Although you've missed "proper" hip hop. The 2000s has produced several new subgenres of hip hop. Although granted, the current auto-tuned mess that is the hip hop of the charts (T-Pain, Lil Wayne, et al) is enough to put most people off.

However, look outside of the normal, and the decade has produced some superbly inventive artists and some great albums.

I probably love him a bit more than normal, but Mos Def has crafted some truly unique albums this decade - "The New Danger" mixed blues, race relations, rock and left field soul and hip hop, "True Magic" took soul samples, abstract beats, politics and dirty bass to its logical conlcusion, and 2009's "The Ecstatic" is a beautiful mess of tribal beats, electro, North African world music, funk and a playful lyrical sensiblity. It makes no sense even on the 6th or 7th time of listening. But it keeps paying off. All are worth investigation by more people than have done so.

Another piece of ammo in the rise of GOOD hip hop during the decade was that of Britain's own Roots Manuva. Starting well with his 2nd album "Run Come Save Me" which pushed the boundaries of UK hip hop, he progressed into one of the country's best rap performers, although still associated with "Witness (1 Hope)", his biggest hit. His albums break new ground lyrically and sonically, twisting the "traditional" setup of DJ and rapper to his own devious ends.

The dancehall and dub influence on UK hip hop, as demonstrated by Roots Manuva's two dub albums, and brought to a head by Rodney P's "The Future" LP is also another way in which hip hop has managed to maintain its '80s block party vibe whilst progressing musically. Although you wouldn't expect to see either at any of the Russell Simmons hip hop fests of the BET channel or the Hip Hop Awards that have been shown on MTV.

Other mentions should go to producers N.A.S.A., South African rappers Playdoe and the mad sounds of Spank Rock, as all three have created a new day-glo template for the world of hip hop that looks beyond the bitches, blunts and bling that is popularised by 50 Cent and his ilk. Beans and El-P both crafted vastly intricate backdrops to their flow of consciousness raps, again forcing hip hop into new and ever more abstract shapes. Saul Williams created interesting industrial inspired rants with Trent Reznor that made white people the world over want to apologise for all we've ever done. Hip hop would never be the same.

This past decade also showed "old" rappers such as Jay-Z and Nas find a new sense of urgency to add into their work, both of whom have just arguably created albums of their careers in the form of "The Blueprint 3" and "Untitled" albums respectively.

Make no mistake, whilst new genres thrilled us all during this decade, one continued to triumph, though not necessarily as obviously as it could have done. Flo Rida saw that we ignored hip hop and it became a two headed beast, while the "popular" form became more and more banal, the "alternative" took as many leaps as it could towards the future and benefitted no end because of this.