The internet has allowed such an influx of information and material through the decades, giving context to trends and music that reappear years after it was first on the scene. Each generation seems to take a liking to certain aspects in the music of those before, forming a bond between people with no connection besides a love for art.
With this acknowledgment comes a sense of arrogance from those listening, seeming that their own music taste is superior, but music is music, none better than the other, the more debating on preference will only suppress people from finding their own taste.
A popular rift in the music scene is this debate between new-age vs old-age rap, or hip-hop vs trap. Artists such as Biggy, Tupac, Jay-Z, etc. are considered apart of the golden generation, the 20th to 21st-century bridge that produced some of the greatest works of art known to man. Obviously, adults now who grew up listening to these artists not only have a connection with the music but a confirmation that their time was unequivocally the best time.
Now with a more trap-based environment, with artists such as Young Thug, Asap Rocky, Travis Scott, etc. forming connections through social media and platforms not available to the greats of decades past, the idea of what is to be a trend, rests solely in their hands. The music is more alive, with beats that go so hard and so loud, one may have to ask, where does it stop? The answer is that it may never stop, this entitled generation intakes this music for every meal of the day.
The popularity is so widespread, those are of older age are being engulfed in such a toxic time of opinions, fueled by every social media platform on the app store. Deciding on taking the dive into, for example, Instagram comments is just a trap that sees so many opinions, looking for so many validations, all wrapped around a simple preference.
It can be ironic seeing a teenager of the elder age 15 arguing with someone twice the age about which’s favorite artist came out with the better album. Nobody is right, absolutely nobody, music is all about emotion, what music creates a connection or interest with one’s preference?
No blame is to be rest upon one side or the other, music debates have been going on long before Steve jobs created a little phone. Though, what social media does is simply amplify each argument, making it more accessible to insult, or even ignore others, on the basis of a disagreement in preference.