As I sit here and listen to the oh so hard rhymes of Common's "I Used to Love H.E.R.," I just can't understand what happened to my beloved hip hop. I'm just asking for one rapper to step forward, and leave all your pretenses of being a soldier of the streets behind you, and actually become the hip hop artist that fights for your people.
But as always, I'm going to be disappointed. Disappointed by the lack of caliber artists on the streets that can actually rhyme something other than "cash" and....the fight for equality among all Americans?
Hip hop is not just some tool. It never has been. A tool is something you use to gain for yourself. Hip hop is about selfless-ness, rallying, defying, changing, living, being! Now tell me please, where do drugs, guns, alcohol, promiscuous, young, and scantily clad females come into play when those of a darker skin complexion are still fighting to just get considered in the same light as our fairer skinned counterparts?
There's a lot of talk today about racism against Caucasians and unfair standards towards them. But let's be real. Minorities are still stuck in the same ghettos they were at during the Civil Rights Movement. Just now we can use the same bathroom as you all? A bathroom you wouldn't use anyways because it looks too "ghetto?" But yet, while minorities are suffering in these neighborhoods, we continue to make it harder for those trying to leave by perpetuating a stereotype of laziness, stupidity, and downright lack of respect for our peers as well as others. All through a simple 808 with a sped up 60s track laid over it, and a rapper that says nothing more than how much stuff he bought with the royalties from the track he hasn't even released yet. Educated, right?
But the fault lies with us. We are all the people that buy these albums, download the songs illegally, and keep these cowardly soldiers fat and happy. When was the last time you heard someone randomly talking on the bus downtown about how fly that new joint from Talib Kweli is? Or how Mos Def ripped it on this sample you heard? Or how this new kid took Bush on in a whole song? You haven't. Because we are too busy learning how to "crank that soulja boy" and "pop, lock, and drop it."
The change lies within us. When are MINORITIES going to start thinking progress? Hopefully soon is my response, because the America we live in is going to need it.
The So-Called Hip-Hop Soldier
By jon88 - Posted on April 20th, 2008
Tagged: Rap Music
• Think Progress
Hip hop barely even exists anymore. It seems as if all music that you hear of is controlled entirely by the producers...milking the pain for the maximum gain$$$. If someone real comes up, he is immediately sued by the recording corporations for things that everyone does. I'm not pretending to know a lot about what's going on here; maybe you could teach me?
To be honest, all I know is what I've personally experienced. I've seen my friends from home that quite possible could be the next best lyricist get turned down because they were "too political" or "weren't fun enough." It comes down to what sells. And it's actually more of the label company as opposed to the producer that controls the outlook of an album. This is why sometimes, you have artists that seemingly disappear off the face of the planet because they refuse to put out an album that has the direction that the label foresees in it. People just generally would rather listen to a song about "ballin'" as opposed to one getting them to finally move and do something about the situation they have put themselves in.
My one piece of advice to those trying to break in with a new kind of hip hop though: don't let them change you. There are those artists, like the few I mentioned earlier, that do have the power to ignite change within our communities and have. The movement started with the Wrap It Up Campaign against AIDS, and it could go anywhere now. It just needs the right motivation, and a label company that's not brainwashed by the masses.
There is a racial tradgedy in our country, & I think that things changed for the worse during the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. had great ideas. He started things going in the right direction, but his death left a vacuum that wasn't filled by another leader of his caliber.
My understanding of black communities in the United States prior to the '70's is that there was a moral fiber. I think that the family was a cornerstone of these societies. Is this true?
It seems that Luther lasted long enough to get people fired up & when he was killed, people of a more militant and demanding nature filled the gap. It seems that blacks (I assume you are talking mostly about blacks) began to feel that they were entitled to something & that they needed to fight for it. They needed to make up for lost time. It seems that the black communities feel apart over what it was they thought they had coming to them. When people get the feeling they are entitled to something, they don't have, they are in great danger of losing their morality, for the sake of getting it. Prostitution, drugs, and crime are easy money & money is what Americans feel they need in order to be anyone.
Affirmative action didn't help. Welfare didn't help. The modern diversity initiatives are really annoying, though there may be some OK dialogue being built, diversity is being hijacked by the immorality (homosexual) agenda. No social program will really help.
What do you think is needed to progress? I spent a lot of my childhood on or near Indian reservations. They get free housing, government subsidies, & often a huge sum of money when they become adults. Still they struggle with alcoholism & despair. It isn't the stuff that will solve their problems. They need their dignity.
There are so many things you addressed that i felt I should just take them one by one. Firstly, I disagree with you that the militant leaders of the black community had a negative impact on the community of minorities in general. For one, they taught us that it was okay to be angry and not have the submissive role of our forefathers, while simultaneously empowering more and more of our society to take the step to challenge what we assumed was "progress" towards the equality we all longed for.
Secondly, I do feel that welfare and its supporters have done more damage than good by simply offering an easy way out. Yes, Americans are concerned with their monetary value, but what more do you expect when minorities were given a price for their worth in life? When your whole history's basis is on finding what you are really worth, isn't it logical that we would all look to material objects to substantiate that? And as a sidenote, it's not exactly kosher to refer to the African-American community as "blacks" (plural). It tends to have a slave-like connotation.
And lastly, your assumption was incorrect that I was speaking about the black community. I actually am Puerto Rican and would love for Hispanics, the largest minority group in the country, to be recognized if only we were allowed an equal membership in society. But I'm no fool. I've come to realize that my race will be unable to win that war if the African-American community is still in its first battle.
