You Ain’t Sayin Nuthin: Rap Music’s Lost Message
“People thinking MC is shorthand for misconception”
Talib Kweli-”Definition”
Maybe sales are down because nobody wants to hear what you have to say…
“I think I chose to become a rapper because I had alot of things I wanted to say and I wanted to make sure it reached the people. I didn’t want it to go over the heads of people, and at that point R&B music wasn’t really being used to make any statements. It was Hip-Hop…it was message music. I was inspired to have a conscious statement, a conscious message in my lyrics….That’s why I started rhyming, that’s why I started rappin.” Lauryn Hill
Hip-Hop is NOT dead. (Just wanted to get that out the way.)
But it is missing something.
We still have rappers talking about their paper chase. We still have the gun-toting, drug narratives being rapped about. Videos still have cars, jewelry, and (of course) the video girl(s). There’s a bit more dancing, a little less head-nodding. And there’s no decline in rappers who “put on” for they city (or at least think they are); reppin your block, hood, or city is still mandatory.
But where are the rappers who want to do more than that? Where are the rapper who see themselves as more than rappers?
What made Hip-Hop grow beyond a “fade” or another form of artistic expression, was it’s ability to produce social commentary. Rappers were literally the Master of Ceremonies: they were in charge of telling the greater public about the reality of urban American life, particularly the daily reality for people of color in this society.
And that is why stories of drugs, guns, and the sort came forth. It is not the entire reality, but it is certainly a part of it. Rapping was an exercise in truth-telling, not fantasy.
This isn’t to box Rap music into one category. Of course it could more than that. Of course it could be different than that. Music can be whatever the musicians decide it to be. Culture can be produced by a variety of experiences, opinions, and expressions.
What made Rap music so special was that is could provide social commentary. Delivering a message is at the root of being a MC. A conscious message about the social condition of a people; a people who historically have been underrepresented and faced political, economic, and racial injustice. It is that power that made rapping more than just music; it is what made Hip-Hop a movement.
This is the core of what made America stand up and pay attention to Hip-Hop. This is what legitimized it.
Today we see less acknowledgment and engagement of Hip-Hop’s social consciousness. A large part of it is that now the culture is big business. The beauty of the artform is that it allowed those who have financial difficulty access to MONEY. Money that would address many of the struggles chronicled in their music. You can’t blame rappers for protecting their economic interest.
And you can’t blame consumers for not buying it.
The height of Hip-Hop records sales came when the music was at it’s most diverse, most introspective, and most creative. You have MC’s who could construct stories as good as any novelist. Rappers who could craft narratives and string words together like a poet laureate. They could bring alive vivid images and detailed storylines just like a skilled film director or a gifted storyteller. They could speak about violence, murder, hope, and family all in the same breath; and that is a gift indeed. The music was art because the musicians respected its artistry and its skill.
People wanted to hear that. Masses wanted to share in the cultural, musical, and artistic excellence Hip-Hop provided.
But it is undeniable that we have lost that strive for excellence. Perhaps it is because music doesn’t share a message anymore.
Maybe people want to hear about how gentrification is affecting the residents of inner-city communities. Maybe people want to hear how South Bronx, Brooklyn, and Harlem residents feel about condos being built in their neighborhoods. Maybe they want to know how young Black and Latino women feel about HIV/AIDS and why they are the disease’s number one victims. Maybe people want to hear how Obama’s Presidential run in influencing Black youth. Maybe people want to hear about how these hard economic times is affecting the hood. Maybe people want to hear what a generation of wealthy rappers plan to do to provide economic opportunity to a community of people who still struggle financially. Maybe listeners want to hear about what is going on in our society.
Perhaps MC’s, rappers, and Hip-Hop need to remember it’s roots as message music.
