HipHop Producers, The New DJ or the New MC? Options

[fameONE]

Twenty years ago, people listened to a song because of the artist; the emcee. There wasn't a stress on who was in front of the soundboard because all eyes were on the person(s) in the booth.

Today, producers are as big as artists, probably even bigger. Some say that this takes away from the poetic element of hiphop and furthers the genre into a state of mainstream 'pop.'

To name a few producers:

KanYe West, Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, Swizz Beatz, Play N Skills, Skillz, Missy Elliot Timbaland, Jermaine Dupri, David Banner, Lil John & the Eastside Boyz, Jazzy Pha, The Heatmakerz, Mannie Fresh, Baby, 9th Wonder, DJ Danger Mouse, DJ Muggs, The Alchemist, Needlez, RZA, DJ Premier, Mixmaster Mike, DJ Z-Trip, The Neptunes, Madlib, Ant, DJ Quik, Eminem, Scott [BITER] Storch, Wyclef Jean, 88 Keyz, Alicia Keys, etc

How do you think this redirected attention is helping/hurting hiphop?

Discuss.

[yo pusha]

i been saying this forever - producers deserve most of the credit for hit songs we hear. a rap artist is a image, and every successful emcee has their gimmick. 50 cent has been shot nine times. Snoop Dogg speaks in a way different than most. Nelly wears a bandaid and sings. Kanye West dresses like a golfer and wears louis vuitton. Eminem does stupid shit like "Just Lose It". Basically, it's the producer + image that sells the record. I wonder how much Scott Storch gets paid for every beat, does he get paid depending on the success of the beat (commision), or does he get paid up front?