So maybe a few militant leaders now could rally the civil rights troops once again, and stop minorities in general from sitting on their laurels.
Honestly. I am a fan of hiphop, and I am also an artist myself. Hip-Hop originally was party music, where the dj would rhyme over a breakbeat. Over time it also developed a flashyness to it, where emcees would throw insults at their opponents while also rapping about their own exploits. Some exploits included jewelry, women, and cars.
In the late 80's with groups like Public Enemy and BDP came the activism, and socially conscience rap. Rappers have always given back to the community, even now.
So basically, rap is what it has always been. An avenue for an artist to express his feelings through a "rap". I find it amusing to hear people say that rap has to go back to its roots. Because raps roots are parties, jewelry, women, clothes, cars, etc.
So I guess we are already there
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
Unfortunately, I'm not talking about rap. I'm talking about hip hop, and if your term for hip hop is socially conscious rap then so be it. To that is what I am referring.
Hip hop is not a form af music. It is a culture that derives of 4 principles:
rap, turntablism, graffiti, and breaking. Those are the four elements of the culture of hiphop. Those who could relate to one of the four were known as hip-hoppers.
So, if you are referencing the music of the hiphop culture then you must be talking about rap. However, I do concede that in the past five or so years, the mainstream has lumped most urban music into either hiphop or the r&b category. This is simply an attempt to water down a strong genre. Tru rap music, offers no harmonies, and doen't need choruses. These were things adapted from r&b/pop music to sell the form better.
Now, getting to your definition of socially conscience rap. I do feel that in todays world, conscience rap does keep the truest to the original idea, but we should not abandon a genre just because one segment is lost. What if rock and roll fans stopped listening because alternative rock had lost mainstrem popularity?
If you really want to find good socially conscience rap, then you must look for it. Go on myspace, or rhapsody. There are thousands of people who make the music you like. you just have to find them.
Good Blog by the way.
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
First off, thanks (AND I just saw Meth and Red in concert on Wed and it was so fly) :-)
Secondly, I'm completely aware of all the expressions of hip hop. Just in my opinion, music should always be under a constant revolution, keeping the ideas/concepts new and fresh. And unfortunately, I don't see Soulja Boy leading a rap revival. I'm simply asking that someone who has the lyricism and metaphorical capabilities step up to the plate. Those artists that are that skilled have the ability, if they tried of course, to be one of the few voices there are for minorities. But instead, they're taking the hottest line you've ever heard to compare it to their latest Cavalli sunglasses. I just feel hip hop or rap or whatever is happening to play on the radio is so often the embodiment of minorities and the first medium others look at to make their perceptions that it's difficult to understand how we are going to better anything if people looking from the outside in can't hear our real concerns?
I feel you, but a person's perceptions is just that, perceptions. Think about it like this. In the 80's when hair bands ruled the mainstream, did Americans assume that all white guys just wanted to party, get girls, and do drugs?
Those who still harbor prejudices against minorities just look for anything to substanciate their claims. So, yes, current rap music does shed a negative light on minorities, IF you believe that lyrics and videos are a generalization of minority cultures. I do not.
Also, if we really think about it, what are the main themes behind any and all current entertainment? Whether it is hollywood movies, or Country music, all entertainment is themed off of sex, or violence. So rap is really no different than any other current entertainment genre.
Finally, I feel that we do have artists who are out to change this negative view. G.O.O.D. Music, Kanye's label, has mainstreamed multiple new artists in just the past few years. From, Lupe, to Common, to John Legend, to Kanye himself, there is alot of GOOD music outthere; pun intended.
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
Of course I agree that sex sells right along with violence. But I guess the optimist in me hopes that at some point we, as minorities, would be able to come together to present ourselves in a positive light as well as support those artists that do address the issues. Yes, a few have broken through but even Lupe has "Superstar" on replay. When I heard "Hip Hop Saved My Life" (suprisingly enough) you have to wonder why that isn't getting more airplay? And to be honest, the realist in me is wondering why MTV chose to put it on the air in the first place? The problem isn't that there is a lack of good music. It's that there is a lack of artists willing to put their careers on the line to spit about something other than what sells. And mostly, there are a lack of LISTENERS willing to listen to something other than the norm.
“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours." -- Cesar Chavez
very true. I think first artists have to segway away from hoes and guns, into just plain having fun. Lets make hip-hop fun again. That is the only thing I give Solja Boy. He made it fun to dance and be silly. Once people aren't afraid of not being "gangster" enough, then we drop some knowledge on them.
Like I said I am a Rap artist. I have released music, and done shows opening for top talent. Fans at concerts want to have fun. I think that right now rap music is stuck in between gangster and fun. The two just dont mix very well. Soon, rap will be more fun than gangster, then the fun rap will mix with the next trend, and like you I hope it will be a truthful, positive, activist trend.
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
I don't even listen to the crap on the radio anymore, all of it is the same weather it be country, pop or hip=hop..
you want real artist?? listen to Luthar Vandros, Carol King, NAt King COle, FRank SAnatra, Ben Harper, Or Corrien Baily Rae. Those are real artist. Their songs mean something. That's real music.
It's sad now-a-days all the music on the radio is about drugs, sex, murder, super soaken that..OHHH.
little kids dancs and know the words to songs sining about "she called him on the phone and touched herself"
People make money of of sick crap like that...i don;t even listen tot he radio anymore unless it's NPR news.
~I want to know God's thoughts, the rest is just details.-Albert Einstein~