Michael Partis
www.michaelpartis.blogspot.com
myspace.com/hiphopthought
michaelpartis@gmail.com
34 Comments so far
its all about fun now… and theres like 80% fun in the game 20% real life
very insightful. and yet i must disagree.. i think “What made Hip-Hop grow beyond a “fade” or another form of artistic expression” was its commercial appeal and its emulation of pop music… in other words, the business aspect. The genre has certainly seen some of its most gifted wordsmiths crumble in the sales department (I see you, Talib). I can’t cosign with this article simply ’cause it suggests that hip-hop’s pop-culture expansion is due to its ’social conciousness’. I’m no ’80’s baby, but i do remember the likes of “holla, holla”, “money ain’t a thing”, “in da club”, and “real slim shady” being responsible for introducing the genre to an audience beyond national borders. Hip-hop enthusiasts need to be careful of how they condemn hip-hop’s mainstream side, for that is precisely, in my opinion, what is reponsible for its being familiar with billions worldwide.
everybodys a rapper nowadays,so cats floss and talk about guns and other stuff to seperate themselves or as an attempt to “one up” the next MC..
Where is the world at???Everybody keeps saying the sales are down and another person want to comment and probably downloaded there fav artist legally or illegally!!! And u may think thats the problem huh?? ya need to drink some starbucks look at the whole economy gas prices is up and the United States Dollar is down. Please stop blaming rappers or rap as the cause. When did rap become relevant???come on this was always the ingnorant shyt some got high to…killed to…The President gave out checks so we can spend within in the USA cause everything is going out there is nothing coming in!!! Please wake up!! The Internet is the Death Of The Economy. If u want a question google it…Everybody talking about Lil Wayne sales, if times was different ya boy will be at least 5 mil today.
AAPL[AAPL] IS 163.47 POINTS A SHARE. 3mil IPhones was sold alone in Jan. Annual sales alone was 13.6 Billion. Rap sales are down in the traditional C.D format that u will like to aquire. Please say rap CD SALES R down In the USA. Not rap my friend. The internet is buzzing my friend thats why u are able to have a website buzzing about what is sopostal be down my friend. (*Warning* Believe In None Of What U Hear And Half Of What U See)A lot of people are diplaying false information.
Don’t even trip homie. Hip Hop, like all music genres, have seen imbalance at times. And eventually, the music transforms and resurges. What we’re seeing now is a lot like it was around the late 80s. Hammer came out, and there were LOTS of rappers just doin it for the money, party jams and the like. When Snoop came out, then it was all about the gangstas. Those who love the music will always find something to satisfy their soul. More than anything, it’s the radio that’s fuckin up. But that’ll change soon. You’ll see…
Good writing though. It’s true, don’t be mad for sales declining. Put out good music.
well just to put it out there.
i don’t really want my music to have a message.
(thats what an ignorant person would say)
but can you blame them?
i’m sure there’s helllllla society rap or whatever out there. they should ask national geographic or the history channel for a record deal if they wanna educate.
don’t turn to MTV or pop culture.
it just doesn’t fit there anymore.
square peg. circle hole.
i still believe the problem is rap now doesnt sound like music at all..rappers basically talk on beats…if u go back to older shit from mid to late 90’s i think hiphop had a diff vibe..it had more soul to it..like the best rappers never just talked on beats..rappers like bigie.tupac..snoop,eazy e..etc ..rap had soul and charisma to it..like u could actually vibe to it…but now what u get is a really sick beat and someone talking on it..sometimes u get someone talkin with the t pain effect …like the lyrics and the beat just dont blend its like theres no connection bettween the rapper and the beat…
anyways thats just my opinion…just listen to starin thru my rearview by tupac.death around the corner…juicy by biigie or just anything from mid 90s…ull c what i mean by soul and rappers actually connecting to a beat.
the problem really lies with the fact that a rappers now are horrible song writers..so u basically get somone talkin on a beat but not sayin anything…in fact u get someone talking and recycling what everybody else said…i really think rappers need content or maybe they should consider making real concept songs ..like that ludacris track “run away love” or “stan” by eminem..theres more of em bu anyways concept songs like that with real content is what the 90’s what about and it could save hiphop if rappers do more tracks like that
ANyways in a few sentences i’ll expalin whats wrong with hiphop…this is it
in rnb if someone cant sing they dnt get hired and there no record deal
in hiphop if u cant rap…its ok as long as ur friends with a rapper or if u can dispaly ignorance, cockiness and hate for others than ur hired..
so now it’s a matter of too many unqualified employers all working for one business…what do you think will happen to the business???
