U know what I hate...HIP-HOP SNOBS...Yea you know who you are. Those stuck in that time warp and comparing everything to that "classic era of Hip-Hop." You people sleigh me...like really not slay me but...sleigh as in take me on a ride. I call you bigots because you are; you thinkg that your personal tastes and preferences are superior to everybody else's and refuse to even entertain the possibility of an alternative opinion...thats the definition of a bigot.
All you Hip-Hop is Dead people... Now I know you're thinking...UH OH Charity done
got down to the south with those snap music/ screwed and chopped/non lyrical/ trap promoting people and lost her mind...NO...MY MIND IS SHARP...and i hope i get y'all to think about the shit y'all are sayin...
Do any of you consider yourselves young leaders? (I hope so)...How does it make you feel when you hear leaders of the civil rights era say..."These youngsters are lost; they DON'T UNDERSTAND THE STRUGGLE"...have you heard that? I HAVE... and it hurts and angers me.
side note: for the purpose of this I use the term "leader" very loosely but I'm making a point...I'm sure you know the people I'm talking about and these statements they make are on of the reasons they lack respect from me.
With that out cleared up Ill continue...why do these claims anger me?
Because the struggles of generations are different therefore the methods of resistance must also be different; especially since if we want to build on what the previous generation has done and avoid the mistakes they made. So you have these people who remember the 80s and 90s Hip-Hop and what to discredit EVERYTHING THATS GOING ON NOW. Why with HipHop?...cause the shit isn't the same as when YOU were a kid... HIP HOP CANT STAY 16 FOREVER.
HIP HOP IS DEAD????... How bout the shit has grown up and had kids... Lets be generous and say Hip-Hop was birthed in 1970...that makes it 36 almost 37 years old. I was born in 1983 and started listenin to hip hop in 1996...arguably one of the BEST YEARS IN HIPHOP ALBUM RELEASES...do i really have to go down naming albums for y'all who (claim to know)...i don't think i will...do some research on your own. The point is...when I started listenin to hip-hop it was already 26 and had had some kids; (the branching of the culture nationwide and global through such avenues as MTV.)
side note: you blame the media for destroying hip-hop but youngens in LA or Chicago, let alone London and Deusseldorf (word to Pete Proper/German the HipHopper) would have ever known this shit called Hip-Hop existed...
Shall i continue... I shall
So now you have people who take the concepts of Hip-Hop that they grew up with and apply it to the lives THEY'RE living. I mean I've done the research...cause even though Lil Wayne coined the term "bling bling" rap cats were flamboyantly bragadocious since the start...with the rope chains and 4 finger rings...and I'm talkin about some of the most respected artists....HMMMM...
So now we have these 80s babies...ill throw the late 70s in there...And we're kids during all the reaganomics and the beginning of the street gang/ drug culture that people rapped about. So you have our "hip-hop parents" who rapped about it but US...that's all we know...that what we were breastfed with. So when we get a chance to get a hold of the mic...WAT DO YOU EXPECT US TO SAY? Now some of us had the privilege to be exposed to man different forms and so were givin the beautiful thing called choice but again, we are the minority. And if variety is the spice of life...its should be the same for Hip-Hop especially since it is supposed to be an outlet for people to say what they feel, what they experience. And because of no fault of their own...there are more young Jeezys than there are Black Thoughts...plus the two are 10 years apart. Remember when mos def said something to the effect of "hip-hop is gonna be goin where we're goin and doin what we're doin?"...what a difference a decade makes.
side note: now we're not talking about the people who buy albums...we're talkin about the people who claim to live and love HipHop and the youth molded by it... so miss me with THAT SHIT.
So I'm sayin this...How is HipHop dead before 40?...Rock isn't dead...go through its history and it went through some periods where people called it dead (heavy metal) but then u had something come along like Grunge in the mid 90s...spearheaded by a genius named Kurt Cobain (r.i.p). And now in 2006...cats are rockin out again. Thats cause people didn't give up on the shit like I see people doin with Hip-Hop. I mean honestly...If something is your way of life...how can you let it die? I mean pronounce it dead urself?
side note: and I understand Nas because people like to say outlandish shit...but listen to the lyrics of the song...its a hypothetical situation kinda like on It Was Written when he was talking about if he ruled the world
Ok now i will continue: I heard Jeezy say it... I am hip-hop; I live hip-hop and I believe he's sincere. I like reading and hearing people's interviews because it shows you a side of them that doesn't always come through the lyrics and image. I remember seeing an interview with Nelly and findin out that dude is really a "hip-hop head" like he was rattlin off classic albums and artists. I'm an 80s baby who is more Black Thought than Jeezy but I'm in the minority. More people where I'm from relate to Jeezy than Black thought... so if I want to reach people...why would I approach them with the view that my taste is superior to theirs and a blatant disrespect to what they see as valid...and then get mad when they dont listen to me. I know people who are inspired to strive for greatness by Jeezy the same way I'm inspired by Lauryn Hill...real talk
Plus anybody who really recognizes Hip-Hop as a way of life recognizes that ITS MORE THAN THE FUKKIN MUSIC...
