The very first time I heard a rap song was a momentous day for me, one faithful evening, I turned on the TV and behold, a group of grown men where performing on stage, but they were not singing, rather, they were talking to a beat or instrumental. It was kind of like nursery rhyme to me as the words they spoke to the beat always ended up it thought provoking and sometimes just plain and interesting rhymes.

My young ears seemed to have suspended all other sounds around me to enjoy what I was hearing. It really felt like the whole world paused, and all I could hear was the beat and the rhymes. The group on TV that day was the Sugar Hill Gang.

My life took a different route since that day, I wanted to be a rapper, and I developed my skilled for many years to become a very good rapper. But I grew up in an age without the Internet and didn’t go very far in terms of a rap career, but the passion and love never died, 35 years from the day I heard the sugar hill gang the love for hip hop music is just as sound. And I still rap to this day, but purely for fun, I pursued the academic route and now I am an entrepreneur doing well for myself.

Rap music has gone through many phases, and it is constantly evolving. At a time in history, she was heavily exploited and abused for a long stretch of time – Nas once said, hip-hop is dead. And he was not completely right. But it was certainly almost dead.

The music became heavily diluted and the reason why people became emcees were completely lost. It was all about the money and lifestyle – but hip hop music was not having it, those so called rappers had careers that often ended before it started.

Hip hop music must evolve, and it is. Today many young rappers are creating new sub genres with unique sounds, and flow that are still faithful to hip hop – Chance the rapper is one of such artist. There now a growing army of young rappers, who are resuscitating hip hop music. These rappers care enough to pay the price of protecting by putting out body of work that is true hip hop.

These young men and women are well aware of the price that need to be paid to protect hip hop, and are willing to pay it.

Young rappers like, Kendrick Lamar, schoolboy Q, AbSoul, from the TDE family, not not forget Isaiah Rashad, other young men at the forefront of hip hop include Joey BadA$$, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the creator and many others.

The likes of Jay Z have done so much for hip hop as a culture that the baton has to be passed down soon, but for now I feel there is no one worthy or big enough for Jay to hand over to, but there is hope for hip hop music. It is breathing again and is growing from strength to strength.

Read : Top 10 Rappers Age 23 and Under

I feel strongly at this point that there is definitely hope for hip hop as a music genre, and I will continue to follow it.

Thanks for reading. Thoughts please do let me know.