It's not really a downfall, more like a turn into a different direction. Some people will say that rap is better now then it ever has been, but then you will also have the people that say rap is at an all time low.

Now, a lot of people like the gangster stuff because it makes them feel like they made it through hard times and therefore they deserve respect, and if they don't get it they need to prove to people that they are 'hardcore', this causes the violence and the criminal acts from the teenagers. Some people listen because they actually did go through the same stuff the rappers preach and they can connect better, but most of those people listen to other 'gangster' rappers, not kats like 50 cent.

But then again, you've got 'rap purists' who will say that rap is mainly about lyrics and wordplay and the beat and hook are not that important. The problem is that often times they still rap about gangster stuff, or they rap about the government and in turn they became very unoriginal and not that interesting to listen to. Amazingly enough, these people usually will not admit they rap, or they listen to underground music to avoid being harassed and ish from the other side.

Both have good points, but rap is a combination of hooks, beats, lyrics, wordplay, and emotion. Rap in itself is nothing but a form of expression, and rap originated in the streets and therefore the gangster stuff is obviously gonna be the main thing of rap because that's where it originated, but too many people try to take advantage of that and rap about stuff they don't know about.

That's the 'downfall' of rap, people trying to just make money from it and raping it up the ass.

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