Did Hip-Hop Really Die?

Posted by Mack of Sound-Savvy On 1:41 PM

While sitting around with my girls in a cipher, we got to thinking: when Nas went on a tirade expressing that hip-hop is dead, did he really mean what he said? So we broke it down, and this is what we came up with. Granted, this is a prospective brought to you by three 80s babies, it can possibly bring you to the same consensus...
Hip-hop is the foundation from which all other types of genres were derived. Hip-hop consisted of emceeing, deejaying & factoring in break dancing & graffiti. The essence of hip-hop has been lost, but it can very well be resurrected. Growing up, I listened to Oaktown 3-5-7, Run DMC (in my Adidas!) Salt N Pepa, just to name a few, but here in present day, I can’t stomach the acts that are out now.
I’m more on the tip of listening to conscientious rap; something that feeds my soul that GOOD FOOD, empowering me to be better, instead of the coonery that Soulja Boy & his crew are portraying. Don’t get me wrong, you might’ve seen me “Supaman dat hoe” a few times, out of fun of course, but that’s not real music. Artists such as Soulja Boy could very well be the main argument for why, in Nas’ opinion, hip-hop is dead. I give major kudos to Common, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Little Brother & other artists like them, because they bring real issues to the table. They have a fan base, but in my opinion, they don’t eat as good as your Rick Ross’ or Lil’ Wayne. How much weight can you push, or how many times can the word bitch or hoe be thrown out there?
The world has changed, and I can’t blame the young teeny bopper generation for the things that they don’t know about. They’re ignorant, only because they weren’t & haven’t been exposed to what REAL is. Hip-hop hasn’t died, it has been filtered, diluted & stored away in a time capsule; hoping to one day be opened & be resuscitated. For now, I guess as a consumer of music, I have to turn a deaf ear to this new gimmick they call music. Keep in mind these are just my thoughts & aren’t in no way shape or form meant to insult.


-Mello-

3 comments and counting...

  1. bshepjr Said,

    i see nasir jones bamboozled yall too, lol.

    at the end of the day, all he wants to do is sell records, so what does he do, he shocks people. shock titles, shock topics etc. and to top it off, he's one of the premier rappers in the game today.

    hip hop was never dead, it's what YOU perceive it to be.

    Posted on May 27, 2008 at 1:01 PM

     
  2. Kimesha Said,

    Ok...this one right here is a very touchy subject. I'm a 80s baby myself and I love the music I grew up on, I wish it was played more often on the radio. But I don't believe Hip Hop is dead. What people should do is respect Hip Hop for what it is...its a culture. It evolves over time and each generation. You know sometimes you hear old folks saying we don't know any real music and we listen to garbage (my parents say it all the time), well as we are getting older, we are feeling the SAME EXACT way about the current music being played. Every generation will have its own "thing". Whether it be the type of music they listen to, the clothes, or the hairstyles...it will continue to change.

    Overall, I don't listen to the radio. I still to this day bump Fugees "The Score". The music I like isn't played on the radio. The content has gone down. The lyrics in some of these songs drive me crazy. I heard a song the other day titled "That baby don't look like me." It was the hook that had people singing it (let me clarify that I wasn't singing it). No one listens to lyrics anymore, just something that the can bump to in their car or dance to at the club. I think Gnarls Barkley is one of the best groups out right now. Their lyrics are like a healing session for me, but its sad that they will never get the radio play that they deserve. But sometimes, everything aint for everybody.

    Hip Hop ain't dead, its still living...but you just have to respect the evolution.

    Posted on May 30, 2008 at 8:05 AM

     
  3. ~tanya b.~ Said,

    Hip Hop is not dead! To agree with the previous post, Hip Hop has evolved with the people. It is, in deed, a culture and only those who are AVID music lovers, like myself, will be able to see that the art of Hip Hop doesn't live through the "bling" or the "20's" but it lives through the people. Everywhere you go, you see the strong influence of Hip Hop. When E. badu mentioned that it's bigger than the Religion, my nigga, and the Government....there's no way one can say that this genre is dead!

    Posted on May 30, 2008 at 8:56 AM

     

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