Jay Z is my favorite rapper but I'm always first to admit he play a major part in this (not solely responsible) & it could be charged to his presence/influence in the game alone. The whole 'I'm not a rapper, I'm a hustler (that can rap)' was his handle since 'In My Lifetime' but the problem is along w/ every Clipse, Tip, Jeezy, etc. -- it also oversaturated the game w/ those who overlooked the 'that can rap' aspect of it as well as the vultures (some synonymous). I don't think any of the musically/lyrically inclined or talented 'dopeboy rappers' necessarily meant to shit on 'hip hop culture', it's more of a marketing tool or a way to separate themselves from those who spoke about 'their culture' from a generic stance.
The irony of the situation is some might've intended to separate themselves from 'the gimmicks' by giving their angle & it ended up becoming one in the process, which is usually the case once the vultures get ahold of something. It somewhat remind me of that Rich Boy line 'this the battlefield, fake niggas scream keep it real'; one thing I'll never forget though is when Busta Rhymes switched his whole rap demeanor to druglord over that 'Hustlin RMX' but I digress. At the end of the day though, it could be a lot worse & I definitely think Kanye outselling 50 back in '07 changed the dynamics in hip hop (as well as some other things) but if you look around, the game is a lot more diverse across the board.
