"I ain't got no type, bad bitches is the only thing that I like, you ain't got no life, cups with the ice and we do this every night" No Type by Rae Sremmurd
"I be feeling like the man when I walk through, I ain't understand what you saying when I walk through, I got all these hoes staring when I walk through, I done made a few bands on the walk through" Walk Through by Rich Homie Quan
"Broke n****s stand to the left, my rich n****s stand to the right, little momma she keep looking at me, I'ma knock the p***y out like fight night" Fight Night by Migos
"I done did a lot just to live this here lifestyle, came straight from the bottom to the top of my lifestyle, dooodadaddommmmm, this is only the beginning, on the top of the mountain puffing on clouds, these n****s still beginning" Lifestyle by Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan
The illustrious lyrics above are from the choruses of some of the most popular rap songs out right now based on what I hear on mainstream urban radio and trust me I've heard those songs enough to verify their popularity. Let's see what do those lyrics have in common? Hoes and bitches seem to make an appearance in some form or fashion in three out of the four songs. Money is another common topic. And that's pretty much it as far as topics go oh wait there's a mention of puffing on clouds in one song so I assume that's a smoking weed reference so drugs that's another topic. If you're wondering why in the Lifestyle song at one part I just write dooodadomm it's because I have no idea what the hell he's saying at that point. You listen to the song and tell me what he's saying right there. Seriously please help me out with that.
I was born in the '80s and was a pre-teen and teenager in the '90s and to me those were the golden years of rap music. Sometimes I wonder if they were objectively great years in rap music or if my opinion is skewed because that was the time period I grew up and you always think the music from your youth is the best. So to compare let me look at the chorus lyrics for rap songs that were popular 20 years ago which would be in November 1994.
"Here comes the brand new flava in ya ear, time for new flava in ya ear, I'm kicking new flava in ya ear, Mack's the brand new flava in ya ear" Flava in Your Ear by Craig Mack
"You know very well who you are, don't let 'em hold you down, reach for the stars, you had a (blank) but not that many, 'cause you're the only one, I give you good and plenty" Juicy by The Notorious BIG
"I never understood why I could never see a man cry until I seen a man die......man cry" Never Seen a Man Cry by Scarface
"The most beautifullest thing in this world is just like that, I get in ya (repeat 3 times)" The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World by Keith Murray
First thing I notice is that hoes, bitches and p***y are missing from those lyrics so that's a good thing for me as a woman. I also notice that each song is different. The first song is about a new musical sound. The second song is encouraging you to be yourself and reach for the stars. The third song is about seeing someone die and the last song is about some mysterious beautifullest thing in the world.
In contrast with the songs from November 2014 the first one is about liking bad bitches and presumably drinking every night or chewing on ice every night it's not exactly clear. The second one is about making money and looking important when you walk through a club. The third one is about separating broke and rich people and having sex with a woman because she looks at you. The fourth one is about living some sort of grand lifestyle.
The songs from 1994 are all very different in theme and sound. If you go listen to those songs none of them sound the same musically and none of the rappers sound the same. The songs from 2014 are similar in theme because they are all essentially talking about making money, women and going to the club. Also while the rappers voices have different tones most of them rap in the same sing-songy style and musically they aren't that different.
Whether or not the songs from 1994 are objectively better than the songs of 2014 depends on your measure of goodness. If your measure is whether the songs sound similar and have similar themes than 2014 is better. If your measure is variety of music and themes than 1994 is better. My measure is the latter so songs from 1994 win.
Bottom line for all the Millennials out there my music is better than yours and if you don't want to be dumber as a result of your music you should listen to rap from the '80s and '90s. You're welcome for that free advice. I'm off to get lost in a classic rap Youtube vortex.
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