Has Hip Hop and RnB Music Changed For The Better?

Maybe it's just me, and maybe I'm one of those people that have become like our parents' generation of the past, but as of lately, the feel of hip hop, rap, and r&b music have changed in my eyes, or should I say ears, to a tune that's not necessarily catching my interest nearly as much as it used to a few years ago.

So I'm sure that people will both agree and disagree with things I say in here, but it is what it is, and I'm going to share my opinions as to why I don't really feel it's changed for the better.  Of course, this is my own opinion and not reflective of what others feel or should feel.  It is only what I feel.  Here goes:

• Originality:  The biggest and probably to me, the most important of all changes, is the originality factor.  Let's face it, how many of you, whether you love the music currently or not, has listened to a song on the radio and thought you heard it before, only to find out that you didn't hear it before?  That in fact, it was another track from someone else who sounded like the last two or three tracks you heard?  That to me, is killing my interest.  I'm not saying that music in general doesn't have phases where some songs sound like other songs.  However, it's become very commonplace now.  Even some of the hip hop instrumentals or R&B beats have become a bit more repetitive than usual.  Commercialism has pretty much taken over, and the record industry has deemed it to all that music has to sound like the other music in order to sell.  If record company A hears company B's music, it has to copy it with a few note changes to have the next hit.  Yet, originality has gone out the window in the process.
• Lyrical Content:  Unless you're listening to underground music, the lyrical content has gone completely out the window!  Rap music, whether gangsta rap or not, still had creative wordplay, even if artists were talking about the same topic.  Hip hop had creative wordplay as well, but now the lyrics have become limited and even more repetitive than people in the past used to accuse hip hop of being.  R&B music has also taken a dent to the lyrical content.  Groups like Boyz II Men or Jagged Edge used to write lyrics of seduction or emotion, and artists like Tyrese, Joe, and Brian McKnight did the same.  Now however, you have songs like "My Sorry Ass Apology" that really kill lyrical content, and have sounded simpler and simpler.  Not sure how you all feel, but I want to hear lyrical content that blows my mind away, and that makes me say "damn... he's right on the money" or "wow, she really hit home with those words".  Not going to happen now unless music takes a serious turn.
• Vocoder / Autotune Effect:  While this effect has subsided a little, too many songs and artists are trying to use this to sound cool or to sound like everyone else in the music industry that has sounded like everyone else in the industry since the vocoder / autotune effect has come back into play, courtesy of T-Pain.  However, these effects were being used back then, and weren't being used on every single song being released on radio or album.  Does this mean that we have a bunch of copycats trying to sound like everyone else (which refers back to my lack of originality above), or, that we have a growing abundance of artists that are trying to mask their singing?  I don't mind the effect much but it has gotten to be so overdone, that it's really annoying to hear now.  Maybe that's why Jay-Z wrote the Death of Autotune track... it does grow tiring after all.
• Beats and Instrumentals:  In the course of repetitive music and copycat music in hip hop, rap, and R&B, it appears that the beats and instrumentals have also taken a bit of a turn as well.  Hip hop beats used to bring the ears to enjoyment, with some robust sounds.  Hip hop beats also used to incorporate more unique content and substance to it.  However, as of late, beats have sounded similar to other tracks out, and have used less and less musical instrument sounds in the process.  More producers have gone to the digital synth sounds and have taken away some of the elements that used to bring forth powerful hip hop beats.  I'm not saying by any means that all of the beats are garbage.  I'm merely saying that things have seemingly gotten simpler in the creation of hip hop music.  I remember hearing DJ Premier tracks and clearly being able to distinct that it was him who produced a track.  I also used to enjoy listening to rap beats by producers like The Alchemist or Swizz Beats.  Now, I'm not so sure half of the time as to who created what beats or instrumentals.  Maybe I'm just stuck in the hip hop or rap of the mid to late 90's and early 2000's.

I'm sure again, as I said before, that this article will cause some people to be upset or feel that I have simply lost perception of the music and that current songs like "Stanky Legg" or "My Sorry Ass Apology" are the hottest songs out.  Hell, I was even disappointed with Papers by Usher, as I used to consider him a good artist with catchy lyrical content.  That song did not blow me away by any means, yet, so many give the song high praises... is it because the content is so simple, or because it sounds like the virus of other songs and tracks?  Maybe it's just me, but I ask you all... has hip hop music, rap music, or r&b music changed to you for the better?  Or are you wishing some... just some of the originality, lyrical content, and beats and instrumentals of old to return, even if just for a little while?  Feel free to leave your comments, I'm interested to see what people feel.