It's not uncommon to hear lyricists lamenting the current hip-hop landscape. Nas previously declared it to be dead in 2006. Jay-Z rung the bell for the "Death Of Autotune" in 2009. Freddie Gibbs issued his own harsh take in August of last year. A few days back, TDE co-president slash A Room Full Of Mirrors emcee Punch took to Twitter to express a concerned assessment of the rap game's state of affairs, citing an abundance of soundalikes as one of the main problematic areas.
"It’s getting tough to tell ppl apart from one another," he writes, embracing his gift for stirring the pot. "Am I tripping or does rap sound like one long song right now??" Naturally, his stance prompted some retorts from fans and followers, many of whom challenged the rapper to look beyond the mainstream. To be fair, Punch is clearly familiar with the underground landscape, what with having joined forces with a collective of like-minded emcees, but that's beside the point.
Following what must have been enough backlash to elicit a proper response, Punch seemed unimpressed with those criticizing his take. "Y’all get so hot when I say rap sounds the same?" he asks. "You do know that I know it’s a lot of diversity right? Lol. But the majority is very similar. Similar beats, cadences, content, similar melodies, similar aesthetic, visuals etc... it’s just business. Repeat what worked."
To his credit, Punch has shown a willingness to rebel against commonality, both through his work overseeing TDE's artists and through his own musical output -- most recently, that includes his A Room Full Of Mirrors supergroup alongside Daylyt, Nick Grant, Ichiban Don, and more. You can check out their latest single "RAWAR" right here.
Do you agree with Punch's assessment of an overwhelming sense of similarity in the rap game?