The Devolution of Hip Hop

Jay Z said he went from "fighting over building blocks to fighting over blocks with buildings."  In his music he refers to his maturity and other's lack thereof.  Comments like being "young enough to know which car to buy, but old enough to not put rims on it" speak to the overwhelming saturation of immature lyrics and overly embelished lifestyles of today's version of Hip Hop.  I'd like to say Hip Hop has matured since the 70's and became a man in the mid 90s with icons like BIG and Pac.  With maturity comes substance and purpose.  Hip Hop has always had that.  Becoming a man also requires the incorporation of substance and purpose.  It's like they've always been linked.  A man paints a picture of his struggle, his existence, his hood, his ideals, his joy and pain.  That's Hip Hop.  It's how inner city youth have expressed themselves, represented their experience and spoke their truth.  Hip Hop was a way to escape for those writing and those listening.  It's been said that the life span for an inner city male is approximately 25 years.  If that's the case, then Hip Hop and young men are again linked.  It was the late 90s when I began to witness what I call the "devolution of Hip Hop" and that of our young people.  Hip Hop continues to sacrifice substance and purpose for a quick buck.  Our youth continue to sacrifice their futures for immediate gratification and irresponsible living.  I don't think it's much of a debate as to whether or not our youth are negatively affected by Hip Hop.  My question is if Hip Hop is dead, what do we call this new medium and what can either do to provide our youth with a respectable way to escape their realities?