There used to be all kinds of MCs rhyming about all aspects of life. Hip-Hop used to be fun. Hip-Hip used to be social conscious. Hip-Hop used to political and militant. Hip-Hop used to be grown and sexy before Jay-Z made the phrase popular on his song, "Excuse me Miss".

Hip-Hop has always been gangsta. Many credit Schoolly D with making the first Gangsta rap record, "P.S.K." Ice-T came out with "6 N in the morning". Boogie Down Productions released "Criminal Minded". And how could anyone fail to mention "the most dangerous group", N.W.A. and their infamous classic record, "Straight Outta Compton".

What I'm saying is that Gangsta rap is not new and most of the so-called gangsta rap acts nowadays all sound the same (regardless of where they're from) and are not nearly as good and cutting edge as the pioneers of that sub-genre within Hip-Hop.

Bottom-line: Hip-Hop needs to diversify by returning to its true tradition of telling stories that reflect a variety of perspectives and not just the same ol', same ol', "shoot 'em up, bang, bang" mentality and lifestyle.

2. Hip-Hop is driven more by commercial success than cultural integrity

Hip-Hop is no longer a culture, it's a business. But the truth is Hip-Hop is indeed a culture that has been commercialized, therefore, compromised. Corporate America, whether you're talking about corporate-owned record labels, magazines or cable channels, are in complete control of Hip-Hop.

Hip-Hop is big business and is making a lot of people a lot of money. But how many of those who profit from Hip-Hop are actually true to the preservation of the culture? And how much of the profits are being recycled back in the communities all over the world that gave birth, raised and praise the culture like a proud parent?

Bottom-line: Hip-Hop, as a culture, needs to be resurrected and moved forward in having an impact on the world socially, politically, religiously, economically and not just exploited to make greedy opportunists rich.

3. BEEF

Let me start out by saying that there is a big difference between "beef" and "battling". Beef is what happens on the streets and even in the boardroom. Battling is competition; what happens in sports for example and of course Hip-Hop music. Battling is the foundation of MC'ing.

Battling separates the thorough MCs from the "Sucker MCs". There have been legendary "battles" throughout Hip-Hop history; KRS-ONE & BDP vs. MC Shan & The Juice Crew, L.L. Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee to name a couple.

But beef is another whole can of "words". Beef can (and has) spread outside of records and onto the streets. Beef, real beef, is about more than words. Beef can be dangerous and should be taken serious. Beef is dangerous to Hip-Hop because it damages the culture's credibility and hinders its true intent. Hip-Hop as a culture and rap as a form of music was not founded on "greasy talk" and violence.

Bottom line: Beef may garner some publicity and sometimes, tragically claim lives but it does nothing to uplift Hip-Hop culture and the communities it represents.

4. The most popular MCs are often the most overrated

You can ask today's average fan to list their 10 favorite MC's and at least half of the ones they name are average at best or downright wack. The MCs who get the most attention in radio, print and television are often not MCs at all; they're rappers, or I guess you can say, entertainers that rap. Your favorite rapper may have a hit song getting 100's of spins a day on the radio but that doesn't necessarily mean that he or she is a true MC.

Most rap songs played on the radio are the weakest lyrically. Most of the elements of Hip-Hop are completely absent from the music videos that serve as a visual for the songs. These entertainers benefit from a variety of factors that put them at the forefront of Hip-Hop. But often lyrical prowess is not one of these factors. Meanwhile many of the best MCs that have mastered the art of MC'ing (see #9) receive little to no promotion from corporate America and their great talents are heard and witnessed by few.

Bottom line: True MCs who are in the game for the love of it should be more visible and the more popular MCs who dominate the charts and grace the covers of magazines should challenge themselves and be challenged to step their rhyme game up.

5. Hip-Hop journalism needs to step their game up

I'm a writer. I grew up an avid reader of Hip-Hop themed publications. There was a time when I thoroughly enjoyed reading these publications waiting anxiously for the new issues to hit the newsstand or be delivered in my mailbox.

But the last 5 years or so, the "Hip-Hop press" has let the culture down. For example, the two biggest and most successful magazines (I won't name them. You know…) in my opinion have perpetuated, instigated and contributed to pushing on-going beefs between rap crews. And these publications themselves have engaged in on-going beefs between each other!

This doesn't happen in other publications unless you're talking about the tabloids. And if it does happen within other publications, the ramifications are not as detrimental to the overall well being of the "profiles" featured in their pages or the readers of their publications.

Plainly, the Hip-Hop press has a responsibility to the culture it covers. It should challenge the culture while celebrating it. The Hip-Hop press shouldn't lower their journalistic standards or "dumb down" just to sell magazines. I hate to say this, but some of the best pieces I've read on Hip-Hop have come from mainstream publications which really have no authority to speak on matters of Hip-Hop.

Bottom line: At times, the Hip-Hop press comes across cartoon-ish and for many of us that grew up in Hip-Hop, we expect and deserve better. The younger generation of Hip-Hop desperately need better (even if they don't realize it). There are great writers within our culture but we all must present Hip-Hop in a shining light while being objective. The Hip-Hop press has a credibility problem (and I ain't talking about street cred).

