If you’re not familiar with his music, I can just say it touches the heart in a way few artists since the days of Tupac Shakur.

Rap music today has completely changed in its appearance in all aspects. From the sound, to the image and demographic of its listeners it is now shadow of its former self.

Drake’s impact was so big that everyone who was attempting to make any type of waves in the industry tried everything they could to follow his format, thus giving birth to a completely new sound and approach to the music.

Its understandable to see why we would hope rappers, or celebrities would show they care more about social issues considering their amount of influence over people’s lives.

Even if you’re extraordinarily talented lyrically, being a lighter shade is going to have an influence on how fans and artists alike will perceive you.

The art-form that minorities once used to express their pains and relentless strength to endure with a passion has become corrupted, bastardized, and abused by the power that it once spoke against.

We used to thrive on music that stretched the boundaries of creativity and enlightenment. We used to thrive on the empowerment we were given through the music.

Lupe Fiasco’s album exhibited what I wouldn’t consider anything short of a masterpiece in everything from production, to lyrical exuberance and subject matter that is almost unrivaled in today’s market in Hip-Hop music.

We live in an age where information is immediately accessible and people have become used to this instant gratification which prevents them from seeing the bigger picture and looking several years or even months down the road.

But for every one of these newcomer phenoms that build a large buzz in the industry there’s dozens if not hundreds or even thousands of artists you’ve never heard of.