Lyrics, melody, sampling, arranging, producing... For someone so into production and recording techniques I don't know how you can look past those aspects in terms of artistry. Music is constantly evolving. You can't discredit something just because it doesn't use the same techniques that people used 40 years ago. Granted, there is a lot of bad hip hop and dance music out there but thank god not everyone judges rock music based on Nickelback.