I've been thinking more about this over the last few days. Here are a few of my thoughts--questions, mostly:
- Is it a by-product of more educated rappers? There are many more now than in the early days of hip hop. They've read books, had academic dialogues, studied "the great works..."
- Is it a result of the shift from crews (i.e., Wu Tang, Public Enemy, Run D.M.C., Tribe Called Quest, etc., etc.) to individual artists (i.e., DJ Khaled feat. Ludacris, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, and T-Pain)? Even the crews associated with record labels don't seem as tight-knit as original hip hop crews.
- Is it representative of a shift in thinking about masculinity? Acknowledgement that being a vulnerable man is OK?
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on this later--maybe a good paper. I have to listen to some music and read some books, I think.
Comments are always welcome.