NAH HIPHOP DEFINITELY LOST IT’S MESSAGE AND NOW A DAYS PEOPLE BELIEVE EVERYTHING NIGGAS IS SAYIN
http://www.myspace.com/outoforder82
Hip Hop, but music in general is too complex to figure out. Why is it exactly that the lyrical context is not the main force for selling so-called Hip Hop anymore.
There is no simple answer, it is all about how people definate a certaint time in their life. I lived through and registered most of the emotions that went on in the Hip Hop community. ´
It is really interesting and somehow amusing for me to read people´s comments about when Hip Hop sounded fresh in their ears.
Someone says the late 90´s.
Now I can tell you that in this period Hip Hop was kinda lost and did not have a clear vision in which direction it was heading.
Early 90´s Hip Hop-heads was blaming mainly Bad Boy/Diddy for its corruption and selling out the true essence of Hip Hop.
Jazz samples was not the thing to sample anymore, so we had a lot of 80´s pop samples ( like “the police” ) incorporated in to the sound of Hip Hop while the lyrical content was “all about the benjamins”.
The bling era had started and the edge Hip Hop had by sampling Jazz was gone. It was more shallow and the vibe was gone too. Pac died in 1996 and B.I.G a year later and the west-coast was slippin.
As I said before, it is all about how people registered a certain time in their life that reflects how they see music in the past and they romanticize in how it sounded.
I am not saying that the period between 1997 and 2001 was all rubbish. It certainly had its moments, with classics like Scarface “My Homies” from 98 and the lyrical context on that double cd cant be argued with.
jman wrote.
“I’m no ’80’s baby, but i do remember the likes of “holla, holla”, “money ain’t a thing”, “in da club”, and “real slim shady” being responsible for introducing the genre to an audience beyond national borders.”
People seem to forget or are simply too young to know that this particular period was not the first time Hip Hop got big again.
And the “genre” was certainly not introduced beyond nation border in that particular period. That is a great insult to the worlds Hip Hip community.
Acts like Run-D.M.C. introduced Hip Hop to the majority of the world in 1984, but Melle Mel & The Furious Five and not to forget Sugarhill Gang was being “digged” by kids around even at that time.
Back to “the lost message”. It is not gone, we still got class acts like Nas, Jay Z, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Consequence and even Lil Wayne, you can hate all you want on Lil´Wayne, but that kid knows his Hip Hop history.
Music still shares a message.
Peace.
hip hop also reflects the current society that adolescents live in, it is a society which is less political today. Public Enemy told us to fight the power, the Reagan era had a huge impact and a lot of us understood what NWA meant when they told us to f*** the police. Arrested Development wanted to be taken back to the motherland and afrocentrism was more or less chic. There are a lot more examples of course.. however what should rap express nowadays? what is there that affects us so much that we have got to rap about it? well for many it’s just what they have known from the mid 90’s on.. party music hip hop.. songs without messages, lyrics that are only about pimpin, hoes, guns, drugs etc. A few cats out there still have got something more important to say. Nas is one of them. The thing is ignant mofos wanna listen to ignant ish. and there ARE A LOT MORE IGNANT MOFOS OUT THERE THAN NORMAL PPL!! So of course the wack BS sells well. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what u say because 70% don’t care about the lyrics. They just want a hot beat and a rapper who is really “cool”. Image is everything today. And yes senseless dances and down souf ish has got a right to exist! Sometimes you just want to party and get drunk in the club. So Soulja Boy will be better for club goers than Kweli in that case..
