Jan 7, 2016 http://www.designntrend.com/article...5-hip-hop-trends-that-need-to-die-in-2016.htm Drake Haters, Kendrick Lamar Worship To Cool Nerds: 5 Hip Hop Trends That Need To Die In 2016 Peter Anthony , Design & Trend Jan, 01, 2016, 01:30 PM KENDRICK LAMAR, DRAKE, RIFF RAFF, 2016 (Photo : Getty Images/Bennett Raglin) Here are five Hip Hop trends that need to die in 2016. 2015 was an eventful year in the ever-evolving world of Hip Hop. Kendrick Lamar's "To p---- A Butterfly" became a part of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Drake's Meek Mill diss, "Back to Back," became the first "diss" song to be nominated for a Grammy Award. 2015 also saw the continuation of tiresome Internet trends and hero worship that have more than run their course. Here is a list of five Hip Hop trends that need to die in 2016: 5. Viral rap Viral rap has been straddling the line between artistic viability and web waste since Soulja Boy pioneered it roughly a decade ago. 2015 may have been the year it finally crossed that threshold. Case in point, Slim Jesus. Typically, viral rappers gain their fame from a vine-worthy dance (Bobby Shmurda), self-parody (Lil' B, Riff Raff), or a combination of unexpected talent and terrifying ratchetness (Chief Keef). These elements almost justify the attention everyone pays to them. Armed with a flow that sounds just like that guy you know who rapped once and the charisma of that same guy, Slim Jesus doesn't fit any of those aforementioned viral molds. Slim isn't a good enough rapper to be entertaining for his music. He isn't self-aware enough to be a parody of himself, and he's not ratchet enough to shout his violent lyrics with the frightening conviction that usually grabs people's attention. He is far from the first white rapper and he isn't bad enough at rapping for his songs to be funny. He's just a really bad rapper. So why is he so famous? The internet is so complex it doesn't feel right to presume to have all the answers. One theory is that Slim Jesus exists for the purpose of keeping the Twittersphere rife with lackluster memes and recycled one-liners. Really, that's all we've got. Us social media tenants are probably too bored for viral rap to ever truly disappear, but if we're at the point where we'll make a star out of a guy whose only ability is remarkable mediocrity, we should focus our misdirected attention elsewhere. 4. Enough "cool nerds" ... aka, wannabe hipsters Being a voice for hip hop braggadocio and an approachable geek who wears Yeezi Boosts to upscale museums, Kanye West is essentially a god to the formerly outcasted "cool nerds" of the rap world. The thing is, everyone wants to be the "cool nerd" — whether they actually are or not. (Photo : Getty Images/Christopher Polk) Kanye West is pretty much the self-actualized "cool nerd," and everyone wants to be the "cool nerd." Being the nerdy outcast has arguably become more popular than being a jock. When you add that new popularity in with social media that encourages everyone to prove just how easily they can be "nerdy" and "cool" at the same time, you're looking at a virtual purgatory for secondhand embarrassment. The Twittersphere is filled with would-be Kid Cudis and Andre 3000s. A quick trip down almost anyone's timeline is sure to show pink-haired girls with "Sailor Moon" headers tweeting about how much they love "DS2," even though they know its got "problematic" lyrics. A bandanna-wearing college grad who tweets about how "Dragon Ball Z" isn't as good as that anime that came out yesterday and how he likes to draw sometimes. The yellow-haired struggle rapper tweeting a reminder to download his new mixtape, which he called "The Shining" because he just loved that Jack Nicholson movie when it came on last week. The increased presence of "cool nerds" like the ones mentioned above raises at least a few questions about the validity of that "sub-culture." If everyone would rather chill at home and watch "Attack on Titan," then who are all those people at the club? If everyone was the nerdy kid that got made fun of for thinking he could make it in music, who was doing the "roasting"? Essentially, if everyone is "taking the road less traveled," how is that road less traveled? Nerdiness used to be something people were ostracized for in the hip hop world, and the pain that came from that fueled people like Kanye and Kid Cudi. Now, it's turned into a new branding mechanism for rising rappers and aspiring Twitter stars. Now, thousands of the supposedly different "cool nerds" are copying each other, creating a new set of standards to conform to — which goes against the core hip hop principle of individuality. "Cool nerds" have had a good run, but it should end in 2016. 