I WILL REPEAT
ITS MORE THAN THE FUKKIN MUSIC...MORE THAN THE FUKKIN MUSIC... MOOOOOOOOOORE THAN THE FUKKKIN MUUUUUUSIC...
New dances are sproutin up all over the nation...talk shit about snap music...but I'm sure the same shit was said about footwork and juke music because as i remember...the lyrics to "bangbang bang skeet skeet skeet" aren't that any better than "shake that laffy taffy." IS URBAN DANCE NOT A PART OF HIPHOP?
All you Hip-Hop is Dead people... Now I know you're thinking...UH OH Charity done
got down to the south with those snap music/ screwed and chopped/non lyrical/ trap promoting people and lost her mind...NO...MY MIND IS SHARP...and i hope i get y'all to think about the shit y'all are sayin...
Do any of you consider yourselves young leaders? (I hope so)...How does it make you feel when you hear leaders of the civil rights era say..."These youngsters are lost; they DON'T UNDERSTAND THE STRUGGLE"...have you heard that? I HAVE... and it hurts and angers me.
side note: for the purpose of this I use the term "leader" very loosely but I'm making a point...I'm sure you know the people I'm talking about and these statements they make are on of the reasons they lack respect from me.
With that out cleared up Ill continue...why do these claims anger me?
Because the struggles of generations are different therefore the methods of resistance must also be different; especially since if we want to build on what the previous generation has done and avoid the mistakes they made. So you have these people who remember the 80s and 90s Hip-Hop and what to discredit EVERYTHING THATS GOING ON NOW. Why with HipHop?...cause the shit isn't the same as when YOU were a kid... HIP HOP CANT STAY 16 FOREVER.
HIP HOP IS DEAD????... How bout the shit has grown up and had kids... Lets be generous and say Hip-Hop was birthed in 1970...that makes it 36 almost 37 years old. I was born in 1983 and started listenin to hip hop in 1996...arguably one of the BEST YEARS IN HIPHOP ALBUM RELEASES...do i really have to go down naming albums for y'all who (claim to know)...i don't think i will...do some research on your own. The point is...when I started listenin to hip-hop it was already 26 and had had some kids; (the branching of the culture nationwide and global through such avenues as MTV.)
side note: you blame the media for destroying hip-hop but youngens in LA or Chicago, let alone London and Deusseldorf (word to Pete Proper/German the HipHopper) would have ever known this shit called Hip-Hop existed...
Shall i continue... I shall
So now you have people who take the concepts of Hip-Hop that they grew up with and apply it to the lives THEY'RE living. I mean I've done the research...cause even though Lil Wayne coined the term "bling bling" rap cats were flamboyantly bragadocious since the start...with the rope chains and 4 finger rings...and I'm talkin about some of the most respected artists....HMMMM...
So now we have these 80s babies...ill throw the late 70s in there...And we're kids during all the reaganomics and the beginning of the street gang/ drug culture that people rapped about. So you have our "hip-hop parents" who rapped about it but US...that's all we know...that what we were breastfed with. So when we get a chance to get a hold of the mic...WAT DO YOU EXPECT US TO SAY? Now some of us had the privilege to be exposed to man different forms and so were givin the beautiful thing called choice but again, we are the minority. And if variety is the spice of life...its should be the same for Hip-Hop especially since it is supposed to be an outlet for people to say what they feel, what they experience. And because of no fault of their own...there are more young Jeezys than there are Black Thoughts...plus the two are 10 years apart. Remember when mos def said something to the effect of "hip-hop is gonna be goin where we're goin and doin what we're doin?"...what a difference a decade makes.
side note: now we're not talking about the people who buy albums...we're talkin about the people who claim to live and love HipHop and the youth molded by it... so miss me with THAT SHIT.
So I'm sayin this...How is HipHop dead before 40?...Rock isn't dead...go through its history and it went through some periods where people called it dead (heavy metal) but then u had something come along like Grunge in the mid 90s...spearheaded by a genius named Kurt Cobain (r.i.p). And now in 2006...cats are rockin out again. Thats cause people didn't give up on the shit like I see people doin with Hip-Hop. I mean honestly...If something is your way of life...how can you let it die? I mean pronounce it dead urself?
side note: and I understand Nas because people like to say outlandish shit...but listen to the lyrics of the song...its a hypothetical situation kinda like on It Was Written when he was talking about if he ruled the world
Ok now i will continue: I heard Jeezy say it... I am hip-hop; I live hip-hop and I believe he's sincere. I like reading and hearing people's interviews because it shows you a side of them that doesn't always come through the lyrics and image. I remember seeing an interview with Nelly and findin out that dude is really a "hip-hop head" like he was rattlin off classic albums and artists. I'm an 80s baby who is more Black Thought than Jeezy but I'm in the minority. More people where I'm from relate to Jeezy than Black thought... so if I want to reach people...why would I approach them with the view that my taste is superior to theirs and a blatant disrespect to what they see as valid...and then get mad when they dont listen to me. I know people who are inspired to strive for greatness by Jeezy the same way I'm inspired by Lauryn Hill...real talk
Plus anybody who really recognizes Hip-Hop as a way of life recognizes that ITS MORE THAN THE FUKKIN MUSIC...
