By: Ashley Bennett
It echoes though MySpace pages and blogs around the world, is whispered in concert halls and smaller venues, even manages to trickle into text messages and random lunch conversation: Is hip-hop dead? The culture birthed by KRS-One and Public Enemy has been left in the hands of Soulja Boy and Flo Rida. Everyone more concerned with the beat and the dance then the lyrics and the perception of the culture. This leaves those who “used to love H.E.R.” like the Common song, left tuning their iPods to oldies but goodies, and trying to forget the disastrous turn that the once loved genre has made.
Meanwhile, those faithful to the culture of hip-hop nod their heads steadily in approval. They’ve done more than scratch the surface; they’ve dug deep into the earth and struck oil, because true hip-hop has returned to the underground.
To the innocent on-looker, its rather easy to confuse hip-hop with rap. Rap being controversial for its promotion of violence and degradation of women, among other things. Hip-hop is not that. Hip-hop is a culture, a unifying force, the new generation’s gospel, screaming to anyone that will listen that though times are hard, we can find strength in each other. It assures that times have been hard before, and will be hard again, but we will persevere.
In our country’s current state of affairs this seems like a message we’d want to hear. However, in an attempt to escape, my generation has twisted and convoluted the beloved hip-hop and replaced it with rap. The primary representation of African-American culture as it pertains to music has an infamous reputation for slander and disrespect; yet we, as African-Americans, wonder why we aren’t taken seriously in the business world. Comedians and politicians alike publicly ponder how to defend a genre with nothing left to defend, and if, by giving up on the music, we give up on a whole people in itself. And hip-hop? Hip-hop returned to its quiet corner, waiting patiently. Exuding an urban elegance that can only be portrayed by one who speaks the truth. Through the rapper Kanye West and the MC Lupe Fiasco hip-hop whispers that if we look for it hard enough, its message will always be there.
Apparently hip-hop’s resilient reliability can’t compare to the flashing lights, fast cars, and abundant women that come with living in the rap world. “Yea I’m in the game, but if I say I rap you’ll be lookin’ for my Range, gold chain and my strap,” Says the MC Blu about the complexities of approaching women as a “rapper” without the glamour and prestige that comes with the genre. Being an MC is no longer accepted among the masses, you’re either a rapper or you’re nothing. Its easy to see why hip-hop would appear to be on the decline, if the artist doesn’t have a strong enough motivation to continue doing what they’re doing. However, some artists do have this motivation, and they are the ones who keep the faithful listeners coming back for more.
One such artist being the Los Angeles native Blu, who recently put out a project entitled “Below the Heavens” dealing with the struggle of being an artist trying to produce something of a higher caliber then what is expected in today’s musical era. "Artists want to get paid so badly that they are (reluctant) to push the bar a little bit. Hip-hop has always been a music that took chances; that's what made it different than all other music. (The music) is suffering because artists aren't taking chances anymore." Says the pioneer Doug E. Fresh, whose seminal anthem "The Show" with Slick Rick helped change hip-hop. Blu fully intends to “push the bar” even if it requires him to give up the things that seem go hand in hand with his profession, such as women, flashy chains, and expensive trips to the club. This only mildly phases him however, he sees it as a sacrifice for his art. His songs show that he’s dedicated to producing something pleasing for the true followers of the genre, and he hopes that they can bear with him through the harder times so that they can make it to the light together.
And that’s what hip-hop’s all about, the acknowledgment that all struggle is community struggle, and that though your pain may be individual, you don’t have to bear it alone. Humble in its beginnings yet almost arrogant in its ambitions for the future, the genre, the culture of hip-hop will not be stopped, and it is not dead. It simply waits for those who really want the message, so if you’re looking for hip-hop, look a little closer. Its there. Watching. Waiting. Whispering.
So uhm...yea, thats the rough draft tho. Still gotta tweak it a bit. Hope yall like.
Duecersz
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