I’m sure we have all heard of the saying “hip-hop is dead.” This means that music just isn’t the same anymore. While songs used to be liked because of the emotions put into the lyrics, a song is considered a hit if it has a great beat and a catchy hook. That’s it.

Nas thinks that the problem with hip-hop is not the record labels but the artists themselves, according to bossip.com. He believes that artists are just worried about being on the top of the charts. Instead they should just do what makes them happy. In Nas’s own words, “Put out music. Just put the shit out. If the shit is right, you feel good about it, put that shit out.”

I’m going to have to agree to disagree. I do believe the problem is the record labels. Once someone is sign to a label they don’t have that much control over what they’re able to put out.

Record labels are only worried about who can make them money. If the record label has one idea and the artists has another, usually the artists are defeated. Yes, rappers can drop the label and find their way on their own, but nowadays it’s about fast money, and that’s what feels good to them.