I WILL REPEAT
ITS MORE THAN THE FUKKIN MUSIC...MORE THAN THE FUKKIN MUSIC... MOOOOOOOOOORE THAN THE FUKKKIN MUUUUUUSIC...
New dances are sproutin up all over the nation...talk shit about snap music...but I'm sure the same shit was said about footwork and juke music because as i remember...the lyrics to "bangbang bang skeet skeet skeet" aren't that any better than "shake that laffy taffy." IS URBAN DANCE NOT A PART OF HIPHOP?
Cat's are DJin with IPODS now...i mean we've advanced beyond vinyl...mix tapes are hotter than ever and JD's still rock the parties. Have u ever HEARD dj drama (gangsta GRIIIZZZIILLLLLLLLLLLLS) on the ones and twos? dude is niiiiiiiiice. IS THE DJ NOT A PART OF HIPHOP?
You can see graf art on trains all over the world... BUT NOW YOU CAN ALSO SEE IT IN ART GALLERIES. Artists still push the limits of free speech and expression and are using new mediums for their art... COMPUTER GRAPHICS... the stuff you see now is just amazing. IS THE STREET ART NOT HIPHOP?
And the culture is now takin over fashion...We set the trends on the runways in Paris and Milan... The bright colors, the patterns, the combinations... THATS HIP HOP MAN.
Funny how time changes... but I just hate people to shit on my livelihood like that because they remember a different time.
Even Common (one of MY favorite artists) said... IT AIN'T 94 JOE WE CANT GO BACK...
Don't be scared to embrace somebody who takes Hip-Hop in a different direction than you would because you and I can look at the same painting and when we're told to write what we see... we can have completely different answers...who am I to say mine is better.
But yea next time you say Hip-Hop is dead or this new stuff is an embarrassment... think about how you feel when you hear Al Sharpton say that the youth don't understand the struggles and are misguided... CAUSE U SOUND JUST LIKE EM.
Post a Comment
3 comments:
i'm think i'm just done with defending hip-hop.
it's rap music. it's graffiti. it's deejaying, it's breaking.
the rap music proved to be the most profitable and thus rose to the top. and so now it's the most visible. so all the focus goes there.
inevitably with the availability of the instruments of rap (i.e. things becoming cheaper, keyboard beats, fruity loops) it becomes simple economics... if you can steal fruity loops off of the internet offa some download site for free and make money selling the beats you use with this free investment, you're gonna do it if you have even the most minimal of skill at it.
if you can put some words together creatively, and make some money, you're gonna do it.
so i guess yeah hip-hop as grown up, but it has also become more intertwined with he capitalist ethic.
that's not bad in and of itself, but if it also continues to adopt the principles of exploitation that the capitalist ethic promotes, then it too will become more and more destructive.
at that point i gotta say goodbye. no matter how much i love it.
Everything that was written in this article I have wanted to shout myself. But I couldn't have said it better.
Whether people are right or not about Hip Hop's death, the arrogance and superiority thrown around is sickening. I like a beat and will get down to one with gurgling babies behind it. I don't need, nor care about the voice on the track at times. Cause sometimes I just want to dance and relax and stop analyzing all of the time.
I know what is demeaning and what has substance. But like I always say in these conversations: if groups "of substance" want to attract more attention, they need to do what Common did and get some production. Cause a beat will make you or break you. Our people are tired (in so many ways, but especially at the end of the day) and we want to relax and have a good time here and there. The main reason The Roots can't sell like Lil Jon, is cause they don't put out beats. They're all about their words, and people want music. If you give them music, they might actually get to your words later. You give people words, and they're moving on.
We are overworked and underpaid, and we want to have a good time when we turn that stereo on. And like the author said, most of the people I know and hang with and talk with are still enjoying the music, flaws and all.
So if we are truly interested in improving Hip Hop, we should go at it in a way that is not demeaning to each other.
1- Call/ email radio stations and request repeatedly what you want played.
2- Learn about the label system and see what can be done about changing deals and contracts.
3-Support artists you feel are worthwhile.
4-Introduce good artists to others; pass the cd.
5-Email/ contact video shows and ask for the artists and videos that you want to see to be played.
*Anything else you can think of, try it.
not enough people care or have time to do those things. and most cats out here are out for themselves so won't do the work to organize.
and why is it that it's often the wackest who have the more independent spirit and the dope ones go corporate?
Post a Comment