New Hip Hop Artists & Artists That Need To Hang It Up

New Rappers Who May Bring Hip Hop Back:
In the past five years we have been provided such acts as D4L, Soulja Boy, T-Pain, & some guy named Mims.  For a while I was scared that artists have given up on actually having lyrics and just having a nice hook and catchy beat.  However, some new artists have came out recently that have gotten me excited again about rap.  Here is my list:

1.  Lupe Fiasco
2.  Drake
3.  Kid Cudi
4.  J Cole
5.  Wale

These five I believe with the right people and company have a chance to really take off.  They really don't have too much to compete with outside of the older rappers.

Artists That Need To Go Ahead And Retire:
With what has come out for most of the decade I don't blame Jay-Z, UGK, Ball & G, Outkast, Snoop and similar rappers from staying and putting out music.  They have profited well and actually gave us good music to listen to.  However these artists just need to go ahead and hang it up.

Busta Rhymes - This is sad.  After albums like Extinction Level Event, When Disaster Strikes, and Genesis were so successful I am not sure what he was thinking with Big Bang Theory and Back On My BS.  If you haven't heard of the last two there is a reason.

DMX - It pretty much has been downhill ever since It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, but his last two albums really weren't hitting on anything.  Maybe he needed to put out some albums to help him with his legal troubles.

50 Cent - His career is kinda similar to DMX.  Get Rich Or Die Trying was a hit, but Massacre and Curtis!?  His last album was somewhat decent but he probably just needs to stick with his investments and movies.

Ja Rule - Hadn't heard from him in a while and needs to stay like that.

Diddy - Why he ever thought he could rap I don't know.  His albums are only successful not cause of him but cause of who is on it.  (Reminds me of Silk Da Shocker)

Who Almost Made This List:
Eminem - Relapse was just awful.  I listened to it 15 times and was still awful.  Even some of the great artists had some albums that didn't do to well.  (No one remembers Dr. Dre's Aftermath album)  So I gave Eminem a pass just this one time.

LL Cool J - I think he actually did quit so I left him off.

How to save the Oakland Raiders

The Raiders have been abysmal for the past five years and a pain to watch.  The Raiders are not that bad when you think of it.  They have a decent defense.  They have some talent on offense (McFadden, Fargas, Bush, Murphy, and Miller).  The biggest problem is finding a coach to deal with Al Davis and his dementia.  Al Davis has a love for speed and the deep ball and has put together a roster based on throwing the ball deep.  I can think of one coach that is just as crazy as Al Davis and shares his same philosophies when it comes to offense.  Mike Martz.  Mike Martz is a coach who loves to throw the ball all over the field and has had prolific offenses in St Louis and was able to manage 8 wins with a Detroit Lions squad.  The Raiders currently have speed on the outside and backfield and a QB with a strong are to get the ball downfield.  It takes a mind like Martz to give Al Davis what he covets for.  If Mike Martz becomes coach of the Raiders and you hire a damn good defensive coordinator it is possible they can muster 8 wins next year.  You can even go the other way around and hire a coach and just bring Martz on to be the offensive coordinator.

Martz didn't work in SF cause Singletary wanted his offense based around a solid running game so their philosophies didn't match.  Martz didn't work in Detroit cause their was an idiot running the organization.  Martz failed toward the end of his tenure in St Louis because the roster did start to get age to them, the roster started to deplete, and it showed that Bulger may not have been the QB to replace Warner.  Hopefully Martz has learned from past mistakes he may have made.  I'm not saying that he will be like Belichick and build a team like the Patriots, but with the roster the Raiders have and the number of people reluctant to work with Al Davis it wouldn't hurt to take a look at Martz.