Ask anyone and mainstream, normal hip hop has fallen by the wayside in the past 10 years. Sure there were lyrical genius underground cats who held the gate against the giants for all the hip hop heads, but after the 80's and 90's we entered the era of the bling. Your favourite rapper wore a massive white tee, rocked as many watches, necklaces and piercings as they could while rapping about their watches, necklaces, piercings along with their abundance of new found riches.

We all craved more. If you did your research, you could easily find substance in raps I mean it's not like emcees such as MF DOOM had just vanished, but everything we were hearing was embarrassing. Embarrassing because all we stood for as hip hop fans was being torn down by songs that everyone heard on the radio. They judged us, and hip hop by those songs that were flooding the market.

Well we live in an age where radio doesn't matter. We all know the various technologies that allow artists to get in to the ears of the masses without having to pay a radio station who just want to play a select range of songs. This has allowed hip hop to go back to hip hop, the culture is alive and well. For me it's headed by a range of cats who have lyrics to go with their fresh mindset and individuality. For too long hip hop and music has been about doing the same as the next man, now we're seeing the unique rise above.

The West Coast is being headed by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). You probably know of them because of Kendrick Lamar. He's a beast who has battle emcee bars as well as the stories that keep us all vibing. You've probably also heard of Schoolboy Q, he's pretty fresh himself with a unique flow and style that allows him to be gangsta and cool at the same time. TDE also has a few other artists to peep though. Ab-Soul, who's a rapper that will teach you things when you listen. He's the most gifted from the TDE camp in my humble opinion, while Jay Rock is a straight OG from Watts who epitomises gangsta rap - gangsta as fuck but someone who can stand alone on their bars. Then you have the two newest artists - SZA, a funky singer and Isaiah Rashad who hails from Chattanooga, Tennesse and has scorched two dope mixtapes. Within TDE, each artist is completely unique and all offer something different depending on your taste. 

We can't forget Odd Future when we're discussing the Left Coast. The more time that passes the more I personally love everything that Odd Future is doing with Tyler the Creator bringing a group of talented young guns through. Lyrically, no one is really touching Earl Sweatshirt who is the youngest and dopest rapper from OF. Someone who isn't officially a part of OF but is pretty awesome is Vince Staples who hails from Long Beach and mixes an intricate mind with cut throat rhymes. He and Earl often collaborate which is nice as they are both two of the most gifted young emcees around. Oh and Mac Miller. Miller is close with Earl and Vince so he's kinda part of the family and he's putting together a body of work that stacks up with the best. He's lyrically sharp and mixes funky introspective rhymes with some funky beats which he often produces himself.

Don't sleep on 'The Internet' either. They're a duo - Syd the Kid and Matt Martians who are part of OF and have conjured up a unique style that is nothing less than awesome. Not quite hip hop but you can't put it in any other niche besides their own so had to include them as well.

It's easy to give these groups labels. It's easy to say that TDE is the new NWA or Deathrow, but for me it's more cultural that anything to do with music. The fact that there's a collective coming out of the West doing something different and going about their business in a street smart manner is cool. What's pretty crazy though is that on the East, we're seeing something similar. The new NWA or Wu Tang Clan is the wrong way to put it cos no one will ever match these two groups and to be honest, the youngins aren't trying. It's awesome to see though, large young cliques that really don't give a fuck. In Pro Era you have a large group of emcees and producers who are representing Brooklyn hard. For me they represent our generation, young people in general. They're all smart, have a spiritual element and know what is right an wrong with the world, they also spit flames over nice beats. As Captial Steeze (RIP) said in 'Survival Tactics' - "Fuck the police, fuck every ass corrupt politician on Wall Street, PE, Public Enemy, fuck that, fuck listening and shit, fuck governments". 

Pro Era are just one group coming out of New York, they're my favourite as they aren't just bringing back the golden sound of hip hop but they're also adding their own twist of funk to it. They haven't quite achieved the crossover success of say A$AP Rocky, but their ability to spit bars and produce dope beast is unmatched. It's hard to single out anyone in particular from the Era, probably best to watch this and make up your own mind ... just keep in mind this is only a few of them.

Speaking of A$AP Rocky, you might not like the funky dress code, you might not like the slightly different music, but it's hard to ignore the whole A$AP movement. There's a few more guys to come out of the woodwork besides Rocky and Ferg, but remember that these guys started out as battle rappers in Harlem ... Harlem so it's a prerequisite that they can rap. I mean they're doing their thing individually, no one else sounds like them so you have to respect it.

Who else? Well you've got the Underachievers, Flatbush Zombies and RATKING coming out of New York. They're all dope with their own buzz and style. If you haven't heard of Action Bronson then you're really missing out, he's not really a youngin, but he's definitely one of the top 5 rappers right now. Nobody is messing with Bronson's sound, his world play, his style it's all just the best shit out. Oh and if you know someone with better food references in their raps than Bronson, get at me. 

A young dude out of Maryland, Logic is also doing his thing. He's probably a few levels above many of the others given his lethal ability to string together some of the nicest rhymes. On a purely bar for bar level, there aren't too many can compete with Logic.

Freddie Gibbs stands alone - closely followed by Jay Rock as the top gangsta rapper around. He's recently done a project with the one and only Madlib which should put his ability and regard as an emcee in some perspective - one does not simply release an album with Madlib. Gibbs is from Gary, Indiana and is doing his thing selling out shows around America and the world, he's definitely someone for the street homies to listen to.

You've also got the whole Chicago movement led by Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa and Sulaiman. If Chief Keef is your buzz, there's Chief Keef as well. Shout out to Chicago, send some prayers their way.

That coolest thing about all these young rappers and artists is that they are doing their thing the young way - using the technologies available to get their music out there. They preach a love of hip hop and importantly have the lyrics to keep them relevant in any conversation as well as sounding different. Not only are we seeing variety in the delivery and flows but also in the selection of beats and sounds they rap to. It's all making for exciting times for hip hop fans as we still have the OG's from the 90's staying relevant with some dope music to keep all these new guys honest. It's a good time for hip hop.