Post-Race Hip Hop... Mac Miller and Frat Rap!?

I was just about to start on some paid work when this chick decided to follow me on my Twitter... One thing lead to another, and I'm looking up "Frat Rap"...

I surf along some more and find the Frat Rap Tumbler that pretty much serves as my source for this post. It includes the man of the hour Mac Miller...



Or this dude, Chris Webby, who shows up alot on the page too...



And its not just white dudes...



Or Dean's List...



I'm still trying to wrap my head around it... but these are the things that stick out at the moment...

1. Flows remind me of college parties, circa 2000, where those "cool" rappers started freestyling at the back of the room to the amazement of all...
2. The Black dudes tend towards dance music beats, House and trancey synths. The white guys tend towards 2000 era backpacker stuff, rapping like its a battle all the time..
3. The videos from white rappers have the token Black dude, and the videos from Black dudes have the token white guy...
4. Weed, college, clean productions, and backwards baseball caps... again, circa 2002
5. Did I mention it all looks and acts like 2002????

What I also find interesting is this subgenre is coming through where it is, along current Rick Ross/Weezy/Gucci Mane mainstream post-Thug rap; during the current Odd Future takeover; among the fading freshmen class of J Cole, Drake, Lupe Fiasco, and other mainstream light-pop rappers. Its also coming after the bust of nu-skool rap like Kidz in the Hall, Cool Kids, Ninjasonik, et all... They certainly do not take on the dirty angst of their elders such as House of Pain, Eminem, or even 3rd Bass... but remind me more of the mimicry you'd find from Vanilla Ice.

[Aside - and since we are mapping Hip Hop at the moment, has anyone heard anything from those lame "conscious" rappers inna while??? me neither]

I think that since so much of it is cut from Hip Hop of years past, its rise is a signal, a hiccup, of a bunch of young kids who had older cousins telling them of the good ol' days of the Golden Era, and trying to rekindle that spark. What is intriguing is not what it is, but what it isn't and the time of arrival in among the current interests of mainstream Hip Hop. Compare this to DJ Khaled and tell me what you see...

I wish I had more analysis for you... Its some weird place that leaves me intrigued. I'll be paying attention to find out where this thing goes...

PS, of the songs I found on the Tumbler, this one was my favorite...