Jay Simpson | Here's to you, hiphop
Aug. 20—Since it's the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and I grew up in a hip hop household, I'm going to list a few of my favorite artists and what memories they bring to me.
As a child, I had no choice but to enjoy hip hop and R&B because it was all I ever heard.
My dad was in a rap group with his best friend, and my aunt was on a hip hop dance team. They are a big reason why I love music as much as I do today.
Drake is one of my all-time favorite artists, and I've been a fan of his since 2007 when I first heard his song called "Brand New." The song was popular on MySpace when I heard it first, and ever since then, I've been a huge Drake fan.
It's amazing to see how far he's come since back then, because he was just getting started. To see where he is now is mind blowing.
I also really enjoy listening to Future.
When I hear his music, it just makes me feel good.
He's got stuff you can vibe out to, play when you're with your girl and even music you can dance to. I think Future is one of the most versatile rappers of my generation, and he has timeless music. He will go down as one of the greats one day.
Lil Wayne is another person high on my list.
In the past, some considered Wayne as the best rapper, and with the music he was putting out back then, it was kind of hard to deny that title. He just outworked everyone and was the most consistent.
He put out more music than every rapper in the game, and what made him stand out was the fact that it was all good music. He was the king of the mix-tape era and can easily go down as the best lyricist ever.
The way he can put words together is amazing, not to mention he doesn't write anything, it's all freestyles.
My all-time favorite rapper is Meek Mill.
He's the Jay-Z of my generation and really just built himself up to be not only one of the most successful rappers but one of the most successful businessmen as well.
He's always stood on what he believes in and never bit his tongue — that's what I respect about him. He's going to give it to you like it is all while still motivating you and pushing you to do better.
He makes the type of music that you can feel and pretty much anyone from the 'hood can relate to. He gives us all hope and is someone I would recommend kids look up to.
It's deeper than rap with him.
There are many more artists I can give flowers to, but I'd be writing for days if I did that.
I'm a real fan of hiphop, so this was a really fun topic for me to speak on.
I appreciate the artists I mentioned above because each one of them has music that helped me get through some hard times.
