What defines dopeness? by TheSTLTank Lyrics

I for one am a firm believer in the fact that hip-hop is dead, or at least dying. But this makes me wonder what truly defines hip-hop and what makes it great. It is clear that not everything can be like it was in the nineties. Times change and so does music. In order to make hip-hop today what it was in the past we need to define the very things that made it great back then. These need to be universal things that can be applied to any music today

Is hip-hop dead?
What do you think makes a dope rap song?