OK folks, let's see if we can make the state of hip hop real easy for all you Bridge and Tunnel blingers. It isn't that difficult.
1. Cut it in two, the pop and the underground.
2. The Underground lives in a Netherlands loved by hip hop heads of all percussions but not doing much commercial.
3. The top are a variation on all modern pop music as produced in 2012.
4. An up and coming will release his (usually -cmon, admit it) mix tapes and follow with a mix tape, they will try and get it to bigger hip hop stars. Take a look at Big Sean as a perfect example.
5. The bigger star might like it and invite them to record a verse or two on their album. Kid Cudi for Kanye, Kanye for Jay-Z.
6. The up and comer will join the crew, tour with the star as a member of his crew, get to join him on stage.
7. And sign with his label.
8. There are two huge players, both with major distribution deals. Both Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records and Lil Wayne's Cash Money are distributed by Universal.
9. Nicki Minaj is a perfect example as to what can happen: a badass dyke with a great mixtape, she recorded a verse for Usher and then got her big break with Kanye, her verse on "Monster" blowing everybody away. Cash Money scooped her up and retooled her. Gone was the pussy eating Ghetto bitch, they morphed her into a wildly eccentric pop star with chops and made a mint.
10. When you get really big, like Kanye, you start your own label, his G.O.O.D. Music is distributed by Def Jam in the US.
11. I mentioned it was much like all modern pop and it is. Rappers ghost larger rappers material (Jay-Z wrote Diddy's best rhymes 20 years ago) and as they grow more popular, teams of experts work on their material, like Dr. Luke does with Katy Perry.
Does it work? To a degree. But really, when was the last time you heard of Freddie Gibb, let alone Public Enemy? PE's latest album, though a masterpiece of sorts that improves with listening (I graded it a B+, I would upgrade to an A- and if it would chart, I would give it an A) was roundly ignored in a baffling act of cultural ignorance. Modern hip hop is a mess where people are so desperate they rave about Rick Ross. It is a machine, but some of the parts are faulty.