15 Years After B.I.G.’s Reign, Where’s Hip Hop Now?

Love it or hate it, Hip Hop music has taken over.

Maybe you view it as a genre of music that promotes misogyny and debases wholesome American culture. Or perhaps you regard it with optimism and excitement, embracing it as a genuinely important medium for expressesing the voices and experiences of younger generations.

Either way, the truth is, Hip Hop is no longer "underground" or "urban," it’s bonafide pop. And it rules.

In fact, we can now count two generations who have never known life without hop hop music-- a distinction shared with an elite list of technological advances, such as the Internet, cell phones, microwaves and cable television.

Since its birth in the late 70s, spanning more than 30 years until today, Hip Hop has morphed and taken off into a hundred different directions, further spreading its influence and power to billions more young people around the world.

Now, at a time when Cyberspace and Twitter-sphere are acknowledging the 15-year anniversary of one of Hip Hop’s reigning kings, ., a music and culture writer for Examiner.com asks, “Is Hip Hop ready to die?”

“Undoubtedly, no one will ever replace Biggie Smalls,” she writes, “but do the current kings of hip hop have what it takes to continue his legacy?”

What do you think: Is Hip Hop here to stay, or is it ready to die? Take our poll and tell us what you think in the comments.