{I Miss U Hip Hop} facebook.com/Truthwashere's Blog

Current mood:disappointed

Note: This is an extensive essay. I feel that people are not going to read this the whole way through. I worked pretty hard on this, because I knew I was going to post this for all my open minded people and even my closed minded people. This essay was revised over three times. I had people at my college revise it also. I had passionate hip hop heads look it over. Everything I wrote here, I backed up. I’m not just blabbing. I read a lot about this subject, but I felt some of the other articles I read lacked in a few areas. Well hopefully you’ll gain some insight, hopefully you really read what I wrote. I wrote this with the intentions to share with people, So in some way I wrote this for you. -Truth

Hip Hop, Who Cares

Hip Hop, I love it and hate it at the same time. There are so many people around the world that have been influenced positively and negatively by the phenomenon we call Hip Hop. But the views on Hip Hop of today are misinterpreted and blurred. Queens born native Emcee, titled his 2006 album “Hip Hop is Dead,” which posed the debate to whether this is true or not. Most of the youth today would disagree, but they disagree on the basis of what Rap music they have been exposed to, and grown up listening to. The older generation of Hip Hop heads (Hip Hop head: a person brought up and living Hip Hop culture) would disagree. The majority of Hip Hop heads consider rap and hip hop to be different. To hip hop heads, rap is considered an exploited form of pop hip hop created by greedy record labels and corporations which contain little art form and content. Hip Hop, is considered to be not only music, but a culture and life style of its own. I’ve been living hip hop culture ever since I could remember, and wouldn’t consider hip hop culture dead; rather I would consider it to be dying. Hip hop culture is dying because of the lack of history amongst the contemporary youth, greedy corporations, and the output quality of the music and artist.

            Stereotypes and misidentification of a group of people, young and old makes this a big deal. While working at a conservative office that mainly employed older people, I never allowed my coworkers to see me in my casual clothes or hear the music I listened to. The reason for this is because the music I listen to was hip hop, and the clothes that I wore outside of work sometimes involved me wearing my hat to the side and at an angle. These conservative people considered hip hop to involve drugs, violence, inferiority, and gang affiliation. I never blamed these people for their views because I knew they were exposed to Rap images and music in the media that catered these stereotypes. Only if they listen to hip hop and not popular rap would they find that not all of these stereotypes dominate hip hop culture. I am an intelligent person, I have goals, and I want the best for myself and my community. My life is not one sided; I don’t like to get violent, I don’t do drugs, and I avoid gang affiliation. I, like many others, face these dilemmas because rap music misinterprets the people of hip hop culture with something unilateral. But a lot of today’s absent minded youth and even absent minded older people continue to solidify these stereotypes and misconstrue this as hip hop culture, but they are wrong.

            The current generation lacks the knowledge of how hip hop started and what direction it pushed towards at the get go. This equates to the contemporary views of hip hop culture today and why the hip hop culture is dying. Hip Hop was born in the Bronx. According to the documentary “Independent Lens| Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” which was aired on PBS, the Bronx was split into two during 1963 through 1964 by the construction of the Bronx Express way. There was little concern for the people who lived in the community, which was primarily populated by minorities like African Americans and Hispanic Americans. In the aftermath of the city literally putting trains right through people’s neighborhood, the people were unfairly dispersed across the Bronx. The minorities who lived in the Bronx were mainly poor and had little political help from their state government. What devolved from this dilemma was the culture and art form we call Hip Hop. They expressed their energy and frustration through rapping, break dancing, DJing, and graffiti art. They took pride in where they were from, even if the political figures did not share the same feeling. One of the key protocols in hip hop culture is to represent the underdog, to give voice to the poor and forgotten.

“I can’t take the smell, I can’t take the noise. Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice. Rats in the front room, roaches in the back Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat. I tried to get away, but I couldn’t get far, because the man with the tow-truck repossessed my car. Don’t push me, cause I’m close to the edge, I’m trying not to loose my head, Its like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder, How I keep from going under,”

says Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in the song titled “The Message,” which was released in 1982.(Grandmaster Flash)  Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are consider one of the original fore fathers of Hip Hop. In today’s world of Rap, there is a lack of “The Message” in most of the songs released to the youth. The original music video of “The Message,” shows Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in the ghetto and the dreadful environment in which they lived. If you turn on the TV today and tune into MTV, BET, or VH1, you will see a different picture. Rappers are surrounded by cars, women, and money. Most of the Rap songs you hear or watch on TV consist of little or no real meaning behind the lyrics. In addition, the youth who watch this think this is what hip hop is, and they continue the cycle of what they just saw, and this in turn continues the negative views of hip hop culture by the public as a whole. Today the youth neglect to research as to how Hip Hop was born or what direction it originally wanted to move towards, because they just saw Hip Hop on TV, and it’s surrounded by violence, money, jewelry and women. To them this is Hip Hop, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. 

