Often times hip-hop purists talk about how much the music has changed. How it's watered down, or it's too vulgar, and all that other "get off my lawn" talk that the old heads always inform the younger generation about. I myself have been and still am guilty of not taking a liking to most of the new hip-hop music that’s on rotation today. I'm pretty sure a ton of my contacts have gone ahead and put the old, light skinned man emoji next to my name in their phones; and I've accepted it. But it really got me to thinking, what exactly is missing from today's hip-hop scene? One of the major differences I've noticed is that the traditional New York lyricists are at an all-time low. Chris Classic, who hails from Brooklyn, is one of the rappers whose name indicates he's bringing back that "classic" New York feel. The artists addresses the routine of attaching labels to rap artists and the tunnel vision of a lot of music lovers in his song "Rudy."

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Summer festivals are shitshows. The food is expensive, people are under the influence of possibly multiple substances, and it’s hotter than the seventh circle of hell.

Or maybe I’m getting too old to appreciate them.

Regardless, I’ll never pass on seeing the Warped Tour. Warped 2008 popped my cherry and it was a religious experience. I saw Mayday Parade just before they got big (which I believe happened because of Warped Tour), I saw local favorites Family Force 5 (who rock the hardest live), and I allowed Tom DeLonge to break my heart as I stood and watched him play in Angels and Airwaves instead of blink.

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