A&E
Old school rap: keepin' it real
Music is definitely something that fuels and inspires the generation of today. Many people are influenced and molded by what they plug into their ears every day.
The rap industry is still alive and well, motivating people to do good and bad. Do the names Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Nas, Jay-Z, and Rakim ring any bells in your head? What about Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Drake, and Chief Keef? How has rap changed from back in the day?
Seventeen-year-old Kevin Lewis thinks that hip-hop has done a complete 180-degree turn.
The message used to tell kids not to grow up brainwashed by the world, some say, and now it targets college students who like to party.
“None of these rappers are the same, their style, their attitude, and their demeanor is all different,” says Lewis, from the John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science. “Rappers today can’t even compare to those back then.”
Lewis feels that rappers have tried to adjust to the new era we live in.
“Lil Wayne went from gangster rapper to rock star,” says Lewis.
Julia Malita, 16, from Boston Latin Academy, thinks the new-schoolers are getting a bad rap.
“I don’t think that rap has changed much over the years,” Malita says. “It’s still pretty much the same.”
Still, it isn’t uncommon to hear adults complain about the music that kids are into these days, saying it causes them to act recklessly.
Chadrick Fennell, 16, from the O’Bryant, responds: “The music I listen to doesn’t define who I am as a person.”
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