Great post. This is exactly what I’ve been missing from hiphop music. But its an all around feel outside of the message. Its a great thing that rap music has made money available to a great number of black youths, but in the same breath, these young cats havent had any formal coaching with financial responsibility. Alot of em didnt even have a checking account before rap music. They get a check, spend a check. Get a check, spend a check. And this becomes their reality. This is all they end up talkin about it. You can tell the different when u hear a young rappers first few songs, not the ones that blow up, but the ones they made before that. Their songs of desperation, misfortune, tales of being misunderstood. Once they get that signing bonus, that all changes and it becomes “Get money, my ni99a” stories. Yes, I miss the messages like a mothafucka. It was perfect to use a Kweli quote at the beginning of this post. He is probably the most consistent mc in the game right now along with Black Thought, Nas, Mos Def, Phonte and Elzhi when it comes to delivering messages without fully compromising their vision. You got a young cat like Lil Wayne who has had money and financial stability since being signed at age 11. All he knows is “get money, my ni99a”. Same with Bow Wow. We cant expect to get tales from the hood from these cats. And with them being the bigger faces amongst the 10-22 year old demographic, of course the aspiring rapper in high school is gonna want to deliver the same message to get the same results. I’m only 25, and I grew up on EPMD, Wu Tang, BlackStar, Nas, Biggie, Pac, Common, The Roots, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane. Although some talked about how fly they were, but that was a mentality when faced with the hardships they had in front of them. The persevered above the bullshit in the hood. Cats aint doing it like that today and therefore, we lose the message and when we lose the message, the music becomes meaningless to a person like me who expects so much more when I listen to a new rapper.
blah blah blah… who cares, its music. Listen to it, don’t, love it, hate it. That’s it.
Niggaz writing articles and catchin all types of feeling about this shit, smh.
Yea Ok, Obviously you dont think about the direction that our music is going and will be 5-10 years from now. Witness the changes, kid. That aint just music, its hiphop culture. We aint catchin feelings, we just passionate about our livelihood (music). Go listen to a Khaled Mixtape if u want just music
yep yep i agree 100…Jay-Z said it best duggie..
“if skills sold truth be told, I’d probably be lyrically Talib Kweli, truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense..but I did 5mil! i aint ben rhyming like Common since”..nuff said..Obama!
@Mic Sorc
Listen I agree in what you are saying, I concider my self a Hip Hop head ( Not a backpacker )I love all kinds of music but I allways return to Hip Hop, it is my original love.
Wrote by Mic Sorc
“You got a young cat like Lil Wayne who has had money and financial stability since being signed at age 11. All he knows is “get money, my ni99a”.”
I cant help to disagree on this, I dont know If you heard any of Carters work, but this guy is a true Hip Hop head, I mean just listen to “Dr Carter” mayn telling you that track got the golden vibe of 1993.
( Sorry to say this, I really dont want to come out as a hater, but to compare Carter to Bow Wow, that just hurts my Hip Hop heart, cause Bow Wow never been revelant to any but young girls, and that is cool too, because them girls needs music too, so its all good )
And you know as well as I do, B.I.G had a lot of tracks talking about “them benjamins” you know what I am saying.
I dont want to say how many years I´ve been listening to Hip Hop, people might start hating of me just because of that, but a true Hop Hop heard should know that Carter aint no joke, his lyrical content is deep and full of knowledge, I mean just try and listen to “Tie my hands”.
Ok enough about Carter allready.
@chocha
See you know mayn, you really know your history.
I remember the early 90´s really well, and it was exciting times mayn. 80´s party and bullshit kinda died out and it was all about knowledge rap.
Malcolm X the movie was out and everybody was wearing Malcolm X clothings.
Public Enemy
- Fight the power was the shit and then like magic Nas came out with Illmatic, ( Funny I remember talking to a friend of mine at that time, and he has saying that Illmatic was POP ) now go figure that.
Those were good days, and as you said, that was the the consequence of the Reagen era and blacks were still getting treated like shit in the US, Oh Lord remember the LA riots after Rodney King. ( funny I listen to C3 ritgh now and Wayne is rappin about Rodney King in ( Mrs Officer ) what a crazy coincidence.
So Knowledge-Rap had its round in the early 90´s, me personally I got so tired of NY, I strictly tuned to the LA sound.
@Mic Sorc
“however what should rap express nowadays”
There is a lot, I mean it depends where you turn your ears at, Dead Prez got something to say, Nas has a lot to, ( I love “Sly Fox”)
Ok so 70% dont care about lyrics, let them, it has allways been that way. I mean I love a good tune too without any knowledge shit. I love all the West Coast “Party and Bullshit” but you know there is a difference between that and for example Souljah Boy ( No Hate )
I dont care about any Image, and I for shure dont care about any “swag”, that is just another pop/slang word.
