Hip is the knowledge. Hop is the movement.
- KRS One
Sunday, February 6, 2011
What is NOT Hip Hop
After seeing this a somber mood descended upon me, disappointment, secondhand embarrassment, and admittedly a mild sense of disgust. I just don't see how a person in the public eye can be this unprepared to present themselves on public television. Correction: On live public television.
This is what is NOT Hip Hop.
Waka Flocka is a current popular artist in the mainstream from Georgia (born in New York, *bows head in shame*). I'm not going to knock his work, nor his success, because I'm not exactly going to make this a hate blog, but this is embarrassing. Rappers haven't always had the most ideal images in the media, but one of pure ignorance on topics as basic or simple as education or voting is extremely important. You have to have A REAL OPINION! Anything! Especially if they're spoon-feeding you an opportunity to make a reasonably good impression. You have kids watching you. Idolizing you. Get it together, man!
Just don't bring down the artists that have some decent intellect with you if you're going to do something this careless.
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Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's not part of the genre. This IS hip-hop. It's a genre that's increasingly becoming tarnished and you can't just dismiss the trash because it's trash. Just ignore it. For once, someone should just IGNORE IT. By addressing it at all you're giving it more attention than it deserves. So many bad songs are popular simply because they're so bad. I want to know about the hidden gems. Everyone knows the garbage--the problem is that many ONLY know the garbage. What good is there in hip-hop right NOW? What good HAS there been in hip-hop since its glory days? I mean, why are you a hip-hop enthusiast if you think hip-hop has gotten worse over time? You say rap to the future, but are you really just stuck in the past?
ReplyDeleteA few points:
ReplyDelete1) This post is obviously not dismissing the trash, but rather acknowledging it for what it is, and making the point that creating an image of ignorance on this level is absolutely unacceptable. At least in my opinion.
2) In the general definition, this is Hip Hop. In my definition, mind you many others (who are probably far older than myself) would agree, much of the music that does exist and plays on the radio is vastly different from what Hip Hop - THE MOVEMENT - was really about. Soul, Social Issues, Struggle, Pain, Poetic Lyricism, Clever self-promoting lyrical content, Metaphors, Unique style in delivery of a message.
Hip Hop today has a different focal point that is far more superficial than in the golden days.
3) No offense, but you have terribly misconstrued my position in all these issues. There ARE some good things in Hip Hop right now, but I have only three posts and I WILL get to that. In fact, I'll make that my next post just for you, "anonymous."
4) I am a Hip Hop Enthusiast for the level of respect, admiration, and appreciation that I have for the original Hip Hop music and many of the ones who have passion in the genre and treat it with respect, as opposed to a tool for monetary gain. Hip Hop HAS gotten worse over time, in my opinion, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate how it does exist in today's industry.
5) Lastly, I am not stuck in the past. Just appreciating it, and connecting it with the present, in order to invoke the kind of conversation I am now having with you. Thanks to a few current figures, I am very hopeful for their future, and to an extent, the future of Hip Hop/Rap.