“Rap” aka the Power of Words: part 3
In recent years, rap has undergone a radical transformation, propelling it to the forefront of the global music industry. However, this expansion has brought with it complex challenges and deep contradictions. Today, rap is a kaleidoscope of styles, influences, and techniques, while also being an industrial product shaped by market forces that have redefined its essence. If the Golden Age celebrated lyrics as a tool for truth, and the 2000s redefined the balance between words and melody, the contemporary era grapples with a tension between authenticity and mass production. In this landscape, words once again take on a new role, often serving as a vehicle for instant attention, sometimes at the expense of depth.
Manuel Agnelli, in a recent interview, described this phenomenon as a precise reflection of contemporary society: ‘Mainstream music is a mirror of today’s youth and the world they live in.’ While this fast-paced production model works from an industrial standpoint, it risks culturally impoverishing both the genre and society as a whole. ‘Culture can’t just be fan service, it has to lead, not follow’, added the Afterhours frontman. The modern music industry has built a system finely tuned to maximize numbers and revenue, but this relentless pursuit of performance comes at a cost. Rap and trap production have become industrialized: similar beats, recurring themes, and a network of writers and producers working across multiple artists, often with little distinction in style. The result? Songs that blend into one another, crafted to fit the algorithms of streaming platforms. It’s a formula that ‘works’ in the short term, but threatens to leave a creative and cultural void in the long run.
This doesn’t mean there aren’t artists bringing depth back to words. Rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Killer Mike prove that lyrics can still be a weapon of resistance and change. Their work carries historical, social, and political awareness, reconnecting rap to its roots and showing that, even within an industrialized system, there’s still room for authenticity. Contemporary rap exists in a constant tension between its identity as an art form and its status as a commercial product. Words, once the heart of the genre, now struggle to find their place in a world that values efficiency over depth. And yet, the history of rap (and beyond!) teaches us one thing: words always adapt, reinvent themselves, and find new ways to express truth and beauty.
This journey through the eras of rap leads us here, to an essential question: why did Remida choose to retrace this story? Well, because whether it was the need to be heard in the Golden Age, the desire for self-expression in the 2000s, or even the industrial tension of today, one fact remains undeniable: without words, rap would never have existed. Classical music would have continued resonating in theaters. Electronic music would have kept pulsing in clubs. But rap? Rap lives and breathes through words, and that’s why we fell in love with it. Like rap, we believe that words are more than just a tool; they are a creative act, the bridge between who we are and who we aspire to become.
So, to close with the right flow: It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at – Rakim. And with Remida, we’re exactly where we want to be: at the heart of the word. Write to us at supernova@remidastudio.com.
