Get the crunk off the radio. Your Hip-Hop is dead and it reeketh

I'm a DJ and have been bumpin' hip-hop on my system for over a decade. Along with the tight beats and sick licks, I pay close attention to the lyrics. I don't just focus on expletives in attempts to keep school dances clean, but I look for words that have meaning and feeling. 2pac, Jurassic 5, Eminem, and Mos Def are a few artists who put out songs for years that fit the bill. However, in the last few years, something as happened. Hip-hop music died.

Flipping on your local hip-hop station today, you won't hear these artists anymore. You're greeted with flat beats, uninspiring licks, and unintelligible, repetitive lyrics. WTF? Why is it that every song feels that it needs to repeat the same phrase 8 times in the chorus. "Party like a rock star, party like a rock star, party like a rock star..." Or they try to sound like they don't even know how to speak English. "U ain't fresh as I'm iz." Ummm....what the freak? I know what you're trying to say, but does that really make you sound cool? And...does that do anything for the intelligence of the person listening? Shop Boyz, Bow Wow, T-Pain, Dem Franchize Boyz, Lil Jon. I can't believe that we actually know these names. What does it take to make a hip-hop hit, a name? Because they aren't brining anything else to the game. You know that millions of high school students think that the word "ludicrous" is spelled l-u-d-a-c-r-i-s?

Let me give you an example, within the same song, of the difference between the caliber of these rappers. This is a song that came out clear back in 2002 when this new generation of rappers was just getting started. It's the 50 Cent song "Patiently Waiting" featuring Eminem. The stark contrast of Em's unique blend of lyrics and rhythm and Fiddy's lack of talent is clearly apparent as you listen here:

After Eminem's verse, Fiddy sounds like he can't even get the lyrics out of his mouth. I picture him flipping his lips with his finger, "Duh, duh duh......I'm...uh...gonna leave you like...uh...a Michael Jackson jacket....with...uh...all them zippers."

When hip-hop first came out, it had passion. NWA, Ice-T. Typical subjects were life in the projects and searching for something greater in life. Of course, every rapper made at least one song talking about why they were the best, but most of their stuff had meaning to it. Nowadays, rappers lead pointless lives, so all they have to rap about are sex, clubs, drinks, and drugs. How many songs are we going to hear about some thug going to a club, scamming on some hoes, and getting laid? Turn on a hip-hop station right now and I bet within 30 seconds you'll hear a reference to any or all of those.

We need writers
Consider these lyrics taken from songs by two current artists:

Chingy - Dem Jeans

Damn Girl
How'd you get all that in
Dem Jeans
Dem Jeans
How'd you get all that in Dem
Damn Girl
How'd you get all that
(Is you talkin to me?)
Yeah you
I bet you had to jump up and down
Just to put 'em on
Bet you had to wiggle it around
Just to put 'em on
Bet you had to lay back on the bed
Just to zip 'em up
Am I right?
(You right)
Baby thats whats up

Jurassic 5 - Quality Control

Ayo my quality control, captivates your party patrol
Your mind, body, and soul
For whom the bell tolls, let the rhythm explode
Big, bad, and bold b-boys of old
Many styles we hold, let the story be told
Whether platinum or gold, we use breath control
So let the beat unfold, intro on drum roll
We be the Lik like E, Tash, and J-Ro
We harass niggas like we was the po-po
We can rule the world without Kurtis and still Blow
Finesse, from SP to Casio
Your jams ain't def, you ain't fresh, you're so-so
If you don't know us by now you'll never know
You set that mood when we groove and prove a show
The name of the game is survive and prove your flow
You can't out take Jurassic syllable
Cause it's survival of professional radio
Stop and comprehend and heed the words of my pen
Survival of professional poetical Highlanders
(Soup, you plan on rocking something fierce?) Oh, am I

One song...written by a 1st grader. The other...a lyrical masterpiece. Okay...I don't want to give a 1st grader that much credit, I'll change that to, "Written by a 1st grade dropout." Why did first song garner hours of airplay while the latter was forced out to the iPods and turntables of the underground? Payola? Lack of talent in the industry? What gives?

So, I'm calling out hip-hop. Put something better up on the radio. You're making my life a living hell as a DJ. I go to these dances and, all night, fight off requests for Dem Franchize Boyz, Chingy, Lil Jon, Bow Wow, and others. I mix in as much good hip-hop as possible, but kids these days only like what they hear on the radio. So, come on... givit tah me.

If you are looking for hip-hop music during these "dark ages", here is a list of good artists with excellent music, and then a list of artists that need to crunk off.

Good Hip-Hop
Jurassic 5
Fort Minor
Hieroglyphics
Blackalicious
Kanye West
Talib Kweli
Mos Def
Dilated Peoples
De La Soul
A Tribe Called Quest / Q-Tip
Will.i.am
Black Eyed Peas
Common
MF Doom
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Deux Process
Fugees
Ozomatli
The Roots
Wu-Tang Clan
2pac

Crunk Off
Lil Jon
50 Cent
Jermaine Dupri
T-Pain
Ludacris
Dem Franchize Boyz
Chingy
J-Kwon
Shop Boyz
Akon (along with his computerized voice)
Bow Wow
...So many more, but I don't even know their names cause I switch the radio so fast

Neither of these lists are by all means complete. If you have more names to add to either of them, please leave the them in the comments. I'm always looking for more good hip-hop.

Oh...and please nobody go and shoot Fiddy or T-Pain. I'd hate to see them immortalized next to 2pac and Biggie.