The day the music died--Part I, Hip Hop

I'm not sure when it died...but it has. Hip hop was once a way for African American artists to talk about their neighboorhood, poltics, crime, governance, and even love.  Now its a forum for excess, bling, booze, boobs, and overall shallowness. 

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

But as bad as that is, I have a special place in my heart for a ghetto love song:

and a ghetto heartache song:

I think I'll tackle pop or rock next, but honestly...pop wasn't ever really that deep and rock is a marginal step up from the former.  Okay, I'll be really honest, I just think these 4 songs are absurd but painfully catchy, there I said it.