Hip Hop is......???

"Going to a rap show these days, the music is secondary. To be seen is the issue; what is heard is not. Money is spent on cool-kid clothes rather than albums, so it all makes sense. Whereas indie-rock fans have long complained about Pitchfork grades and Williamsburg buzz cycles, hip-hop has quietly been taken over by a Hypebeast its own: the concertgoer who so badly wants to be a part of something, anything. Fans at rap shows will be part of a scene, sure, but they'll settle for existing in the background of a blog post.

The life cycle of a rapper these days goes as follows: Mixtape; mixtape; album; goodbye forever. And then it's on to the next one: a little prettier, a little younger, a little more "relevant." Start a Tumblr, promote through Twitter, crank up the hype machine, put out an album that no one will buy. (No wonder release dates are announced like death sentences.)

It all takes about six months, start to finish. Remember Odd Future? That was a moment—cherish it. Kreayshawn went from zero-to-million dollars in a week, and now she's being eulogized. Where's the next Odd Future? Where's the next [enter name here]? We're living in a time where rap fans are even more crumb-hungry than A&R's ever were, looking for the second coming of the sixth-biggest thing. Sooner or later, stages will be filled with people culled from the crowd—they'll all go home with label offers and be dropped the next morning.

(I should say here that Casey Veggies seems like he has a lot of potential. He is 18! Well-spoken, funny, smart. His performance was solid; far superior to Dom Kennedy, who put on a fine-enough show. I could write about them, but honestly, who cares. People weren't there for them, so much as they were there for themselves. Finishing "Watermelon Sundae," Dom asked, "Y'all still with me?" and there was a moment where it seemed in doubt.)

I stood by as groups of people disappeared during Dom's set to go downstairs and hang out by the dressing rooms. Maybe it was too hot upstairs, or maybe it was just that much cooler in VIP." Read More