Aight Yo.
Mainstream ain't killin hip hop....i admit i don't like artists like chingy ja rule and nelly being called some of tha greatest but without mainstream a lot of people wouldn't even acknowledge hip hop ......so it aint killing tha culture......but artists like i named shouldn't be given as much credit as they are.......

and i think you can be mainstream but still be underground......artists like eminem,nas,Dmx...all rap about real shit and stay true too them selfs ...and to me thats what
"UnderGround" hip hop music is...[tha only difference is that their shit is on T.V..........] they still come with tha real......

i dont know who said it before me but they were right whne thye said people dont recognize real skill they only look for catchy hookz and all that shit..dont get me wrong gotta have music to dance to....BUT... i think artists like chingy etc.. are not excactly destroying tha culture ...but makin rap music more about "Bangin beatz" and "Catchy Hookz"
rather than "Lyrical Skill" and "storytelling".......
and that is tha true downside to Mainstream Rap............

~1~