Sweetest Bling

Many lament rap's evolution from its explosive, creative origins to the pop fizz of today. Photographer Jamel Shabazz's 2001 collection ''Back in the Days'' wistfully recalls the era of B-boys, breakers, and boom boxes with bright-eyed brio. This year's documentary ''Scratch'' offered a similarly reverent celebration of turntablism, profiling standouts from Afrika Bambaataa to DJ Shadow. And last month, Grand Wizard Theodore and Grandmaster Caz celebrated the 20th anniversary of the original rap film, ''Wild Style,'' with a screening and concert.

''Hip-hop used to be fun,'' says Missy Elliott, whose Nov. 12 album, ''Under Construction,'' includes ''Back in the Day,'' a track about early-'80s rap. ''I'm wondering whatever happened to old hip-hop, giving thanks to Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Rakim. Now it's too tense.''

Some of that tension -- like the feud between Jay-Z and Nas -- stems from the industry's emphasis on sales. ''If you listen to 90 percent of rappers, they're not even creative.... Let's get real,'' Nas said recently on New York's Power 105. He urged young MCs to ''take hip-hop back into your own hands.''

Queen Latifah, who released her first LP in '89, agrees. ''You want to see people push the envelope,'' she says. ''If you don't, you'll never see artists like Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, or Lauryn Hill again.''

Demoralized after quitting his soulless job, ''Sugar'''s Dre sits with Sid, and remembers the songs -- like BDP's ''The Bridge Is Over'' and the Beastie Boys' ''Paul Revere'' -- that shaped their past. ''I met this girl, when I was 10 years old/And what I loved most, she had so much soul,'' they rhyme, quoting Common's 1994 valentine to hip-hop, ''I Used to Love H.E.R.'' Dre tells Sid the song reminds him of their relationship, and, because of their connection to the music, what could have been a maudlin moment feels genuine.

''That was the first day of shooting, and it set the tone,'' says Diggs. ''The joy was real. We improvised a lot, beatboxing, throwing out lines. Hip-hop has always been part of our lives. And it always will be.''