I agree. This "music" stuff will never catch on :rolleyes:

It's at about the same place i feel, more independent though, and a little more diverse.

Hip hop is definitely evolving. Artists are more free to experiment and collaborate with others. It all depends on taste, Living Legends and Strange Famous records put out a lot of underground performers, some of which are certainly nowhere near mainstream, and are incredibly talented. I believe there has been a wider and more diverse community to choose from as social media, the internet, and digital albums continue to reach more and more people. I can dig it as I can always just listen to the glorious classics. Also, the amount of unsigned artists and free mixtapes available look promising, and artists who have been putting out albums for years are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

My personal thoughts are that mainstream hip hop's best days are behind it but there is still good hip hop to be found. Murs is one of my current favorite mc's along with Slug from Atmosphere and Talib Kweli. You just have to go digging to find quality nowadays.

the main thing about digging to find it nowadays is that's it's way easier to do so with the internet at your finger tips.

The Late Night show has always been an important step for up and coming music acts. It's almost a crossover point.

In my opinion, I don't think it's fair to think that people think ALL rap music is getting worse or better because some artists are putting out really good stuff thats just as good as always. Then theres people who are putting out bad stuff which is always how its been.

I tend to agree with you, there is good rap and hip hop out there. You just simply have to find it and listen to it, before you rate or judge it as being good or bad music..

I have been listening to rap for many years and it really became better because of new sound technologies and evolving of tastes. It has become closer to electro music and that's great

yes, sure, there's still good hip hop

that doesn't mean it's just as good as it was in the '90's or getting better

off the top:

Reasonable Doubt, Illmatic, The Infamous, Mr. Scarface is Back, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, The Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders, Funcrusher Plus, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time & Space), Innercity Griots, All Balls Don't Bounce, Resurrection, Enta da Stage, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, De La Soul is Dead, Dr. Octagonecologyst, '93 Til Infinity, Daily Operation, Whut? Thee Album

the 2000-2010 decade was spotty, it wasn't filled with classic releases basically every year like the '90's, that was the most solid decade of hip hop, period

and this is coming from someone who defends modern hip hop against anyone who says "rap sucks nowadays," etc