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Other than a forthcoming, controversially-titled album from Nas, is there anything at all interesting happening in the hip-hop/rap scene? And it does need to be said aloud… Kanye West is a modern day Puffy Diddy.

As an MC, Kanye wouldn’t last a second on the corner battling with any of the Rakim’s of the day. And take away his expensive Daft Punk samples and you’re left with the vocals of C&C Music Factory.

I’m trippin’, I’m caught up in the moment right?
‘Cause it’s Louis Vuitton Don night
So we goin’ do everything that Kan like
Heard they’d do anything for a Klondike
Well I’d do anything for a blonde dyke
And she’ll do anything for the limelight
And we’ll do anything when the time’s right
Uh, baby you’re makin’ it
(Harder, better, faster, stronger) oh

But leaving the Louis Vuitton Don alone for a second, are today’s rap artists more or less completely homogeneous and bleeding into each other? Their songs seem to make greater waves as ringtones than collected on full albums.

The “same sound” phenomenon can largely be tracked back to the fact that most major releases are employing the exact same set of ten producers… the artists and labels almost cannot risk swaying from the formula. And we are all left holding the bag of same songs over and over.

Yes, there will always be a thriving underground scene in rap. It’s the above-ground scene that’s keeping it too real.