6. Radio & TV has yet to step their game up

Radio and television programming as it relates to Hip-Hop is wack. The most popular Hip-Hop show on TV (You know what I'm talking about) is the wackest. And it's not because of the hosts or the young, ill informed audience. The blame could be spread across the board between the producers and the corporate companies who are responsible for putting the show on the air.

I don't want to pick on one particular television show. The point is radio and television do a terrible job of how they present Hip-Hop culture to the masses. And, frankly, advertisers don't care; all they want are the eyeballs to whatever they're peddling.

Bottom line: Radio & Television need to create more formats and programming that celebrate all the elements of Hip-Hop so that more eyes and ears will see and hear the many faces and sounds of Hip-Hop and not just the often negative stereotypical stuff.

7. The younger generation doesn't know or acknowledge the pioneers of the game

When I was a teenager, I loved Big Daddy Kane but I also loved and appreciated the soulful sounds of Marvin Gaye. I was a student of music, fairly knowledgeable about history and not just hung up on the latest song on the radio. Many of my peers were the same way.

On Nas' new record, "Hip-Hop is Dead", one of my favorite songs is "Carry on Tradition" where Nas challenges, "Let's see who can quote a Daddy Kane line the fastest." The younger generation need to be more informed about Hip-Hop pre-2004. I love fire-spittin', Lil' Wayne, or the charismatic, T.I., but there's been a lot of Hip-Hop before the new school or next school of Hip-Hoppers.

I've always said that the pioneers of the game don't get the proper platform that they deserve. That's why I like VH1's Hip-Hop Honors. It's not the best way to pay tribute to the MCs of the past but at least the producers are trying.

Bottom line: The pioneers of the game paved the way for the MCs that you see now. The MCs of today, radio, television, print and just the average Hip-Hopper on the street should pay homage to the legends. The culture has a history and that history is the foundation from which the future of Hip-Hop should be built upon.

8. Live performances are loud, crowded and wack

You might be a hardcore Hip-Hop fan but you'll have to admit that the live Hip-Hop performance is awful. It hasn't always been this way. As a matter of fact, in its short history, Hip-Hop is known for its performance element. There have been great performers within Hip-Hop and many of these performances were witnessed in the park before they reached the Grammy stage.

Nowadays, MCs just don't have a clue of what it takes to satisfy an audience. There's so much wrong with Hip-Hop performances today. The music is too loud. There are way too many people on stage. MCs are too cool or too tough to dance or simply groove with the music. The stage show just lack true excitement and creativity. Often what you have is a bunch of guys on stage as if they're standing on a street corner. Is that the best they can come up with? I think not.

Bottom line: MCs haven't shown true Hip-Hop heads nothing if they can't put on a solid show. MCs spend a lot of time on the road bringing their music to the people but they really need to spend more time working on their performance when they hit the stage.

9. "Real" MC'ing is a lost art

If I had to come up with a percentage, I would say that only about 25% of MCs today can actually rhyme. Some have very little skill at all. The MCing element within Hip-Hop is the most celebrated but the least mastered. Now I love beats and I get hooked on a catchy hook, but back in the day, when I heard a record, I zeroed in on the MC. If he or she couldn't rhyme, my ears closed quickly.

Too many songs are chorus/hook and basically nothing else. The MC really is the voice of the culture. What is said and how it's said is important. A MC should be able to articulate his or her message clearly and skillfully. A real MC would not compromise his or her lyrical prowess to make a hit record. Jay-Z, for example, has made many hits and yet he rarely disappoints lyrically. Biggie was like this as well.

Bottom line: MCs of today should study the MCs of the past and the great ones that are still doing their thing. These MCs are the true masters of wordplay.

10. The ladies are being denied the opportunity to shine and continue to be degraded and pushed to the background.

The women of Hip-Hop still haven't gotten their due. We can talk about any other music genre and some of its biggest names are females. Maybe it's the nature of Hip-Hop and rap music. But to have that position would be selling Hip-Hop culture short.

If you think back, women have been celebrated in Hip-Hop. Now too much of Hip-Hop degrades its own women just for the sake of doing so. Hip-Hop rarely makes the distinction between a bitch and a lady anymore. Bitch or Hoe are two words that have seemed to officially replace the words woman, lady or girl in the Hip-Hop lexicon.

Whatever happened to calling a woman a chick or honey?

Some feminists wouldn't like those terms but at least they're spoken as a compliment to women. Most women are offended by being referred to as a bitch or a hoe. Of course, nowadays some women embrace these derogatory terms, seeing themselves in this way and calling one another by these names.

But I won't simply dwell on how men treat women in Hip-Hop. That's a record that's been played many times. I agree with those who say that the degradation of women in Hip-Hop is influenced by society's treatment of women. But Hip-Hop could also be a leading influence in changing that.

What I'm really troubled by as far as women, is the fact that there are just not enough females in the game on the mic. Who's representing for the ladies? I don't mind saying that some of my favorite MCs are females. MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill…these ladies and others are great MCs in their own right. Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim both can go toe to toe lyrically with anybody in the game; past and present!

Bottom line: Hip-Hop needs to uplift our women more oppose to holding them down. There needs to be more females MCs in the game to represent all aspects (not just the "baddest bitch" perspective) of being women within Hip-Hop culture.