Lamont's Lists

For hip hop, 2023 was a year of looking back. The genre reflected upon 50 years of existence by throwing itself a bunch of excellent parties throughout the year, including a rollicking celebration at Yankee Stadium back in August and a well-curated Grammy tribute in December. It was a well-deserved high-five for a music born out of the roughest of circumstances in the 70s and given very little chance of survival before going on to become a global force by the turn of the century.  But 2023 was also a year of much hand wringing, as we lamented the contemporary state of hip hop. Much was made of the genre's precipitous dip in popularity, given the lack of #1 albums and general slowing of sales momentum throughout the year. Many offered reasons why the genre seemed to be off its game, with opinions ranging from a lack of creativity, to the negative influence of social media, to the resurgence of rock and pop, to the a booming consumption of Latin X and Global music. All somewhat corre...

"50 years down the line you can start this...'cause we'll be the old school artists. And even at that time, I'll say a rhyme, a brand new style...ruthless and wild."   -  KRS-One. I think it's cool that KRS-One, Boogie Down Productions' indomitable frontman, had the foresight to write that line way back in 1988 for his song  I'm Still #1 . During a year that is still considered by many (myself included) to be hip hop's single greatest ever in terms of creative excellence, KRS asked everybody to just chill and enjoy the beautiful music. His message being: it's too soon for generational divides between old school and new. And now is not the time to get into premature squabbles about the best rappers, rap albums and rap songs. He was confident that he would still be around making hit records well into the future, so suggested we wait a few decades for history to play out before engaging in such discussions. Well here we are. It's 2023 and we a...