Hip hop culture has been exploited by the greed of the entertainment industry. Conscious rappers are faced with obstacles of getting their positive music out, unless, of course, they have the cash. According to an Article by DaveyD of San Jose Mercury News, he mentions payola played a role of who got air play (par. 9). Furthermore, DaveyD talks about a conversation he had with Questlove, a member of the legendary hip hop band “The Roots” (par. 10). The Roots band had a Grammy-winning hit featuring Erykah Badu, “You Got Me.” Questlove notes that The Roots had to pay off about a million dollars to a middle man to get air play at radio stations. Of course, at the beginning, the openly positive song was rejected. As soon as payola played a part, the song was played at key radio stations. Bob Johnson, a cofounder of the music channel BET, sold BET to Viacom and the diversity of the music channel shifted to one overall degrading theme. In a DVD titled “Confessions of B.E.T. Producer,” created by former BET Producer David K. Far-El, a.k.a. Dbrad, he discusses about his early days as a B.E.T. producer working with Bob Johnson, versus his later days as B.E.T. producer working with Stephen Hill. Dbrad speaks of his days with Bob Johnson of being free to voice his opinion, and the music videos that would be played on the music series “Rap City,” were discussed and chosen by real hip hop cultured people. After Bob Johnson sold B.E.T to Viacom, Stephen Hill was placed in by Viacom to tone down the intellectual diversity of the music videos being played. Dbrad claims that after Stephen Hill was placed as vice president of the B.E.T. network, the forty seven year old Stephen Hill would only follow his own agenda. Dbrad compares Stephen Hill’s fashion of leadership to that of a dictator. In the PBS documentary “Hip Hop| Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” filmmaker Byron Hurt confronts Stephen Hill about why the cable network plays so many videos that degrade women and reinforce stereotypes amongst minorities. The senior vice president of programming, Stephen Hill, just turns and walks away from Byron Hurt; completely disregarding the question.  In addition to the youth having little knowledge about how the hip hop movement started, they are bombarded with lyrics and pictures of an industry built hip hop world, better known as rap or pop; that’s filled with bitches, hoes, money, drugs, flashy jewelry, and violence. The themes that the youth see on TV and in music are influenced by it to some degree. What the greedy corporations disregard is the affect that they have on a demographic of people and their views. A study titled “Music, Substance Use, and Aggression,” that was conducted by the nonprofit Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation showed that if you listen to Rap music, you are more likely to use alcohol, drugs and to behave in an aggressive manner (Chen et al). However, Dr. Meng-Junn Chen, the lead author of the report admits that the survey is not comprehensive. The sample group consisted of 1,200 California community-college students ages 15-24 with 57 percent female, 27 percent Latino American, and 5 percent black. Dr. Chen mentions that this should raise concerns as to whether advertising agencies should continue using Rap music and icons as a vehicle in advertising (Chen et al.). MTV.com reported these findings in an article titled “Study Says Hip-Hop Listeners More Prone to Drugs Use, Aggression,” written by James Montgomery. Furthermore, Montgomery poses a righteous question as to why advertisers use rappers in their commercial that influence so many (Montgomery). What is ironic about this MTV.com article is that MTV is known for playing Rap music videos that promote this behavior. There is no responsibility taken here for the eyes and ears that receive these messages. The voice of Hip Hop has been changed by greedy corporations because it focused more profit margins rather than self expression.

            The composition of hip hop culture is distorted by the ultra popular rap and its one sided perspectives. During the early era of hi hop culture, the music had much more variety. During the 80’s and 90’s, hip hop groups posed different views to the audience. For example, the hip hop group “Public Enemy,” who were know for their politically charged lyrics, distaste for the media, and interest in the African American community. Public Enemy had a hit record called “Fight The Power,” which was released in 1989, and pertained strong lyrics to strong political views. The song was honored in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.” In addition to the early 80’s and 90’s diversity, there were groups such as “A Tribe Called Quest,” who rapped about everything from love, partying, and shady industry record people. The way they rapped is what made them legendary in the hip hop world, with consciousness and refreshing abstract lyrics. Further more, a rapper named “KRS-1,” also known as “The Teacher,” constantly rhymes about doing what’s righteous and being knowledgeable. KRS-1 unremittingly promotes education and better self awareness. “The Teacher,” knows that many young people listen to his music, and he does not take this for granted. He fills his poetry with encouragement to the young to pursue their dreams, and to be as educated about the world as possible. The diversity of hip hop has been overshadowed by a one track Rap world. If you turn to MTV or BET on TV, and watch so called Hip Hop/Rap music videos, you are likely to see rappers throwing money around, half naked women dancing, luxurious cars, and exaggerated clothes and jewelry. In addition, the rappers will be either talking about money, cars, clothes, drugs, violence, hoes, bitches, and/or gang life. Most of the rappers will have no obvious direction in their songs other than a catchy hook that usually makes no real sense, and lyrics that carry no real focal point. Take for example two songs, from a conscious rapper named Common Sense and current popular rapper named Flo Rida.  A song named “Right Round,” by Flo Rida contains lyrics such as “From the top of the pole I watch her go down, She got me throwin my money around, Ain’t nothin more beautiful to be found, It’s goin down down” (Flow Rida). Versus a hip hop classic “The Light,” by Common sense, where some of his lyrics include “Yo, yo, check it, It's important, we communicate, and tune the fate of this union, to the right pitch, I never call you my bitch or even my boo (slang for a significant other), There's so much in a name and so much more in you. Few understand the union of woman and man” (Common Sense). The culture of hip hop has been pushed by Rap far from its stem. Rap has made hip hop seem to be a spoof and almost to the point where it’s to laugh at. The constant images of popular Rap make the hip hop culture look invalid. Not everyone who listens to hip hop is into drugs, disrespecting woman, exaggerated lifestyles, and violence. What Rap music misinterprets about the hip hop community is that there are young and old people who listen to the music and take part in the culture, are also self awarded, intellectual, and educated people, with genuine views on life and their community.  The Rap theme does not represent the hip hop culture as a whole; it only reflects a division of people who are into, Rap. But, due to quality, misinterpret it for hip hop. The negative influence of Rap music has contaminated hip hop culture. Drugs, violence, and demoralizing yourself is why hip hop was born. Hip hop is not around to promote these perils, but to counter them. In actuality people originally clung to hip hop to avoid these circumstances.

