Music is changing.

If you are at least a millennial, you’ve been thru a couple of changes in musical trends. Whether it’s the boom bap of the 90s, hip hop/pop collabs of the 2000s, Atlanta’s elevation, the blog era, melodic rap, mumble rap, etc. Country’s reemergence into the pop category feels like when Nelly and Tim Mcgraw released “Over and Over again”.

I say all that to say that Ye and Ty $ collab album “Vultures” is an acquired taste if you have been resistant to the evolution of hip hop. Critiques of the album makes me wonder if people even have the palette for the direction that the newer batch of talent is going in. Whether its lack of emphasis on lyrics or heavy metal inspired beats, hip hop is not the same as when Mos Def and Talib Kweli released BlackStar (respectfully because its a phenomenal album).

Artists like Lil Wayne,Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky were the early cultivators of the way Playboi Carti, Rich The Kid, Lil Uzi and Baby Keem make music. Rappers today are the new rockstars and simply won’t fit into the box of yester year.

Remnants of Wayne’s rock influenced album “Rebirth” are scattered all throughout the genre today, although receiving a cold reception from core rap fans 15 years ago. It’s the natural progression of art, trendsetters aren’t afraid of the unknown. Instead of rejecting what is current, setting your palette for what’s to come next is important as a connoisseur of music.

Similar pushback can be seen during the late 90’s punk rock era from artists like Limp Bizkit, Korn and Avril Lavigne who were direct offshoots of shapeshifting artists before them like Kurt Cobaine of Nirvana. The genre will grow, regardless of how hard you try and negate its success. Lucky for you, a playlist curated to include elements you recognize mixed with new ingredients is all you need to catch you up to speed, hopefully to understand and appreciate the emergence of this new cultivation of talent.