Present-day hip hop is a product of recycled beats, one more easily discarded for the next. They’re little more than patchwork quilts of our beloved rap medleys, with few exceptions setting themselves apart from the heap.
At this point, some of our younger readers are probably saying “forget your vinyl records and mixed tapes Pops!”
So what exactly is the problem? Rap used to have heroes.
Run DMC gave us beats from the streets. They fused rock with a bad rap scene, leaving us bobbing our heads to jams like ‘Walk This Way” as it blared out of our boomboxes or Stephen Tyler’s trademark sandpaper-and-nails voice competing for attention with Rev Run’s shouts and Jam Master’s erratic turntable scratching. Run DMC showed us rap didn’t have a rigid guideline or a production formula to produce dope rhymes. They taught us to think on either side of the {beat}box.
Public Enemy took shots at the status quo like no other rap group before or since, delivering masterpieces that not only challenged our governments, but also challenged our perceptions. “Fight the Power, Don’t Believe the Hype, Can’t Trust It”, to name just a few, gave us something worth thinking about. Their tracks are stapled to our minds not only on account of their social message, but also because they kicked lyrical ass!
Every time I hear a track on the radio, it’s some
But what I can’t continue to live with (not on my radio) is the lack of creativity and originality. More and more we seem to fail to inspire anything worth keeping. Maybe it’s just plain laziness, but we continue to perpetuate a recycled, disposable hip hop culture.
Today our lyrics are pumped out by YOUNG or Lil’ something or other: Young Buck, Young Jeezy, Young Joc and Young Dro…we have Lil’ Wayne, Lil’ Jon, Lil Woozy, Lil’ Kim and Lil’ Flip. Our hip hop artists all seem to be about bling, benjamins & Bentleys. It’s the same old themes of half naked hoes {women} and phat mansions with the same beats, just a different rapper singing the same rhyme.
What the hell is going on? Did I miss the memo or something?
We need thought-provoking lyrics; we need urban poets; we need our artist to represent us. Music, like all great art, needs to transcend the period it represents by telling its story, not selling a gimmick.
My beloved music has been raped of its identity. We need the next Rakim, Chuck D, KRS-ONE (Knowledge Reign Supreme Over Nearly Everyone), Slick Rick, LL Cool J, Tupac, Queen Latifah and Mc Lyte. Who’s going to step up to the plate and lead the next generation of story tellers?
We won’t get urban poetry unless we demand it from our artists. We need to challenge these young men and women to articulate lyrics and stories that will inspire communities to live better.
Nas proclaimed Hip Hop Dead…Let’s start the RESURRECTION! {w}
profiling: volume i, issue ii
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