A lot of people may disagree. Some may object to hip hop culture dying due to such current music chart toppers like 50 Cent, T.I., and so on. Hip hop culture and lifestyle are not based on popular music and Billboard Hot 100 music charts. Hip hop is a lifestyle that people live. The way you talk, walk, dress, and the energy you feel from it is what makes hip hop culture, not Billboard’s Hot 100 music chart. In addition, the reason why 50 Cent and T.I. sell so many albums is sex, violence and drugs do appeal to the masses and help sell. Another objection may be that old school rappers rapped about partying and girls, much like today’s rappers. This may be true, but if you take old songs such as “Rappers Delight,” by The Sugerhill Gang, or “Planet Rock,” by Afrika Bambaataa, you would see the diversity between the styles of both records. “Rappers Delight,” may have been a popular club song, but the song contained skillful lyrics and rhythm, versus a current Rap song that follows a stereotypical protocol. Afrika Bambaataa did not rap so much on their records, but let the beat of the music take control. Afrika Bambataa would every now and then say something on the record to get the crowd to dance more, but they did not have to talk about sex, violence, and drugs to accomplish that.  Emcees of the past made sure that they put some quality and skill in the music that they made, versus today’s stereotypical recipe for a Rap hit. Finally, an argument would be hip hop is not dead, and that’s how it is. For these people who believe hip hop culture is not dead, they are partly right. Real hip hop culture has turned its back against the popular and the mainstream. Hip hop culture is still alive, although it may be harder to find. The reason for this is that hip hop is trying to separate itself from all the lies of Rap that contaminate its appearance. This may lead to another argument: why then is everyone saying hip hop is dead? Hip hop heads say hip hop is dead as a means to wake up the people. The genuine population of real hip hop livers are a small margin, and it continues to get smaller in the shadow of negative Rap.

            Why is Hip Hop culture becoming a dying legacy? This questions leads me to other questions such as, why does the youth neglect to discovery hip hop’s origin and history, why are greedy record labels so greedy, and why is the quality of music put last on the list? Hip hop is more than rapping, break dancing, DJing and graffiti art. Hip hop is me, and I and so many others are much more. Hip hop started out in the parks, with the break dancers, the emcees, the DJs, the beautiful murals of graffiti, and most important the forgotten people’s self expression. Just like the dim street lights that use to light up the parks for hip hop, hip hop is not dead, but just a dim light that’s hard to see. The next obvious question would be, how do we fix hip hop? There are many approaches that can be taken. For instance, promoting self expression rather money quotas, keeping quality first, and taking responsibility for what is written lyrically. Most important, the best solution is for hip hop culture to separate itself from mainstream rap to show the difference between the two music genres. If you are young or old and listen to Rap music and consider yourself a hip hop type of person, also consider if the Rap music defines you. If your answer is yes, then you don’t know Hip Hop!

Work Cited

500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. 2007. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum. 5 May 2009. ..

Chen, Meng-Junn. Et al. “Music, substance use, and aggression.” PIRE. 2006. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. 5 May 2009 ..

Common. “The Light.” Like Water For Chocolate. MCA Records. 2000

DaveyD. “Is Hip Hop Really Dead?.” AlterNet. 3 March 2007. AlterNet. 5 May 2009 ..

Far-El, D. “Confessions of a BET Producer.” Myspace, 15 March 2007. Myspace. 5 May 2009 < http://www.myspace.com/dbrad76>

Far-El, D. “Confessions of a BET Producer.” Youtube, 15 March 2007. Youtube. 5 May 2009 < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm0mEfL8S9s>

Flo Rida. “Right Rounds.” R.O.O.T.S.. Atlantic. 2008

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. “The Message.” The Message. Sugar Hill Records, 1982.

Hurt, B (Producer). Hurt, B (Director).  2006. Hip Hop| Beyond Beats and Rhymes [Motion Picture]. United States: PBS

James Montgomery. “Study Says Hip-Hop Listeners More Prone To Drug Use, Aggression.” MTV.18 April 2006. MTV. 5 May 2009 ..

Public Enemy. “Fight The Power.” Do The Right Thing. Tamla. 1989