Interesting article by Chris Parker, excerpt of Prince Paul’s comments below. Link
“People just run the beat and let it go, and let the MC do all the changes – the changes for the chorus, the changes for the rhyme. People don’t sit down, have a rapport going, hang out and have fun, then make the record when it has a vibe to it,” Paul laments.
“[Now a rapper] says, ‘Send me the track. You don’t have to be there. My man Merlin here is going to record me at the studio and I’ll just send it back to you.’ The camaraderie of getting together and making a record has totally been lost. It shows in the lack of arrangements.”