I actually just listened to the lil' wayne tha carter 3 cd, and the music, not the vocals, were great! I personally do like kanye and jay-z and snoop dogg, but just the "bubble gum rappers" like soulja boy and lil romeo should step down.

Well, I see where your particular arguments apply in some cases, but I think you're over-generalizing the stereotypes behind most rap fans. I think there is fantastic stuff, even in the mainstream (artists like Kanye West and Jay-Z) who sell well AND create intelligent, exciting music. There is a lot of variety in the rap world. You can't go by what you hear on the Top 40 stations. That would be like listening to Nickelback or 3 Doors Down and saying that all rock music is s**tty. And as to your second point, I find, as many hip hop fans do that most rap albums grow on me because I find the depth in it on repeat listens. The deepest music, of any genre, cannot be fully explored on one or two listens. There are plenty of hip hop albums from years ago that I go back to frequently, some of which were more underground, some of which were more mainstream (Again, Kanye comes to mind; three classically good albums, all massive best-sellers, and I like different tracks almost every time I listen to them). Some people in the rap world have described the new generation of top-40 hits as being a part of rap's "disco period". That's pretty much the best description of the situation you're bringing up. But even in rock's disco period (the '70s), some of the best albums of all time were being made.

See there still is hope in the hip-hop industry, check out yea big and kid static, they are great, the lyrics do seem inteligent, and to tell you the truth, i think lupe fiasco has to be the best rapper now a days only because his songs sound like they required a brain to write, lupe is good.

I am not a hip hop fan and my threads will prove it! Anyway, I feel the biggest problem with it is that it often misses two essential ingredients to take it to the next level. The first is that there has been a lack of intellectual, deep, or meaningful lyrics to most of it. I know it is out there, but 90 percent of it is crap that only speaks to a specific age group at a certain time thus keeping it from becoming a timeless form of music. I bet that most hip hop fans rarely listen to albums they bought two years ago, they just buy the latest hip thing. Secondly, I think that most artists and music forms that have staying power to evolve requires a certain amount of musicianship. In other words, hip hop songs resonate with people quickly because they are catchy and often simple melodies, but there isn't enough depth to the music to stand up to years of repeat listening. I know this is not true all the time, but for the most part this seems to be the case.

The problem is that the mainstream is all about quick cash. The biggest moneymakers are those that get played at clubs and have an infectious hook. Quality is not important anymore, as far as sales go.

But all is not bleak! If you are upset with mainstream rap, there's plenty to get into. Here's a few I've found recently that I'm enjoying: Yea Big & Kid Static, all the Rhymesayers artists (Atmosphere, Brother Ali, P.O.S., Mac Lethal, etc.), and O'Neil McKnight, and there are hundreds of others. At some point, this trend will die out and good music will reign supreme. But for now, there's some great stuff in the underground.

tell me about it, what ever happened to real words and real rhymes, hey poetry is in my opinion harder than sean kingston, and i think we all are way better at rhyming compared to souljah boy.