Just give me a good Hip Hop beat with a DOPE rapper, and I am all good, you know what I am saying ?.
I can be hustled, thats why I see through all kinds off bullshit and that is exactly the same reason I see That Carter is truth ( No I aint only talking about Jay Z - ).
Hip Hop does not kill Hip Hop. Haters are.
/ And please remember it was Will I Am that came up with that for NAS, so Its kinda funny so many “real heads” keeps using that.
NAS the LEGEND.
Ed is saying
“Hip Hop is still as good as it has ever been, the only thing that has changed is you”
Peace.
Yo, we need to recognize more people out there than Wayne on the real. He’s already been exposed as having a ghostwriter in the past. I’ve seen his booklet and he’s not the only writer on the C3 album. Just cause he has tons of cats in the studio feeding him ideas like “yo, you should do this and you should do that” doesnt make him knowledgable in hiphop history. This dude wasnt showing no love to hiphop roots when he was first out. actually, I heard the C3 album. Dr Carter was clever, i give him that. but one track makes him a historian? i dont see him sittin on any panels. aint nobody calling him to discuss hiphop. i see where young cats is coming from. yeah yeah lil wayne is yall hero and all. I’m not an old dude. actually Wayne is older than me. But when i’m lookin for a black figure in my favorite genre of music to listen to, to take notes from, to idolize, Lil Wayne the last nigga i’m checkin for.
It’s only entertainment. Half the rappers coming up today probably don’t even see it as an artform. They just see it as “well this rapper is telling my “story” so why can’t i do the same.” How often do you hear rappers speak of the pioneers or people who’ve helped pave the way for them. Hip Hop now is so far removed from what it used to be that there is no thought about hip hop’s history.
If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll fall for everything.
http://www.bombinmagazine.com
http://www.bombinmagazine.com
#14 it’s individual(S) like yourself that help with the idiotic state this generation is slipping into, you have this “DON’T CARE” mentality.
@Mic Sorc
I hear you, lets indeed recognize some more people, I am all up for that. Like for instance when Lupe Fiasco came with “Fiasco’s Food & Liquor” ( I didnt know any of his prior work ) I loved that vibe, but now people callin him a nerd and so forth, you know just hating because they dont like his “swag”.
I am thinking to myself what is up with that ? is this not what so-called true Hip Hop heads was looking out for ?.
When I say, YO listen to Z-ro because if you really want deep talented music then go for him, then people say “nah we dont like southern shit”.
Ok so people prefere the old cats like Jay Z, and I´ve allways been a fan of Jay Z so that is all gravy with me, but now people say he is old and should go back to retirement.
So I say what about Nas ?, people say “nah all that black movement is trash”
Listen I cant really say whether Wayne has ghostwriters or not, but I do believe all people are inspired by other people and is it not great if someone in the studio says
” Yo Wayne forget about the purple shit for a minute and write about the Katrina situation today “.
By the way, I am going to buy Detox even though I know Dr Dre does not writes his own lyrics.
The same situation was with Eazy-e, I knew he was not writing his own lyrics, but I still concider It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa a classic.
By the way ( again ) “Dr Carter” was just one example, ( listen to Georgia… Bush )
I am not trying to convince you to be a Carter fan, I am just saying that a true Hip Hop head ( well at least me ) knows this is in the true tradition of Hip Hop. The Man aint faking it, like lots of other cats in the game do.
I know Carter is a crazy dude, especially when he suddenly turned on the mixtape DJ´s which without a doubt helped him what he is today. 2pac was crazy too and allways wilding out, but most “real Hip Hop heads”) hated him for that, but not me. The same goes for Wayne, he got his own poetic style.
( Ps to all the 2pac fans, take it easy now, I aint comparing Wayne to 2pac )
And Oh, I´m some years older than Wayne and Wayne is for shure no hero of mine, actually no rappera are heroes of mine. I am just saying Wayne is true Hip Hop and not some cat selling a million ringtones, you know what I am saying ?.
