I'm going to get myself in trouble and say what I've been saying... Hip-hop and hip-hop culture is dying. While it has become commercially resonant throughout the world, its true origins and "street cred" have gone out the window. Today, you have pre-pubescent kids rapping on "Sesame Street", you have politicians admitting they listen to Tupac, you have merchandising out the wazoo. Hip-hop has ceased to be the groundbreaking art form it once was and has turned into a commercial and cultural trend. I think that hip-hop is now and has been for the past 15 years in the same place that heavy metal was in the '80s. It's superficial, primarily commercial rather than having integrity, and it's become more about the projection of an image than a reflection upon a real lifestyle. You just don't hear the same heart in the music anymore. It used to be about the struggles of inner city life. Now, it's about bling, drugs, sex, pimps and hos, and making money. It just isn't the same. Personally, I blame MTV for overexposing the genre while it was still in its infancy.