Oddly enough I was on this site the other day thinking about the same thing. I totally agree with you on this. The question is what is so different now compared to back then when rappers were conveying these same glamorous lifestyles? I am not sure of the exact answers but I do have my theories. The reality is we all want money, and we all would like to be rich with nice things. I think now that hip hop and rap has become more main stream than ever, and it’s reaching larger audiences than ever before. Back then hip hop and rap was just beginning to emerge on a widespread level, well now everyone from the city kids to the suburban kids are claiming to be hip hop, or a rapper. My mom has been saying lately that 1 out of every 10 black men wants to be a rapper. I think people are rapping for wrong reasons now days. I don’t think back in the day people were rapping simply because they wanted cash in return, because rappers were not getting paid as much as they are now! There’s a lot more money to be made than ever in rapping, and I believe it’s drawing a different crowd of rappers and entertainers. It’s drawing a crowd that is only concerned with getting paid. They are not putting their hearts into their rhymes anymore. It’s more about what will sell to the youth and mainstream.