Hip-hop has changed a lot over the 50+ years since its inception. The reach widened drastically from the mecca in New York to the rest of the world. Gradually, the essence shifted, especially when it folded itself more into mainstream audiences. The bigger hip-hop got, the more it lavished in its riches. The game didn’t reward artists who weren’t tough or good at flexing or both. But when rappers like Kendrick Lamar burst onto the scene, there was a significant shift. Let Lamar tell it, it’s just another extension in the growth of hip-hop. In a 2012 interview with The Guardian , he argued that “hip-hop is a little more grown up now.” Videos by VICE “[In the past] you wouldn’t have hardcore rappers attempting to talk about anything like a gay marriage [because] they would feel it was wrong for their image. When you get people in hip-hop unafraid to discuss these topics, it is an evolution,” Kendrick Lamar told the outlet. Ultimately, it’s this evolution that carved a lane for K. Dot to succeed.…