Is it Me or Has This "Post-Pandemic" Era of Music Been Extremely...Mid?

Alright y'all, I must admit I'm finally starting to feel like an old man.. I got $20 for anyone who can name every rapper in this 2022 XXL Freshman cover! Don't worry, I'll wait... I'm only 25 years old, but I finally understand how our parents felt when we was running around the house bumping Chief Keef, calling Drake the greatest thing since sliced bread, and memorizing everybody's verse from the 2016 XXL Freshman cypher with Uzi and Kodak. I've had countless debates with my parents about the "Tupac / Biggie era" versus the "Lil Wayne / Drake" era and I've came to the conclusion that they will never in this lifetime admit that Drake and Wayne could ever be better than Tupac and Biggie. As I get older, I find myself feeling the exact same way when it comes to this "post-pandemic" era of music, which raises the question: Is it me or has music been extremely "mid" since the pandemic has hit? I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is definitely missing when it comes to this current era of the rap game.

Think about it, ever since the end of the "Soundcloud" era, all of the new rappers are basically carbon copies of Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, and Playboi Carti. The music executives have invented the perfect formula: "Auto Tune + Lil Uzi Vert / Playboi Carti cadence + colorful dreads + chains = $$$". The executives in charge of these labels have developed a master plan and it is unfolding right before our eyes. Hear me out, the rap game has tbegan to resemble a fast food chain.. I like to refer to this current era of rap as the "McDonalds Era", these music companies have created their version of a "big mac" and is selling these artists to the average consumer at an incredible rate. This is occurring due to the control that social media currently holds over the world. The majority of artists in 2022 are making music specifically for Tik Tok nowadays. The goal is to now create a catchy song and have it go viral on social media, which causes the inflation of this mid era of music. As of recently, these music labels have began withholding releases of albums/songs until the songs have gone viral on TikTok. This shows that artists are specifically making music for people to create viral dances and memes. Listen, I'm not trying to sound like a hater, but you've got to admit that the majority of music released in the last couple of years is lacking substance. All of the songs sound the same and after a while, begins to sound very repetitive.

Let's shift our focus back to the XXL cover above. I can only name three rappers on that cover (Nardo Wick, Big Scarr, Big 30) and that's only because I consider myself to be well versed in music. The casual fan may know some of these artists songs due to them going viral on TikTok, but I still feel that the casual fan would be able to look at this cover and point any of them out. I miss the days when albums replay value lasted more than a week. Albums like The Carter 3, Take Care, Graduation, etc. just to name a few. These albums were monumental and are still in my rotation today. As long as these music labels continue to sign these TikTok artists, this era of mid will sadly remain. There was once a balance in the industry between the turnt up music and the music that had substance to it. This "post-pandemic" era of the rap game needs an overhaul. I need to hear some fire again, I'm not sure if I can withstand this mid era of music any longer. We must get rid of the mid...