Is Hip-Hop dead? It’s both a question and bold statement that has provoked controversial arguments within the music industry. Many have wondered what went wrong, while most simply ignore the decline of this once powerful movement. What seemed to be an original and innovative genre of music has now been reduced to a monotonous and repetitive quest for money, drugs, and women.To truly appreciate hip-hop music one should be well educated in its actual background. Where did hip-hop take root? Who were its followers? What controversies did it raise? Once you’ve got a good base on the whole hip-hop movement you realize that what it’s come up to has not only morphed into a completely different genre of music but it has also transformed into commercial garbage with the intention of gaining money. It is believed that the originator of hip-hop was a Jamaican Dj by the name of Kool Herc, in the late seventies. This was the time period that actually made real hip-hop music. Dj’s were eager to produce great new music sampled from funk and disco classics capable of sounding better than their competitions’. They would use samples of popular songs at the time while composing short rhymes, or “breaks” over every beat. To compose such pieces of music took talent and hard work. If you listen to the original hip-hop records you’ll notice its complexity, swiftness, and appreciate it as a form of art. The music was so captivating that it would attract the local masses at block parties and dance clubs.Now a day it’s different. You’ll notice that in today’s “hip-hop” it doesn’t take much talent or effort to come up with a song that sounds like every other song in the radio. All you have to do is add an effortless, gay dance move, praise the city you were born in, mention your own name a couple times (in case your listeners forget whose rapping because all of you sound the same), and of course find a way to get a video on MTV featuring an already famous “hip-hop” artists. Oh, and how can I forget, you also have to have half naked girls dancing all over you, begging to have a piece of your hot self. Back when hip-hop was just making its way into the streets, each city had something new and original to contribute towards its movement. The urban youth found comfort in Hip-Hop and discovered new ways to express themselves through it. Because hip-hop’s original followers were mainly a part of the poor black community, the music explicated just that. It spoke about the hardships they would undergo in their everyday lives; drugs, police, relationships, gangs, etc. The music in other words gained popularity by its ability to make people feel as if they could relate to it. It was reality rewritten into a form of poetry. This did however, stir up controversy. Since the lyrical content of each rap had started to become products of the current environment, hip-hop was no longer confined to the party atmosphere, but to the streets. The crack epidemic had spread throughout the country, leaving poverty and chaos in its path. This was when hip-hop artists began producing more conscious rhymes, telling America the horrors of drugs and crime in the ghetto. Society of course than labeled hip-hop music as that of gang members because few failed to notice how every song had a strong positive message urging people to uplift themselves.In today’s hip-hop you see the exact opposite. Rappers actually encourage their young fans to get crunk (or crazy drunk), smoke weed, reach happiness on E (ecstasy), and take lines (coke). If teens don’t do as expected then according to today’s music they aren’t having a good time. During the early nineties, when the new television channel MTV began airing new hip-hop music videos, hip-hop had reached its peak and its popularity had began spreading world wide. That’s when big business corporations saw new opportunities to turn the Hip-Hop culture into cash. It was at this exact moment that hip-hop’s influence on society began to shifting in a new direction.American youth were no longer praising lyricism or creativity and instead they began idolizing money and fame. Rappers such as MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice became pop icons and unofficial representatives of the genre. Although the spot light was not upon such groups as Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine, they would take the airwaves by force. These groups were among the few that remained as true hip-hop artists. Their conscious in-your-face lyrics could not be ignored. They spoke directly to the public and opened their eyes to the corruption of Government and society.Unfortunately groups like these have continued to slowly disappear from the media and commercial groups are taking over. Now you turn on your television and rap icons appear in almost all product commercials, promoting materialism. It has come to the point that rappers now own their own clothes line, perfume bottle, jewelry collection, hair products, toys, cosmetics line, and even umbrellas. The sad part about all of this is that the youth is actually buying into all this, making commercial hip-hop only richer and more influential. But again, at what phase does materialism translate into art? More than just art, hip-hop has been known to raise controversies within society. Its rebelliousness only adds to its appeal. It began with the birth of the “Gangsta Rap” era in which the west coast rap scene had emerged with a new, tougher image. MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice soon disappeared as their style of music was no longer desired by the mainstream. Gangsta Rap promoted hardcore imagery of gang violence, drug use, and the degradation of women. Parents and governmental figures alike spoke out against the music, accusing it of corrupting the youth.
The controversy only proved to increase record sales as youth had a lack of respect for authority, with songs like “F*ck the Police” being broadcast on television. Major record labels tried following this formula by signing more new artists to classify themselves under this sub-genre of Hip-Hop. Though it seemed as if Hip-Hop had lost its way around this period in time, the number of ORIGINAL artists was overwhelming. The Hip-Hop community was a melting pot of diverse styles ranging from Rakim to Bustah Rhymez. The reason I emphasize the word original is because originality takes genuine creativity, which many artists today now lack. This originality uses many techniques like assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. The beat used in hip-hop is viewed as original even though it’s sampled from other songs because it manages to create a completely different style. An example of such talent was Grandmaster Flash. Not only could Flash cut from one record to the next without missing a beat, but he also added a new element. He could take phrases and sections of different records and play them over other records and therefore creating a new sound.It’s rare, but even now a days we’ll find a few hip-hop artists that rap about something worth mentioning. In 2004 for example, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Jadakiss, and Eminem took on an anti-Bush movement. They stood alone asking questions about what really happened in September 11. They weren’t afraid to ask questions, make bold statements, and offer no apologies.So as you can see hip-hop is argumentative and it has real issues rap about. It’s very odd to find “hip-hop” music these days that speaks about the concerns that are really taking place in the general public. Rapping about not being able to “dance when I’m in this place cuz you and your man is plannin to hate” and wearing “my pants below my waist” aren’t issues the world is seriously concerned about. Lyrics like these only promote an image of the typical ghetto person (which nowadays is a good thing to be) dressing like they’re poor and going to clubs/parties only to stand and watch. This way is supposed to make you look like you’re “chillin wit yo homies”. Unfortunately we all know that loitering only leads to fights because after a while of just staring out people are bound to get mad at you. All in all hip-hop music probably began declining in quality the moment the South began taking control over the air waves with their “Crunk” music. By this point neither the East nor West coast were even relevant anymore. Artists such as Lil’ Jon have now paved the way for more southern rappers to make their way on to radio and television. Every other week new dance moves are invented over essentially the same beat. Many sub-genres are created from this southern style of rap, such as “Snap” music, and “Hyphy”. The radio stations are paid to keep the same 20 songs on rotation, leaving no hope for any local artists of following their dreams.For all these reasons many have come to the conclusion that hip-hop is simply dead. Statements like these have enraged many southern rappers for their obvious exploitations of hip-hop music to make quick money. They call those who believe such things “haters” and defend their position by calling it another stage in the evolution of hip-hop. In that case it makes you wonder if maybe we should categorize rock under blues since that was where it originated. True hip-hop music should be seen as a form of art, and true art never dies. The same way that Leonardo Da Vinci’s paintings still live on to this day, true and inspiring hip-hop music will still be remembered years from now. Although dead, Tupac Shakur’s music shows evidence of how much skill and work goes into creating this music. However, these songs you currently hear on the radio will die out and soon no one will remember them. In that case, hip-hop isn’t dead. As other posers die along the way, true hip-hop will live on.
