This just needs to be posted.  Complex Magazine interviewed Lyor Cohen and here was one of the questions/answers:

You’ve played an integral part in hip-hop for 25 years. Nowadays, people complain about the state of rap. What do you say to people who think hip-hop’s best days are behind it?

Lyor Cohen: I like moments of staleness and mildew, simply because it creates the lane for change. Remember when everything was full of color and happy-dappy when Bad Boy was running everything and then we came with DMX? Do you remember that summer? How excited people got? That’s my favorite moment—when I sit on a porch in the summertime and the air gets really thick. There’s no breeze. The birds start darting around. And then all of a sudden a violent storm comes through —raindrops as big as cups; lighting and thunder. I know when things get stale there’s someone making an opportunity. Rap now is multi-generational, which has its own issues. My son is a big Cudi fan.

read the full interview HERE