Method Man Says Atlanta Took New York's Spot In Hip Hop

Method Man spoke to the Daily Beast to promote his battle show Drop the Mic, and during the chat he touched on the current state of Hip Hop. 

The way Meth sees it, Atlanta is now New York in terms of being the epicenter for rap culture. He also disagreed with those who've said the South has dumbed rap down.

"I feel like we lost our identity, but it was good for the unification of Hip Hop as a whole. Atlanta is the new New York," he said. "The South did their thing, and they cannot be blamed for the state of Hip Hop right now. No one can be blamed for that. These are just cycles that the music has to go through."

In another part of the interview, the Wu member spoke about the rappers who pull their look and style from both genders. He named Young Thug specifically and said he's fine with what he does but not the people who copy him.

"It’s cool when one person is doing it, and you say 'OK, that’s his thing,' but then when it becomes a trend [that's a problem]," he stated. "They’re basically doing what rock ‘n’ rollers did with the fingernail-painting, the long hair, jumping in the crowd. They want to be rock stars now. Be that but don’t call it Hip Hop. I think it’s different, but it has its place."

"Would I rather sit there and listen to Rakim at a concert? Probably," added Meth. "I would love to listen to Rakim all day on my radio. But nowadays, if I’m at a concert, I’m gonna see Kendrick, I’m gonna see Rae Sremmurd, I’m gonna see these artists that turn up the way I would be doing if I was making that kind of music."

Is Meth right? Is Atlanta the new New York in rap?