What is good music? Some may say a good record must have a catchy chorus and some may say the beat has to drop exactly thirty-two and a half seconds after the song begins. Asking whether something is good or not is a such a broad statement. What we should be really worrying about is whether the album as a whole is meaningful.

Recently I went to the Chance The Rapper concert and I was stunned by his performance and powerful words. As a music junkie, I intuitively listen to lyrics and can quickly pick out the artists that are rapping because they have something to say or they are just trying to rhyme “gold chain” with “pinky rang”. At this specific concert, I was amazed by Chance’s lyrics. Unfortunately, whatever he says shouldn’t be a surprise to me, it should be something that all rappers try to convey.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that our generation loves the hip-hop/rap genre. With that said, those artists hold so much power. I don’t necessarily believe that music can brainwash you or take control over your mind, but I do believe these artists influence us in some way. Words are more powerful than we think and if we could all embrace what needed to be said, this world would be a better place. For example, as an active member of Starving Artists, I try to write and perform about things that speak to my peers. If I wanted to make it easy I could just stand on stage and rhyme words with no meaning.

Sometimes the best hip-hop bangers make no sense and once in awhile that is perfectly acceptable. But to overall say that 2 Chainz is the best rapper on the planet is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, I have a few of his songs on my iPod but his nonsense does not deserve my money for the full album.

So, what exactly is good music? I could argue for days about which artist is better than another, but at the end of the day we all have different opinions. Next time your Lil B loving friend argues whether his favorite artist is good or not, ask if the artist produces meaningful lyrics. I’m pretty sure you’ll come out on top.