I ONCE READ THAT TUPAC WAS NOT THE GREATEST RAPPER EVER but that he was the most influential and intellectual rapper. In my opinion the fact that he was the most intellectual made him the most influential, and the fact that he was the most influential made him the Greatest Ever.

He had everything the game is missing now. Before I get deep into this understand that I am a REAL HIP HOP FAN. I've been a fan since I was in diapers so I'm not bashing the game in anyway. There's just a problem that I see. The problem is the way hip hop is affecting the black community. As a whole my generation is beyond lost. That's 25 and under age group. A lot of us are growing up or have grown up in single parent homes or in homes where the parent(s) work all day and night so they're never around along with other circumstances that cause a lack of guidence for our young people. Who do we see? Who do we watch? Who do we model ourselves after? It is the Hip Hop Culture. We won't to be hip! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Nothing at all. My parents were hip, my grandparents were hip, and I'm fortunate enough to know that my great-grandparents were hip. You see but there's a difference. When the music industry began and when hip hop was at it's hieght the music had substance. SUBSTAnce meaning that it was about something, something deep and personal. It was real. Hip Hop Artist use to have real fans because they use to touch people. Now it's hard to find a hip hop fan who is fair-wheather. The reason being is because the industry is lacking substance. When is the last time a song played on the radio that all most made you shed a tear? When was the last time you sat back and listened to a real heart to heart story over a nice beat through the airwaves that made you say "Wow?! I'm going through that right now!...
When? It's hard to say, huh? The music topics are so narrow. You almost don't hear anything on the radio unless it's talking about SEX, Money or Drugs. It's really sad and that's what my generation models its self after. Don't get me wrong because I listen to the music and I support hip hop in general and always will, but truth be told if artist like Biggie and Tupac were still around you would've never heard of a Gucci Mane.
I often find myself dissapointed in artists that have the potential to use their voice to touch people in the community in a more positive and intellectual way but don't. For example USher and Nicki Minaj "Lil Freak". I hate that song. If I'm in the car by myself I won't play it because the message it's sending across is that it's cute to be a lesbian. You have Nicki Minaj with the barbie thing going on that all the girls love and Usher who has been one of the biggest and hottest guys in the game for years on a song together promoting girls liking girls. This isn't the only song of course but it just makes it worst because the female is approving of it. ( Eventhough if you go to youtube and look up the real Nicki Minaj you'd know why) but that's a whole nother story.

Anyhow, I don't blame it on the artist 110% because I know the people behind the music industry on the business side don't look like us. They're all about the money and what sells, but 100% of the blame goes to the Artist, especially the more established artists who have been in the game for a while. I feel that if you have the power of speech that you should do all in your power to help influence the lives of others. Make a change. Be different. FIGHT FOR IT! The next evolution of hip hop will not come and There will never be another Tupac Shakur or "Greatest Rapper Ever" until someone can step in the game with intellect, positive influence and skill without being afraid to go against the odds to use it. To sum it all up in a nutshell,Hip Hop Lives and it will continue to grow bigger and bigger but it will never flourish until we influence the lives of our community in a positive manner.
http://www.musicofsubstance.com/html/substance-artists.htm