Home : Features : Rock The New Rap?

Lately more and more hip hop stars have sampled rock beats and some have even created full rock songs, but is this just a trend?  No this isn’t just a trend this is reality and rap/rock songs and albums are here to stay.  Recently LiL Wayne has announced he will try the new trend as he will be creating a full rock album.  We’ve all seen Weezy get the crowd hype with his guitar before, but a rock album, will this work?  Well if there’s anyone that could pull this shit off it is definitely Weezy.  Kayne West is the latest to go this way and let’s just say, thanks for trying Kayne.  Kayne has been criticized for his singing in the past and now that it’s on full display for everyone to hear, it is not a good thing.  There are few rappers who know how to move a crowd like Wayne and this is why many feel this might just work.

Along the same lines, Chicago born rapper Lupe Fiasco recently shocked the hip hop world when he was heard as the frontman for the rock band “Japense Cartoon.” Many are saying that this was just someone who sounded a lot like Lupe and wasn’t really him.  Lupe has admitted that he does have ties with the “British”  Indie band but the band insist that it wasn’t Lupe you heard it was actually a singer known as “Percival Flats”, who sounds a lot like Lupe with a British accent.  It’s clear that something is going on here but regardless it is only a matter of time before Lupe jumps over to rock music full time.

So what does all this mean for the hip hop world?  First things first, relax, rock is not taking over hip hop and never well.  In fact this may be a good thing for our music.  Rappers are always looking for ways to reinvent their music and trying something different.  Wayne knows this and he knows if he successfully pulls this off he could have one of the biggest fan bases of all time.