No matter what era of hip-hop you're in, there's always been a conversation around "the good ol' days" and whether the genre is as good as it could be. A lot of that debate centers itself around the old guard versus the new, and usually results in heated back-and-forths. Moreover, we saw a recent example of this thanks to Bow Wow at the 2023 BET Awards. When asked about no rap artist placing at number one on the Billboard charts so far this year, the rapper pointed blame at the current generation's lack of quality output. Whether you agree or not is another matter, but for a veteran of the game, his assessment seems short-sighted.
"‘Cause n***as puttin’ out trash-a** music,” Bow Wow expressed. “Everything sound alike, everything repetitive, same tempo… everybody could do that, you know what I’m saying? You really gotta have talent, you really gotta go. I think people are startin’ to get tired of it now, that’s why you don’t see nothin’ chartin.’" This prompted many disagreements from the rap community, including a salient one from DJ Envy.
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DJ Envy Responds To Bow Wow's Assessment Of Rap
Furthermore, The Breakfast Club host spoke to TMZ on Wednesday (June 28) about this take, and he attributed the sheer quantity of music to this phenomenon rather than quality. In addition, Envy named up-and-comers and established acts alike such as Young Nudy, Toosi, 21 S*vage, and Drake as examples of great hip-hop. "I think it’s just a matter of time,” he remarked. “I just think that we’re just consuming so much music now, and it’s kind of hard for music to stick. Usually, we had music [and] we’d rock for a whole summer or couple of months. But now it seems we’re turning music over too fast.”
Meanwhile, another host from the radio show to disagree with Bow Wow's comments was Charlamagne Tha God. Still, this wasn't a direct response to that assessment, but rather a general takedown of people criticizing contemporary rap before all this. He said that the genre is thriving and that anyone who thinks it's dying is "stuck in an era." Regardless, stay logged into HNHH for the latest news and updates on Bow Wow and DJ Envy.
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