Since Rapper’s Delight was released in 1979, rap has come an awful long way. We went to the dance floor with the cheesy songs of the 1980’s, to a new NWA inspired gangster rap era in the 1990’s, to rap feuds and intensity in the early 2000’s. But what does modern day rap sound like? I’ll tell you what it sounds like, mostly it is pretty awful. I have some exceptions of course and I will list them now. So, in no particular order, here are the best albums of this decade so far…

1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
2. Recovery – Eminem
3. Good Kid, m.A.A.d City – Kendrick Lamar
4. To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar
5. Compton – Dr. Dre
6. The Documentary 2 – The Game
7. Life is Good – Nas
8. Watch the Throne – Jay Z and Kanye West
9. The Life of Pablo – Kanye West

Okay, so there have been 9 exceptional albums. But other than those albums, what does rap have to offer us?

We have been blessed this decade to watch Kendrick Lamar launch himself into the game and murder every modern day rapper. To Pimp a Butterfly is one of the best albums of all time and easily the best album of this decade in any genre. It is a masterpiece highlighting everything wrong with racism and social inequality in America and particularly in Compton. How Taylor Swift beat him to the best album of the year at the 2015 Grammys I will never know. Kendrick is the only rapper out of this generation of rappers who deserves a large amount of credibility. If you doubt his rapping ability, just listen to his control verse and that tells you everything you need to know about his incredible talent. He states in his verse ‘I heard the barbershops be in great debates all the time, about who’s the best MC? Kendrick, Jigga and Nas, Eminem, Andrew 3000.’ For me, these five are the greatest living rappers. If you don’t believe me or Kendrick, then go back and listen to their best albums (Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly, Jay Z – Reasonable Doubt, Nas – Illmatic, Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP, Outkast – Stankonia). As for Dr. Dre, he is the most respected producer of all time, The Game is a raw talent refusing to let the West Side die down, and Kanye West, no matter how arrogant he is, knows how revolutionize any genre he decides to have crack at.

But what about the rest of the rappers in the game nowadays? Well, Kendrick Lamar goes on in his Control verse stating ‘the rest of y’all new n***** just new n*****, don’t get involved…’ ‘…and that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, Meek Milz, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electron, Tyler, Mac Miller, I got love for you all but I’m trying to murder you n*****.’ And these guys pretty much sum up everything wrong with modern day rap. So, without further or do, let’s look at these rappers and let me explain why they’re disgraceful to this incredible art form.

J. Cole (Jermaine Cole) – As a producer, this guy is seriously talented. But in terms of rapping, he is weak. He has a mellow voice, decent flow, however he isn’t anything spectacular. His album 2014 Forest Hills Drive is decent, but I felt the only good song was No Role Modelz. The rest of the songs were decent at best. He has potential, but to me, he’s more interesting in selling records and not expressing his true views.

Big K.R.I.T – He has a quick flow, but all he raps about is money and women. He doesn’t know how to tell a story and his rhymes can be extremely weak. His album Cadillactia is awful.

Wale – He is again, very decent, but his songs and albums are so boring. He has an album called ‘The album about nothing’ and that is exactly what his music is about, nothing.

Pusha T – Auto tune can work extremely well in some cases, but Pusha just sounds horrible when he uses it. Again, all he talks about is sipping champagne and a good life. He is always poor and his verse is by far the poorest on Kanye West’s ‘Mercy’.

Meek Millz – He is everything wrong with rap. No flow, awful rhymes, only talks about money and being in the club. His albums are very poorly written and executed.

A$AP Rocky – In terms of his ability, he is amazing. He knows how to spit amazing rhymes, but, again, he can be very boring and drift his focus from rapping to making money.

Drake – Man, Drake can be awesome. ‘Just Hold on we’re Going Home’ is an amazing single and his album ‘Nothing was the same’ is very good. But for every step forward he makes in becoming a respectful rapper, he releases something awful like ‘Cellphone’ or ‘Work’. He is always out performed when appearing on other real MC’s tracks, e.g. Forever, 100 and Poetic Justice.

Big Sean – Control is Big Sean’s song and Kendrick Lamar disses him and destroys him, do I need to say anything else? He is a rich and non-controversial Eminem wannabe.

Jay Electron – Jay Electron never makes any sense in any of his verses. To quote Shea Sorrano in his book ‘The Rap Year Book’, ‘Nobody ever knows what the fuck Jay Electronic is ever talking about.’

Tyler the Creator – A rapper who never takes himself seriously and can be enjoyable to listen too. ‘Yonkers’ is one of the best rap songs of this decade. If he put half as much effort into his music as he did trying to be the funny man on the internet, he would be immense.

Mac Miller – His chaotic producing method can be appealing to some people, but for me, it’s pretty awful.

But what links all of these rappers who Kendrick Lamar called out in his Control verse? Well, all they do is talk about the good life they live. How amazing their cars are, how many girls they sleep with, how big their houses are, and how much they love money. Rappers have always spoken about the good life, but the best rappers will express how rough their background is whilst you almost feel as if you have been there with them. For me, a great rapper is a poet who can brilliantly express their frustrations whilst telling you a story. Illmatic, arguably the best rap album of all time, is Nas’s story of what it’s like living in a failed social housing system in New York. Jay Z’s Reasonable Doubt does the same about Brooklyn, Eminem the same in the Marshal Mathers LP about Detroit. The Game, Kendrick and Dr. Dre and NWA all give different accounts on Compton. These guys worked hard to hustle out of these areas and better themselves whilst remaining humble in their success. Modern day rappers have destroyed and disrespected the legacy these legends set by gloating about the wealth rapping has given them. But not only this, their stories are unimaginative, ghost written, and unoriginal. Kendrick Lamar is the only modern day rapper who recognizes these legends legacy. I sincerely hope the ghost of Tupac continues to inspire Kendrick Lamar, whilst Biggie’s ghost attempts to haunt these new rappers for destroying such a beautiful art.