The Future of Music

In case you were wondering, rap music is here to stay, but-regardless of what will.i.am. may tell you, it isn't all about that boom boom pow. Rappers are increasingly collaborating with live musicians, touring, and engaging in other "rocker" behavior, as proved by Kid Cudi's performance on Letterman with Ratatat, a string quartet, and backup singers:

Even Jay-Z has connected with so-called "hipster rappers" like Cudi, Pharrell (of N.E.R.D. and The Neptunes), and Sant(o/i)gold, along with more standard pop/r&b/hip-hop collaborations (wife Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Mary J. Blige, Memphis Bleek, P. Diddy) and a show-stopping John Mayer performance, all of which were showcased in his Fuse-televised 9/11 benefit show at a sold-out Madison Square Garden in front of a live band (all of which can be found here).

Genre blending is the future. I read an academic paper that claimed hip-hop was the most postmodern form of music because of its basis in sampling and recontextualizing other material in our postmodern age. From Girl Talk's collage of pop samples, to M.I.A.'s Diplo-produced, Clash-sampling reggae/hip-hop "Paper Planes" (which was then sampled for T.I., Lil' Wayne, Kanye and Jay-Z's "Swagger Like Us"), to rappers' and popstars' current electronic obsession, the future of music is going to look a lot like Kid Cudi in front of an indie/electronica band, a string quartet and backup singers on late night TV.