Hip-Hop is arguably the most popular genre in music. It can be heard in many walks of life, including advertising

and its influence on popular phrases, and it gives insight into society’s ills. It does a lot for American popular culture, but as much as it’s a good thing for Hip-Hop, it’s also become one of its biggest downfalls.

Because of Hip-Hop’s mainstream appeal, a lot of the music to come out in the past ten years has become commercialized, lacking the sense of substance and lyrical content that Hip-Hop was widely respected for. Good beats and even better lyrics have now been replaced with questionable street cred, embarrassing dances, as well as “making it rain.” Instead of staying true to the essence of Hip-Hop by daring to be different, every rapper that becomes famous feels pressured to follow stupid trends that only get worse with every new rapper who follows it.

One rapper who has taken a lot of heat for his style of rap (if you can call it that) is Soulja Boy Tell’em. A lot of people have criticized him for encouraging Hip-Hop without a message that focuses on dancing instead of lyrical content. Some Hip-Hop purists have gone as far as to say that he is killing Hip-Hop. However, he isn’t the only one. So many rappers after him have done exactly the same thing, just because of the sheer amount of popularity and success his style has achieved. A lot of people say that rappers who have meaningless lyrics shouldn’t be criticized because their music is made for the teenage generation to dance and have a good time. Even though this is a valid point, some of the best rappers of our time started making music with deep messages when they were about 17 or 18, only about a year or two older than Soulja Boy Tell’em is now. Everybody needs some feel good music to help them have a good time, but just because music can be fun doesn’t mean it has to be devoid of meaningful lyrics.

The problem with Hip-Hop goes back to the commercialism of the industry. Whether it be expressed in the music itself, or dealt with behind the scenes, a rapper’s wealth and popularity plays a huge part in how their music is expressed. An underground or independent artist who doesn’t have much to lose financially or socially is free to make the music they like, which usually results in material with more quality because they put their passion into it, whereas an artist with a million-dollar recording contract could end up losing money because they choose to make music with substance. So, to ensure their money (as well as the record label’s money) is well invested, they only make music that they think people will like by finding the hottest producers and following the most accepted trend. And after a while, it starts to get too repetitive to even listen to.

Hip-Hop needs artists who can bring back a balance of popularity and talent, as well as substance and fresh ideas to bring to the table. Artists like Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, Outkast and T.I are prime examples of artists who decided to be themselves, regardless of what anybody said, and ended up producing material that is nothing short of classic, with impeccable lyrics, style and creativity. These artists are living proof that it doesn’t take an artist selling their soul to be successful, they just have to be themselves.