Friday, November 13, 2009
As every brand of music evolves, the hardest feat for an artist to accomplish is to stay in touch with their genre’s fan base while continuing to produce innovative and celebrated material. The reason legendary artists such as The Rolling Stones, U2 and Mariah Carey have been able to remain so successful in their respective genres is because of their ability to change with that genre while retaining the elements of their music that made them so popular in the first place.
Hip-hop is no different in this respect, except that it’s considerably more challenging for a hip-hop artist to remain popular during the years than artists in other genres. Still generally identified with the youth of today, hip-hop is a brand of music with a remarkably short attention span. A rapper may release a gold or even platinum album one year and find themselves neglected and outcast as a novelty the next. To remain consistently respected in the rap game is an accomplishment attempted by many, fulfilled by very few.
Enter Shawn and Dwayne Carter. Better known to the public as Jay-Z and Lil Wayne respectively. These two hip-hop giants have been dominating the rap game with uncontested consistency since they first got in it.
The effect Jay-Z has had on hip-hop in the past 15 years as a genre as well as a culture as a whole is immeasurable. Since “Reasonable Doubt,” his debut album released in 1996, Jay-Z has kept the masses pleased, releasing album after album of dope rhymes over superior production.
Weezy F. Baby, also known as Lil Wayne, has been similarly effective in the hip-hop realm, as is evident with his armies of loyal fans and the sheer amount of quality music (for the most part) that he is able to produce.
What both these iconic artists have done in recent months is cement their collective statuses as the two undisputed best rappers in the game. Jay-Z released “The Blueprint 3” in September and once again wowed the hip-hop nation showcasing innovative production as well as timely and well-executed lyricism on the album.
“No Ceilings,” Wayne’s new mixtape leaked and released online two weeks ago, is a strong-willed testament to Lil Wayne’s raw talent and knack for “going in” over just the right beats. It is really Wayne getting back to shredding beats with his relentless, “Did he really just say that?” flow. A message to the masses, the new tape from Wayne is a clear indication from the man himself that he is still here, and is certainly here to stay.
Achieving longevity in any musical career is an exceptionally difficult task; only the strong and consistent survive in the entertainment industry. Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, though, have proven to the hip-hop world they are still its rulers year after year, album after album. It is a miraculous task for these artists to consistently release quality material as they do, and with the success of their most recent releases it is safe to say the two have made it known that after all these years the esteemed title of “best rapper alive” still goes to Weezy and the Jigga-man.
— Coldham is a Chicago senior in journalism.
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