Define "Real Hip-Hop"

it's kinda... obvious.
And it's a matter of 'inflated' ego, some people probably enjoy feeling better just because of following some magic rules, that are completely senseless for others.

The difference b/w real and fake is the money, the lyrics and the beats. I can tell as soon as the beat drops if it's real. Subject matter doesn't really matter even though real hip hop is way more diverse. Fake is pretty much the same shit. with the beats too. like teflon said. even if it's the same subject they put in a whole different prospective. as far as not liking someone and considering them fake, at least for me, it's not the case. cuz I don't like Nas or IT but they're real hip hop.

When taking it mostly to the funk side of the hip-hop, we've got some 'real' and classic groups such as Sugarhill Gang, De La Soul or Run DMC (Mostly 70's and early 80's). When taking it to the lyrics and 'raw' beats, you have some (also real and classic) artists, such as Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest.
In my opinion, it does exist the 'real' hip-hop, that follows the rules and the roots of hip-hop established by Bambaataa and all the other pioneers and provides an improvement in cultural terms. There does exist the (so called) 'fake' hip-hop, but it could be fake for me, because it doesn't follow my criteria; at the same time it could be real for another person. It depends on the tastes of each person.
That's also because of this wide diversity that hip-hop assumes that more and more styles keep being introduced into hip-hop (alternative rap, jazz-rap, old-school rap, turntablism, gangsta rap, hardcore rap, g-funk, etc...), considering, maybe, alternative rap, underground and hardcore rap the most real..

KRS ONE