3. Kendrick Lamar worship Kendrick Lamar just isn't that good. He's good, but not 11 Grammy Award nominations good. His latest album, titled "To p---- A Butterfly," is a collection of big ideas and clumsily worded emotional statements that pose as wisdom. Listening to his vague philosophies about black plight is like waiting for a punchline that never comes. He doesn't make succinct points about anything he talks about and you would be hard-pressed to find an example of his wordplay that makes 100 percent sense. There aren't any poetic or logical conclusions to "TPAB," a project that lacks the nuanced, insightful writing that's earned rappers like Vince Staples so much critical acclaim. If Jay Z is a sociology professor, Kendrick is the guy posting sketchy "woke" memes on Facebook. Whereas Jay Z uses historical happenings and events from other cultures to make his points, Kendrick relies on every "deep rapper" cliché in the book. Kendrick is essentially the rap game's Wizard of Oz, except his curtain is made up of socio-political jargon and the idea of a righteous cause. The problem is that rapping about serious issues is only worth anything when you're doing a good job at it. He's not, and it would be awesome if everyone stopped treating him like he is. (Photo : Getty Images/Frederick M. Brown) Kendrick Lamar is good, but there is no way he deserves to be considered the best rapper in 2016. 2. Inconsistent cultural gatekeeping Gatekeepers of hip hop culture aren't in themselves huge problems, it's just that their laws seem to adhere to the trendy issue of the day as opposed to any real rules. If someone calls Drake a misogynist for saying Meek Mill is the "girl" in his relationship with Nicki Minaj, then they should be just as critical of Bobby Shmurda when he yells "and if you ain't a h** get up out my trap house." If Macklemore is primarily rapping about suburban issues, then how is he appropriating culture? If Macklemore is an example of appropriation, than what white rapper isn't? Gatekeeping is fine, but in 2015, it just led to exclusionary practices, which discourages different groups of people from putting their perspective into the genre. In 2016, it has to stop. 1. Drake hating Did you ever notice that no one ever criticized Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj for "stealing" the hashtag flow from Big Sean? Did you ever notice that people only cared about rappers being politically correct when Drake was on the microphone? It isn't hard to understand where the Drake double standards come from. It's the appearance of perfection that makes people project imaginary character flaws onto anyone, and Drake has dominated hip hop so effortlessly that he's an easy target. Drake is like the pretty girl who everyone says is stuck up just because she's pretty. She hasn't actually done anything that others haven't at some point or another, and she may even be one of the nicest girls at school. Still, to her homely classmates, she's the conceited princess who has everything they rightfully deserve. When the ugly girl is confident, she's inspiring. When the pretty girl is confident, she's conceited. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter) Plenty of music critics demonized Drake in 2015. In 2015, it was Drake's fault that people stopped caring about ILoveMakonnen after he hopped on the "Tuesday" remix. Drake became the culture vulture who gnawed away at rising artists' vitality, even though almost all of the obscure a artists he rapped with became immeasurably more successful after his co-signs. Even though rap is notorious for derogatory language about everyone, music critics rushed to call Drake a misogynist after he said that Meek Mill was the "girl" of his relationship with Nicki Minaj. Even though Kendrick Lamar's latest album sounds a lot like a project from The Roots, Drake is a "biter" because he adopted sounds from Kanye West's "808s and Heartbreak." The Drake hate used to be about his sweaters, but 2015 saw serious critics attack him for his music, something that he does better than anyone else. Yes he's incorporated other rap sub-genres into his music, but isn't that sort of stylistic malleability a talent in itself? Yes, Quentin Miller did help him write some songs, but a quick visit to almost any rap album's credits will show that most songs have at least a few writers. Drake isn't the most politically correct person in the world, but he still doesn't use "bad language" more than Kanye, Future, Big Sean or any other rapper. Say what they will, but music critics will probably be too busy listening to "Views from the 6" to continue their Drake-hate in 2016. We can only hope.
Jan 7, 2016 This article is basically one giant to praise Drake and cover up his obvious lack of talent
Jan 7, 2016 author almost got fired last week btw, he is known as a giant drake stan and the publication just couldn't tolerate it... thats also why they ain't promoting the article (that came out last week)
Jan 7, 2016 It's making me sick how obvious the marketing campaign is and how intellectually dishonest it is written...
Jan 7, 2016 it was written by peter anthony, aka the cac who got ethered earlier this week for being the biggest drake dickrider.
