What If They Were Still Around....

Now before I go on with this I know I will catch hell from all my "True Hip Hop Heads" so I just want to state that this is simply my opinion. To many this will sound like blasphemy but if  2Pac and Biggie would of never died they would not be relevant within the rap game now of days. It's hard for me to say that while having my headphones on while BLASTING Pac and Biggie because just listening to them now and my GOD they were both ILL! Even though they both had to dope lyrics and concepts in their songs I still have to stick with my statement above of them not being relevant. Hopefully I didn't lose my hip hop heads yet before I get a chance to explain my reason for thinking this. I personally feel that yes they would have a huge fan base but still that huge fan base wouldn't be enough to keep their name in the public eye such as a Kanye West, Lil Wayne, or Drake. Just me naming some of those artist made me 2nd guess myself because it seems like I'm saying those artist are better than Pac and Biggie and in which they aren't. I simply listed those artist because they are on top of the "rap game" now and you want to know why???? Because the rap game has evolved.

The rap game has evolved way before 2Pac and Biggie. Just think back to the late 70's and early 80's rap game. It was a bunch of party type flows of yes yes yall'n & the roof is on fire. Now go forward a few couple years into the late 80's with such dope Mc's such as Kool Moe Dee, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, & LL Cool J. No longer was it about rockin a house party it was more about stepping your rhyme game up. Play on words and many other things. Now lets go forward one more time with the era of Pac and Biggie. Now rappers had more substance to talk about. The rappers on top came from the Regan/Crack in the hood years. So these lyrics dealt will more hardcore issues such as drugs, alcohol, sex, and money. Now if you are paying attention from the beginning you can see that the rap game has gone from underground house parties to having clever rhymes to talking about how your enviroment is. Now that leaves us with our current rap game. I actually dislike the way rap game has evolved. It's sad to say but if you aren't talking about making that booty bounce, trying to be a big drug king pin, or popping bottles in the night club then you aren't making hits and not making hits means no impact in the rap game to the average commercial fan's eye. I know you are saying to yourself well that fan doesn't matter. Umm yes they do. Face it. A true hip hop fan is a minority in the world of rap & hip hop. Your voice doesn't count for anything. If it did then Lil Wayne would not be wearing skinny jeans and going from skateboard to skateboard. Drake would not be singing as if he was auditioning for The Phantom Of Opera. Now with those things being one of the main reasons why those 2 artist are on top can you really see 2Pac and Biggie doing that??? I know you're saying well those things wouldn't be around if they were alive. Are you sure about that??? I'm sure back when rap 1st started they probably said no one actually listens to what we are really rhyming about. And I'm more than sure that the rappers from the late 80's said no one wants to hear all that hardcore stuff so lets still rap about battling each other and being the best at rapping in our area.

Evolving has being going on since the dawn of day. It's harsh but either you evolve or die. Which takes me back to Pac and Biggie. Those 2 dudes were something else. They changed the game themselves so you know they wouldn't of evolved with the way the rap game is now. I'm not saying that they would be another Coolio and die out, but actually much more. The rap game now has just moved on from just selling hits. It's now turned in a billion dollar brand. Many artist have kept their name relevant in the media without making hits such as 50 cent with his clothing line, fitness, and water. With that being said I'm pretty sure both Biggie and Pac would of found their niche in selling something wither it be 2Pac selling his own bandannas or Biggie starting a weight loss program. You might be laughing but its true. Now of days if you are just a rap artist with no type of selling brand to ya then NO ONE will mess with you. A good friend of mine mentioned that yea they wouldn't be big in the music scene but they would of made sure other names wouldn't of made it big either. I actually was on the fence about that because yea you can say that but you could also say that maybe they would of left many rappers alone and just let them eat. You gotta remember both 2Pac and Biggie died at early ages so who's to say that if they were still alive they would of fully matured and recognized that destroying another rappers career doesn't do anything at the end of the day. I have a lot of respect for both rappers and I truly believe that they made the 90's rap game the best because they "kept it real". At the end of this blog I dont want people thinking that I'm discrediting these 2 amazing rappers. I'm just simply being a realist here by saying they would not be relevant in the rap game now of days if they were still around. And if you don't believe me name a rapper from the 80's and early 90's with a hit single out on the radio right now. A person is smart, people are dumb.