I think it will. Maybe not right now but in time. The majority of genres usually die down eg. whatever happened to the dance revolution? Rap is soon to be the next victim of the 'weren't they famous once' section of people's collections. Not that I'm against rap music--just that its hype will eventually erode like brit pop did.

there was an american film in the 90s that sent up the rap scene - I think their fictional band was called 'niggaz with hats'; I can't remember the name of the film, nor do I know if it's even a decent film... but I have to disagree with you, jules. there are some decent rap acts around who aren't into the whole stereotype of guns and pimps and misogyny: jurassic 5 and especially the roots are really good musically and write insightful, intelligent lyrics. and don't forget tricky and especially 'blue lines' by massive attack, some of the rap-influenced tracks on it are awesome... I was at a rap night upstairs at the parnell mooney a few months ago, a few african lads and some dublin-born lads from african/carribean backgrounds got together for a one-hour show of their own stuff. aidan walsh was at the door so I guess he organised it. I heard about it because I was at a poetry open-mike night (listening, not reciting) that's at brogans beside the olympia on tuesday nights, and one of the guys who came along recited his lyrics and then plugged this gig that he and his mates were doing. I liked his lyrics and I'm always ravenous for new music and new stuff in general, so I went along.... anyway, I'm not heavily into rap but their show was really great - just as great a buzz as a good guitar-band concert. I definitely recommend other indie-kids like me to go along to similar nights (check the parnell mooney or ask aidan walsh, maybe) and check out something different. it's really thrilling to discover a whole new scene going on here in dublin....it seems to me that this is where dublin and irish music will get some fresh ideas and impetus.

It's kinda hard to see where you're coming from here rev. one of the biggest bands in the world at the moment, the darkness, are a straight rip off of spinal tap et al. Genres don't die, they go in and out of fashion. Hip Hop, to my mind, has alot more soul than poodle rock, therefore it has alot more staying power. I certainly don't think that GLC will be the ones to take down hip hop, they reek of novelty value. I agree with aidan. There are excellent rap acts out there that don't give a s**t about the whole pimp/gangster thing and make exceptional music. J5 and quannum are worlds apart from the second rate gick that gets a widespread mainstream release (ie Twista, 50 cent, ludicris....the list goes on). As one of the strongest selling genres hip hop might be weakened significantly by lazy A&R men, but it started from real feelings and experiences and the best stuff still does. As long as someone's "keeping it real" rap will be around

Rap wont shoot itself...HOWEVER, it will sink to the end of it's own waterfall liver shaped pool courtesy of all of it's "bling bling"!

I think rap has gone downhill ever since the break-up of NWA all those years ago. No act since has been anywhere near as good (except maybe tupac) and I doubt we'll get a better rap act. Especially when you consider that Eminem passes for gangsta rap nowadays.

public enemy and the wu-tang clan are far better rap acts than N.W.A,i agree that Eminem is a joke though,whats his buzz at all at all!

I think hip hops' big problem at the moment is that it forgot about the block party, something that mas made all the more clear to me as an entire crowd was totally losing it to an excellent Grandmaster Flash at Electrc Picnic. Its lost that basic party vibe, I'm not saying every hip hop records gotta be a party record, its just that the block party is ground zero for hip hop. Hip hop started with guys like Kool Herc, extending the breaks on Disco, soul, funk and rock records, to make the crowd dance then "rapping" over the results. The block party represents fun, inlusiveness and a general lack of pretension Nowadays, a lot hip hop is isolated from that original inclusive atmosphere, in a bling bling ivory tower, a soundtrack for trendy urban types to sit around drinking Bacardi too, or pumping out of the back of some Max Powered hatchback instead of for people to just dance and have fun to. Then theres the glorification of violence and misogyny that permeates hip hop like a cancer. Is that really what hip hop is supposed to be about? Ironically, its the glorification of those very same things that also lead Heavy Metal to become such a joke (see spinal tap). It's a shame, Hip hop lyricism has great power for good, but how many artists can say they are really using that power? I think there is hope that hip hop can have a bright future though. In his set, Grandmaster Flash dropped a lot of modern, mainstream tracks and in his hands they sounded great.

Hip pop?

Yeah, I preferred mine.

Definitely pop hop. I had this discussion with a friend of mine before and that's what we came up with

Hip pop seems to be the term in use these days. Hey, I didn't make it up: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hip+pop&r=f

My problem with it is when pronounced "hip pop" sounds exactly like "hip hop". I'll have to launch a complaint to urbandictionary.com