>1. So far, my hip-hop favorite albums of 2009 have been made
>by artists that have been releasing albums for almost 10
>years, in some cases almost 20 years. Looking over my 10
>hip-hop favorite albums of 2008, I'd say about half of them
>were made by artists that have been around a while. And these
>are all albums that are genuinely dope to me, not on some "Oh,
>they're good during a watered down year" shit. So I personally
>feel no urgency that hip-hop needs the proverbial boot in the
>ass; it's all gravy from my personal listening experience.
>
I mean I love Born Like This. My favorite rap album from 2008 is The Renaissance. I ain't saying we need to start putting out age limits on anything.

>2. As Buildingblock must recently said in a post (but he
>wasn't the first), there's a severe lack of MCs under 30 that
>burst onto the scene trying to shake things up. Yeah, the kids
>love them some Drake, and he's got skills, but he's not really
>making music that's radically different than anything that's
>already out there.
>
Holy shit is Drake boring. So is Cudi. So, to some degree, is Lupe. I like Wale's flow/energy a little bit but not enough to generate a real reaction like others have led me to in the past. This isn't some cranky-old-man steez either. I wish these rappers at least generated enough for me to hate on them if nothing else. Instead it's indifference.

>3. I don't think there's the infrastructure even around
>anymore for the young and up comers to burst in on some the
>scene with a new sound to shake things up. Fifteen to 20 years
>ago, a major label would take a chance on a group like Cypress
>Hill or Wu-Tang Clan (both groups had members who had released
>music before, but no established commercial success). These
>days, you have to create music that fits into a
>pre-established box before a major label shows you some
>money.

eh, you move enough units independently (which a genuine ground-up version of turning-the-genre-on-its-head could do) and then a major can bankroll it later.