Will I be asked to revoke my hip-hop card if I tell you that I’m not at all interested in the Eminem comeback album? Have not had the desire to hear one track. Came upon a song with him and Dre that was “eh.” Same with Busta Rhymes. “Conglomerate” doesn’t do too much for me (the original cut with Jeezy was cool, but replacing him with Wayne kind of killed it) and outside of the goofy dance I’d do in the club upon hearing it, “Arab Money” didn’t thrill me either. How about this? Jay’s going on tour this summer and releasing the Blueprint 3 this year. How do I feel about it? Again, “eh.”

So what’s with my lackluster attitude towards the industry’s greats? Don’t kill me, but I’m kinda sorta well… over them all. With the exception of Common and Andre 3000, nothing that the mid 90′s-early millenium generation of rappers has done in the last year has excited me at all. This is not to say that they’ve “fallen off.” Not at all. It’s just that they’ve peaked. Even their wow factors are predictable. I mean, Em probably says some ill stuff on this “Relapse” album but isn’t that what we expect? He won’t be re-inventing the wheel, that’s for sure.

In the past, I clung to the former generation because the new artists were so incredibly sucky. And even if they didn’t suck, no one was great. A lot of above average guys, but greatness? Didn’t see it.  I refused to hop blindly on the Wayne bandwagon because while Wayne is obviously a talented dude, he’s never done it for me.  Lupe, as brilliant as he is, sometimes bores the crap out of me. The only two cats I rocked with consistently were TI and Kanye. Good MCs, yes. But neither was good enough to get me to abandon my loyalty to the Middle School rappers I grew up listening to.

Drake, Wale & Big Sean

But this year, we  have seen some real talent come onto the scene. Led by the frontrunners Wale and Drake, this up and coming band of MCs are all bubbling just under the radar (well, Drake is definitely above the radar at this point) and are bringing something new and refreshing to the game. Quality music that can potentially reach a mainstream audience. The movement is new and full of possibility. These guys all (GASP!) get along (Except Charles Hamilton who seems to be beefing with EVERYONE) and it’s nothing to hear them on tracks together or see them pop up at each other’s shows.

Here’s the thing: it’s not that the Em, Jay, Busta, Nas and the like aren’t still talented. I love that we can see hip-hop artists age gracefully because that’s hard to do in a youth-driven culture. I just feel that the progression of this thing called hip-hop is now in the hands of the new generation. I’m curious to see who’s going to hit big and who won’t. Whose names will end up in the “Greatest MCs” debate. I hope I’m not putting too much pressure on these cats, but since they’ve come out of the gate setting the bar rather high, I expect great things.

As far as the Elder Statesmen of the game, I expect them to work as long as their talents will allow and of course I will always respect their consistent contributions to the game.  But I can’t guarantee that I’m going to be ecstatic about all of their new work. I guess I’ve umm (wow this is hard to say) moved on.