks. Move on.
Snoop - Was on No Limit Records....
Everyone else is too regional to be universally accepted or not commercial enough to be included in discussions (shame.)

Pac and Big were victims of the lifestyle their lyrics glamorized. If Hip-Hop is indeed dead, it dies with them. We have become too occupied as a culture to appreciate the artists we have now. Instead of demanding quality from our artists, we demand reincarnations of Big and Pac, as long as you are not blatantly imitating them. It's a tough thing to have to do, to be a post Big and Pac rapper. Sure it's been done successfully, but their prescences remain havey in the industry.

If we want to emulate someone, it needs to be a person like Cornell West, President Obama, or Colin Powell. We don't need to shuck and jive to be successful or famous. We can be intelligent and articulate. We can respected without big cars, nice clothes, groupies, or guns and we can have self-esteem without drugs and sex.

Big and Pac were legends in their own time, but sadly that time is over. The sooner we realize that, the better off we'll be. Our music will probably get better too.

Do you.