Hip Hop is no longer entertaining or interesting; the drama, the beef, the witty lyrics, street themes, first person urban narratives, and soul are all gone.
C.R.E.A.M., Cash Rules Everything Around Me, this ‘94 Wu-Tang song/video typifies all of the aforementioned.
Wu-Tang Clan- C.R.E.A.M. from TheReal. on Vimeo.the sad progression from lyrical chessboxin’ outside a Long Island area project around a fire barrel to the mindless self propaganda of present so-called Hip Hop artists represents the paradigm shift that killed real Hip Hop.
Case and point, Kanye drops a song entitled Ego during the tail end of one of the world’s largest financial crises. Unless trying to appeal to the few remaining successful white collar Wall Street Hip Hop fans, this artist is alienating the true patrons of real Hip Hop art.
As a young Crip growin’ up in the slums of Shaolin during the pinnacle of Hip Hop innovation, I feel a mixed sense of privilege and guilt because the youth of today have nothing to compare to the mid to late 90s. Big, Pac, Pun, ODB, Easy E, and countless other brilliant lyricists remain in the past along with their opuses- a mere footnote in the “Hip Hop” jukebox machine that exists today.
Hip Hop was not always as mainstream as it is today- it did not always have a category at the VMA’s or the Grammy’s. Hip Hop was a musical genre that was fighting to exist in the 80’s, fighting for attention during the grunge implosion and Brit pop explosion of the early 90’s, and finally becoming accepted but frequently a scapegoat during the cookie cutter boy and girl band dominated late 90’s.
In some cruel twist of fate, not unlike other grassroots indie music movements, Hip Hop exploded in popularity and eventually became everything it originally set out to destroy: pop culture. Today all that remains of an edgy art form is a bastardized and pitiful simulacra, evidenced by clothing lines, personal shoppers, personal assistants, chauffeurs, VMA tantrums befitting a 4 yr old spoiled white kid, and of course, the hoes. Contrary to what your popular music or women’s studies professor would have you believe, real Hip Hop is and was never about such things. Real Hip Hop was gritty, witty, and always about the MC. DJ’s spun the beat and mixed the tracks but the “poppy” hooks you hear today would have been booed offstage during Hip Hop’s inception. The integral cultural values of real Hip Hop were blatantly unapologetic, truthful, raw, and fiercely loyal. By definition: real Hip Hop was hanging out the passenger side of an unmarked Benz, both middle fingers raised to the world, abdominal thug life tattoo exposed, riding a wave of inauspicious hubris either to the grave or prison.
The recent events at the MTV VMA’s involving Kanye West exemplify the re-tardation of real Hip Hop. Kanye West believes, and would have you believe, that he is indeed a credible Hip Hop artist. He couldn’t be further off the mark. Imagine for a minute if Kanye-the pique polo wearing, Crystal drinking, and self proclaimed Louis Vuitton Don- tried to battle with such original Hip Hop trailblazers like NWA, Wu-Tang, KRS, or even Afrika Bambaataa. Without his security detail, West would get jumped and given the Inglewood-jack before making it onstage. I’m not saying Kanye isn’t a credible artist, I’m saying he isn’t a credible Hip Hop artist. Just as the Latin language gave rise to the Romance languages, Hip Hop has given birth to new, different, and unique art forms. The artists of this new age and genre may pay homage to their roots but in no way are they accurate or legitimate modern manifestations of this bygone age.
The Inglewood Jack:
I will allow you to compare Kanye’s childish outburst to a real life saga that unfolded at the ’95 Source Awards, catalyzing an escalating conflict, eventually resulting in the untimely death of two of Hip Hop’s greatest talents.
I wonder if any of their publicists wrote apologies on behalf of Deathrow artists the next day? Trick question…Suge Knight killed publicists and probably would have killed Taylor Swift if she tried to beef with him. Who knows, he’s still out there, it could happen.
Hip Hop was great while it lasted, but somewhere along the way it changed and the real music stopped. Musical forms progress and evolve over time, but instead of putting out quality product and advancing the craft of their forefathers and sisters, the self proclaimed “hip hop” artists of the present are primarily concerned with selling ring tones, clothing, and an unrealistic opulent image. When did Hip Hop become a token strip mall in suburbia? I don’t know exactly, but I can tell you this for certain, the last true Hip Hop artist, the best rapper alive, is only one man, who is just about the music, one man, with one mic, plainly stated: Nas.
Relative to his peers, Nas has not been as commercially successful, but contrary to the ‘make money’ attitude that prevails in the game today, Nas is one of very few artists who has remained true to Hip Hop’s origins. To the youth of today, Nas and his musical catalogue are merely the works of an esoteric ancient, displaced, and replaced by uninspired and unoriginal drivel belonging to the likes of Soulja Boy, who probably has comparable street cred to a Ja Rule or Dakota Fanning. Even Jay-Z, the self proclaimed, “best rapper alive”, despite his “pop” acclaim, and wildly successful business, Sean Carter will never be ushered into the hallowed halls of the true Hip Hop elite. You’re likely asking why? Why wouldn’t Hip Hop’s most lauded figure, the most powerful black male in the entertainment industry, be uttered in the same breath as Eminem? Why? Because, unlike Nas, who almost sold out in ‘99 when he traded his legitimate Hip Hop voice for the, “money, cash, and hoes” style during a misguided collaboration with Diddy, Jay-Z followed through and alienated his true urban “Hard Knock” roots in favour of popularity and cross-over appeal. Nothing exemplifies Jay-Z’s failure as a Hip Hop artist more than his feeble attempt to reply to Nas’ dis track to Jay-Z, “Ether”. To date, “Ether” remains the single most devastating blow to Jay-Z’s career and claims to street credibility, the true measure of any Hip Hop artist. “Ether” also serves as one of many reminders, that Nas is and always will be Hip Hop’s true King, even though he rules an ancient and ruined realm.
In an ironic twist, Jay-Z became whiter, Eminem became blacker, all while Tiger Woods became the best golfer in history. The 90’s were a groundbreaking era. I’m not here to hate on new artists or old favourites like Jay-Z. I’m here to educate and let you know what isn’t Hip Hop and that Hip Hop is dead, it has been for a while. Maybe it was killed by over popularity, commercialization, the hand holding, utopian idealizing, present generation, or my personal favourite scapegoat and prime suspect, hoes. Either way, educate yourself on what Hip Hop truly was about and who the real greats were.
*artical pulled from lions den...i felt it said exactly what i feel about today
*artical pulled from lions den...i felt it said exactly what i feel about today
No comments:
Post a Comment