Musings on Rap Music in The Age of Recession

The second song on Kanye West's new cd begins,

My friend showed me pictures of his kids

And all I could show him was pictures of my cribs

He said his daughter got a brand new report card

All I got was a brand new sports car

My head keeps spinnin'

I can't stop having these visions

While I am not going to delve into these lyrics, they do illustrate a potential shift in focus for popular rap music. The genre is expanding mostly in terms of beats and production, but as Kanye's album highlights, this expansion of scope could start occurring with "content" as well (lyrics, message, theme, etc.). It is still too early to tell if Kanye's next entry will resonate with the public. Maybe it will bomb and the best selling album of the year will turn out to be some album that Chingy farts out. If last year's sales battle between Kanye West and 50 Cent is any indication, the winds are blowing in the opposite direction (Kanye's techno-soul heavy album, Graduation, outsold 50's Curtis by a 3:2 margin in their first week).

I highlight Kanye's new lyrics to illustrate that rap has the potential to change and might already be changing. However, what I am wondering about is not the already-in-place changes occurring in the rap world. I am curious as to what, if any, impact, an economic recession (or depression) might have on the content of rap songs. Will it still be endearing to roll around in a Hummer on 24" rims sipping Moet off of a ho's breasts if the entire country is strapped for cash? Now, you might say that most rappers come from perennially impoverished communities and therefore, excess is still appealing, still a statement about rising from rags to riches. For them, the situation isn't changing very much. I would agree. However, these rappers are marketing their albums largely to people who are not continually impoverished. Will their market still want to buy albums about lavish excess when the perception is that most people aren't doing too well. Perception is the key here, affecting both the communities of the rappers and the people they are marketing to. If there is a widespread perception that the entire country is in a recession, and the rappers share this perception, it might not seem so appealing to rap about living the luxurious life. They are no longer trumping the dominant culture by beating them at their own game. They are just dicks rubbing it in everyone's face. Similarly, even if an individual person is no worse off economically, if they share the perception that the country is worse off, then the excess might not appeal to them. In a more literal sense, if these people decide not to buy CD's about livin' the life, then it might decrease the motivation to do so. Not that rappers are rapping strictly for CD sales, but it is not unreasonable to suggest that they are influenced by the expectations for what they should be producing.

Plus, all that shit is tired anyway.