Hip hop, in a way, has gotten better. You don't hear boring punchlines nearly as much. There are people who spit complex ones that aren't like "im the barker like bob" type shit, except the South, because lyricalwise they're 25 years behind. Some rappers make you think, instead of just telling a story any dumbass could follow. Overall mainstream wise, it's bad as it's ever been. Dudes like Petey Pablo and Bonecrusher control the charts ahhaha.