“Hip Hop they sat out in the dark, they used to do it out in the park” With this famous refrain we learned “how it all started way back when”. So what happened? I mean I love To see where Hip Hop has gone from the projects to Park Place, but where is the soul? I was on a hip hop website just today and there was an article about a semi famous rapper named Saigon who was cosigning 50 cents ‘gangsta” “he’s a goon, he’s in the streets”. When did being “in the streets” become a prerequisite for being a dope MC? What happened to MC’s trying to uplift the masses? I know I’m a hater or I’m just old and out of touch lol. That may be true, but all these rappers letting their ‘guns bust” and “laying bodies down” are basically caricatures and roles that they play .The problem is you have kids who try to emulate this nonsense and prove they can “bust a cap” at somebody http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0511091cred1.html
Now this idiot may have ruined his life trying to be a thug.
Don’t get me wrong I am all for freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The problem is how to counteract the ignorance with intelligence. You can go to Youtube or World Star Hip Hop and see an array of, I’ll loosely call them “MC’s” bragging about how gully they are. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Svo7ceIr4 or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKLs6MTf14g . The problem is a song like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOtFcuDtOLU will not get any airplay because it goes against the grain. I’m not saying every song has to be “Fight the Power”. I’m all for party records. I actually have to give props to Soulja Boy tell em, he’s following his own lane and not trying to follow any other formula. My problem is strictly with the studio killers. Right now if you’re a millionaire why are you talking about shooting and robbing? I know I know “I’m just speaking on the harsh realities of my existence” I am so tired of that BS line. Why not try and change that reality? I just want to see people with skills, show they have skills leave all the gun talk to people that really live that life.
I know plenty of street cats and former street cats.They laugh at these studio gangsters that perpetuate the ignorance in Hip Hop now. It seems like the thing to do is name yourself after a semi famous or infamous bad guy i.e. 50 Cent , Freeway Rick Ross, Noriega to name a few. They take the name and persona of said bad guy and use it to push their agenda of being Super Killer Thug . Now in the 70’s when you had Blaxploitation flicks all the heroes were pimps and gangsters. The difference in those movies was that the enemy was always the establishment, from The Mack to Superfly. They were always fighting the system and trying to get out of the game. Now the game is to act like a buffoon and talk about how many black men you can kill. How many guns you bust? Maybe it’s just nostalgia on my part ,or lack of any real lyrical skills from the “goons” that populate the culture, but I want to see MC’s really be MC’s and spit a hot 16 once in awhile without gun talk. In the words of Jay Z “It’s only so long fake thugs can pretend” I’m gonna leave you with one of the best to ever do it . Peace and Love people
2 comments:
Your passion for hip hop came shining through. It's somewhat poetic...but to comment on what you said, you're telling the truth! I love the part about millionaires rapping about shooting someone! LOL
Dennis, we got back to the days of "THG" and "Def Nation" LMAO!! I was never one that hung out much, but I don't remember it being about killing anyone either. The ignorant ones will say that we are old and out of touch or haters, like you stated. They will eventually fall by the wayside and become "Wannabes". The smart ones will listen and have the capacity to change and incorporate something useful for our people into their music. I have heard Puffy called a "sellout". He is still making money. And it is no longer about "layin' bodies down" and "shootin' a nigga". We lost Tupac and Biggie before they could even really enjoy their success. Hasn't any of them learned from that?
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