Some of y'all are really trippin saying some of your favorite homers/underground artists are "keeping hip hop alive."
The ones who keep it alive are setting trends. And I'm not talking about bubble gum pop "hip hop".
Essentially, the question is "Who's still putting out good hip hop music in an age full of BBGum pop stanky leg swagger bullshit?!"
You can hate on Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Gucci and Eminem all you want, but the bottom line is they're getting spins keeping urban radio stations alive, while Tech N9ne still can't get it in his head he needs better features and BETTER BEATS if he can ever hope to cross over and be one of the cats keeping Hip Hop going in the lime light. Woulda been nice to get a Paul Wall feature back in 2006, but 2008 was too late. Same with a lot of other underground cats. Do what you want, but don't be afraid to might slight changes so it can appeal to a wider audience.
I'll admit a lot of artists aren't on par with their old shit, but at least I can still listen to it and not think "this artist has run their course."
Kid Kudi, Lupe, Common are all full of soul and keeping there names up there.