Does the elder statesman of Hip-Hop have a point?
One of the biggest issues plaguing Hip-Hop today is the generational divide between the younger emcees currently killing the charts and the big homies that laid the foundation for the Soundcloud era to pull from — often people disrespectfully refer to the latter group as “old heads.” Legendary producer from rap’s golden era Pete Rock recently spoke out to address the current state of rap, and his stance on the new cats is far from praiseworthy.
It goes without saying that times have changed since Pete Rock debuted three decades ago alongside his partner in rhyme CL Smooth with their 1991 single “The Creator” (seen above), but the Hip-Hop icon truly believes that things have taken a turn for the worse since his time behind the mic. Quoting , Pete explains that he feels the new rap music being made feels “forced,” noting that there’s “no leadership” and simply “just followers.”
His words didn’t end there either, going on a longwinded rant to say that new rappers and producers don’t compare in the slightest bit to legendary acts like Marley Marl, Teddy Riley and the late Larry Smith amongst others. In one prominent quote from the caption, he says, “Where i come from if your talent wasnt for real you had no chance. The music business is built for music people not just any artist,any DJ or any producer. God had to bless you with something real to share with the world in order to be seen or heard your true talent had to shine through. Today you dont have to have talent no more just a look,a instagram page or some sort of social media presence or you can also act like an idiot too and get on today.[sic]”
Read Pete Rock’s full “call to action” below, and let us know if you agree with the rap legend or feel like he’s wrongfully hating on a generation that he just can’t relate to anymore unfortunately:
