Questions: Entertainment & Arts

I was thinking the other day about how modern rap has lost its identity because most artists today sound exactly the same. Whether it is female rappers like GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion, Latto, and Cardi B, or the mainstream male rappers, everyone is using the same repetitive beats and formulas. The content feels so shallow now, mostly focusing on money, jewelry, body parts, and sexual themes, which leaves these newer artists with zero longevity.

I really miss the old-school era where artists were true lyricists and ultimate entertainers. In the 90s and early 2000s, you had heavy hitters like Nas, Tupac, and DMX alongside incredible women like Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, little Kim, and Lady of Rage. They brought high energy, exciting penmanship, clever wordplay, and deep lyricism. Beyond having that hardcore edge, they were multidimensional, highly talented, and had a powerful image. Most importantly, old-school artists had undeniable stage presence and actually knew how to perform and command a crowd live. Every single artist back then had a completely different sound, unique style, and distinct look.

That raw individuality and performance standard are exactly what is missing across the entire industry today. Just look at Queen Latifah hosting the American Music Awards last night—that is the exact level of legend status and ultimate crossover success I want to develop them to achieve.

Do you think that 90s style of music, star power, and performance could actually dominate the charts if it came back right now, or has the music industry changed too much for listeners to appreciate real talent?

Back in the early 90s a few other companies were trying to get in on their teenage fighting creature mascot craze following the Ninja Turtles.

One of them was a group of amphibian dudes named the Battletoads!

What do you think of these?

These are their powers, not intended to be exhaustive character profiles

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Malia Hano (Half-Angel)

Powers

Flight, Telepathy, Love Magic, Holy Lights, Holy Sword, Divine Shield

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Kristen Lentz (Water elementalist)

Powers

Complete control of all phases of water

Shapeshift into any phase of water

Metallic Water manipulation (Normally found only in the cores of failed stars)

Create and Destroy Water

Flight

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Rayne Aso (Shadow Elementalist)

Powers

Teleport Between Shadows

Twice Peak Human while in shadows

Merge with shadows

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Miracle (Summoner)

Powers

Summon real animals to fight for her.

Regeneration

Heal Others

Flight

==

I want to reduce to two heroes instead of four. Which two should I build around now?

I realize having too many recurring villains devalues life and death in a comic. To me, most characters should remain dead when they're dead, unless immortality is their super-power anyway.

I spend a lot of time developing several villains who are slain right away by the heroes, but I also have a collection of recurring villains who simply never die for the first several installments of battles between them and the heroes.

I think a healthy balance of both "kill them off" and "reuse them" are allowed.

What do you think?