It is the 50th anniversary month of hip-hop and fans are excited to hail their favorite artists. Just days ago, an old clip of Chris Rock giving Kanye West an introduction in Wyoming made Ye’s fans nostalgic. His album ‘Ye’ was inaugurated in an open field in 2018, with speakers around a bonfire blasting his brand-new music. Now, August 2023 is celebrating 50 years of this genre with some dominating artists like Jay-Z, West, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and of course, pop culture’s Nicki Minaj. 

In recent news, The Roots’ Black Thought had a controversial opinion about A$AP Rocky and Ye. 

Black Thought Misses the Old Kanye, One with fewer songs

The Roots’ lead MC, Black Thought, recently appeared in an interview with Pitchfork to talk about the music that “made him.” During the interview, Thought quoted his favorite albums and works. In one such surprising revelation, the American rapper felt “less connected” to Ye’s music. He felt that the ‘Donda’ singer was hastily putting out a lot of art and “having to keep up” proved to be difficult for the hip-hop group lead. Thought added, “I think his process is more assembly line.”

To him, this meant that an artist had lost his personality even if it worked in sales. According to him, Ye was not like the old Ye that he was a huge fan of. But that is soon about to change in the ‘Donda’ singer’s upcoming album. The rapper believes that Rocky is the flag bearer of a new twist to hip-hop music. Not only did he like the ‘Am I Dreaming’ rapper’s music, but he also thought that Rocky was carrying forward the new era of the genre. 

MC finds a lot in A$AP Rocky, crediting him for a ‘new era’ of hip-hop.

A$AP Rocky drives the new era of NY hip-hop, not Kanye West

The Roots’ lead appreciated the ‘Good For You’ rapper’s 2013 album, ‘Long. Live. Asap’. Not only did he credit it for being about a new era of New York hip-hop, but also went beyond the genre and mixed it with a bit of Harlem. The NY aesthetic, which was fairly unpopular, began trending. The level of creativity in Rocky’s songs helped the public think beyond their boxes. Those who did not dabble in creativity started thinking differently. 

The Philadelphia native saw part of himself in Rihanna’s beau. Not only do they share the same birthday, but Thought is also a believer of Rakim, someone the ‘Fashion Killa’ rapper was named after. 

What do you think about the claim that Black Thought made about Ye and A$AP Rocky? Comment below and let us know.