Seriously....What the **** has Lil Wayne done for Hip Hop?

Hip hop today is all about groundbreaking music that can get the people going. Something different that can still satisfy the ears. Lil Wayne emerged in an era where hip hop had few rappers in the trap hip hop genre, and he slowly became the best trap rapper in the game. It's a different style of music. If you usually listen to Pac, Big and Nas all the time, then you probably won't appreciate rappers like Lil Wayne or Gucci Mane. But if you're a fan of HIP HOP IN GENERAL then you should appreciate the fact that Lil Wayne was a groundbreaking artist that was able to change the game and create millions of new hip hop fans.

I could go on forever, but I hope this is enough to make you understand how much impact he has had on hip hop in general.

Not entirely sure if I'm offering anything especially new or divergent but anyway... I'll try to keep this short.

Whether you view it as progressive or corrosive, the influence Wayne's had on hip-hop and its trajectory is pretty sizable.

Tha Carter III was heavily responsible for making wordplay and non-sequiturs ubiquitous in modern mainstream hip-hop and established a new template for the 'artistic statement' record which hip-hop's latest generation of commercially-viable up-and-comers still employ (Mac Miller's Watching Movies with the Sound Off is a perfect example). While some of the motifs weren't exactly new - the infant Wayne on the cover evokes Ready to Die - they were everywhere after June 10, 2008 (if Zayn's Mind of Mine is any indication, the suited-up, reformed gangster toddler trend has yet to dissipate).

Then there's Wayne's image - the slight, svelte, slightly feeble looking rapper tattooed from head to toe with the simultaneously austere yet relaxed, blunted-out persona and just enough outlandishness to get the critics interested - and the manner in which he rose to chart prominence (the relentless guest features, mixtapes etc.). Despite being a recording artist since the late '90s, Lil' Wayne paved a lot of the tarmac for the archetypal 21st century rapper route to success. If nothing else, he's a savvy little ************ and you'd have to think that acumen isn't limited to self-promotion skills.

I'm not qualified to speak on the ghost-writing rumours as I don't know enough. It's well-established that Wayne's been aided by Gillie da Kid and a few others but can anyone really quantify the extent without lapsing into conjecture? I find it hard to believe that Wayne's entire getup has been moulded by everyone but him. Whoever found the formula happened upon something not yet explored or exploited - this I know. Ultimately, Wayne's sold his shtick very well and managed to put out two very good albums in Tha Carter II and III.

sighhhhhhh....okay.

You can say all day long that these other guys made mixtapes first and they were growing buzz yes we all know Lil Wayne did not "invent" the mixtape but you and I both know they did not become POPULAR and everyone started really pushing out mixtapes because of WAYNE, he fed people with mixtape after mixtape leaks after leaks and the other people in the industry latched onto the mixtape game case closed... anyone can argue this all day long but it is because they do not like wayne its that simple.. YA KNOW WHAT NO!! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!! why is it soooooo hard for people to give Wayne some credit just acknowledge the guy is a legend.. I don't like Eminem I haven't since freakin 2004 but am I gonna say the dude isn't a legend? no! like guys come on the guy has sooo much quality music and some sh!tty as well but the guy broke records, he has the best mixtape of all time with Da Drought 3 like it or not it, and all three carter albums were great... Dedication 1&2 great, No Ceilings 1 great..., The Leak EP great..., like I'm sorry the guy fell off and cant rap anymore due to him either doing drugs or something, personally I think the dude has been trash since he got outta jail over the whole gun incident, but to sit here and take away his credit and say the dude was never good is blasphemy and ya need to look in his catalog and you'll find great songs... Hell I hate the Beatles I say all the time they are the most overrated musicians of all time..but do I take away their legend card? no because that's just my opinion man.

Lil Wayne's beat Elvis Presely's Billboard Hot 100 Record, Lil Wayne was the central image of Hip Hop in 2008 and he increased Rap's Mainstream Popularity, Lil Wayne started the careers of rappers like Drake and he kinda started Kendrick Lamar's career by co-signing him back in 2008, he created the word "Bling", the list goes on.

Lil Wayne ruined hip hop

[Read Source as well, this'll be long.]

Since you asked so civil-ly.

I will explain, keep in mind, this is merely my opinion.

Lil Wayne, like Kanye West or Lil Boosie, is someone I attach myself to with his lyrics, I swear to god, there have been many times where I was fiending, didn't have money, or was really contemplating...

I really enjoy, hearing about struggles, just real profound and emotion-filled lyrics. Lyrics where, they make you reminisce and project your thoughts into the past, where you can relate to every word they're passionately spewing.

But, I also like hearing these, 'I'm the shït' type of songs.

For the most part, Lil Wayne has these real simple, corny, fun, upbeat songs with lyrics that either make you laugh out loud or just put you in a real happy and great mood. And I can just think to myself 'F*ck it, I'm a survivor, I still have a ways to go and everyone makes mistakes.' For me, it's just personal and emotional.

I view Lil Wayne as a keystone southern act not necessarily because of any groundwork he's laid as much as the unique, spontaneous persona that's shown through his music. A lot of his work has an improvisational tone (to the point where some of his verses actually seem like recorded freestyles), giving the impression that he doesn't take himself too seriously and is actually fairly genuine.

This obvious drawback to his attitude is that the quality of his music varies wildly. Some verses he'll be on his game and give out dense amounts of cute, clever wordplay, but others are just wild bullshit. The claims of "I'm the greatest!" help his don't-give-a-****-without-actually-trying attitude, but it can get troublesome when he actually starts buying what he's selling and you get an aberration like Rebirth.

Overall I don't think he was ever really in competition for one of the best to ever do it as he claims, but he's one of the more interesting, enjoyable MC's to contribute to hip hop in the last couple decades and he's given a couple nice records.

Although this can't be contributed to him solely, he was a one of a few artists that popularized the more melodic, and production oriented brand of southern hip hop that's the hallmark of Cash Money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kNS-ELtM1Q&list=P...

Exactly, that's what I have been saying, he hasn't done a lot.

But what I will give him is that he made mixtapes more popular, he has kind of made hip hop more popular, BUT he did give us cancers like Kendrick, he jumpstarted a corny @$$ wanna be black guy Jimmy.

Totally agree with you.

Lil wayne is a legend

I'm sure he wasn't the only one, but he was one of the guys who helped make mixtapes more popular in modern rap. He didn't do it alone (50 Cent still exists), but he definitely did play a role in making mixtapes very popular.

That's all I got LMFAO.