@iBomb
Ed is saying
“Hip Hop is still as good as it has ever been, the only thing that has changed is you”
NAS the LEGEND.
Peace.
Aight, I see. I do have some rappers that are heros
Nas for instance, his messages that he delivers in his music about black struggle, black movement, about understanding your history before you understand your future. This is equivelant to a Langston Hughes to the Harlem Renaissance. Its just our era’s version of it.
I’m not that big of a Jay-Z fan but I can respect him on not compromising himself. Being himself at all times. Being precise with his actions and conscious of his decisions. Dude is playing chess in the game of life. You have to look up to that
Black Thought from the Roots is the most consistent mc of our time. Not only does he show immaculate humiltiy, poise, and class, but dude has paid his dues. Respects where he came from and the ones who paved the way. Dude is a music connosieur and a genius. Very underated, but he’s not screaming out for respect like Kanye. He understands his role and plays it to perfection.
These are heros, its possible to have em.
I hate to compare Wayne to these cats or to use him as a punching bag, but outside of “rapping” and the action of “rapping”, he’s nobody to look up to or emulate. All I’ve learned is i aint phuckin with that syrup, too many tattoos look stupid if u get a 5th grader to draw them, and that kissing men is now acceptable. This is what i’ve learned from Lil Wayne outside of “rapping”. This is our childrens role model option
@Mic Sorc
Listen you are a clever dude without a doubt.
About the hero situation, I guess I am too old to concider rappers as heroes, and I am not really into Idolatry -
( and I am not saying you are doing that )
I see NAS as a LEGEND in the game but more important as a peer that knows the same things as I do, but he cant really teach me something new, no rappers can, I got my own mind and knowledge.
If I want to expand my mind I will read some Aristoteles and the biography of Malcolm X, as I have done in the past.
But If I was a rapper Nas would certainly someone to look up too.
I feel The Roots to a cetain degree, but it just…aint me.
You are right, Wayne is not a rolemodel right now with all that purple shit going on. But damn it I see great potential in that man and his albums are amazing, straight class A beats and lyrics that keeps surprising me.
About that thing… Wayne kissing a man, listen I cant figure that one out, he says he see´s Baby as fatherfigure, I guess that is allright with me, would I kiss my father on the mouth, no not really, but it has to be said in some cultures that is perfect acceptable.
I know Baby aint his biological father, so that makes it even more crazy, but I aint homophobic, so I am ignoring that situation.
Peace.
WAT HAPPEND IS THAT THE INDUSTRY STOPED SIGNING NEW YORK AND EASTCOAST RAPPERS AND STARTED SINGIN SOUTHERN RAPPERS. IF YU DONT BELIEVE ME LOOK AT THE BILLBOARD HOT 100 AND YU CAN SEE EASTCOAST RAPPERS ARE ENDANGERED.
Great article. I am going to use this on my site.
Nigel - I will link to RealTalk and get in touch with Michael
you already know - hiptics.com
i wont send the xtra long comment on here, it seems like he feels how i feel
this talkin is all good, but when is the change goin to happen, hiphops voice is sooooooo powerfull and influential we can change the world in 2 minutes
It aint evenabout all that. Music today just sucks. I mean we have great moments like any other genre has. But the feeling of the music just aint like it used to be. Everything sounds watered down, it all sounds the same and it seems like no effort is put into a lot of the music thats put out.
And if u talkin about regins again then heres what it is. There just ass much good New York music as there is southern music. And theres just as much bad New York as there is bad south. The problem today is that theres too much southern music bein put out. I mean I wanna hear music from all over. Not just New York, not just the south, not just the west or midwest. Everywhere has somethin to say. New York makes incredible music that will never see the light of day cuz all stations waana support and play is south. I love the south but it gets boring when thats all you hear. It aint that deep and complicated. Hip hop aint about one city or place. Its about us. All of us. Thats why you have songs like the Put On remix with Jeezy and Jay. Thats hip hop. We better together than against each other. I would love to see Nas and Ludacris do another song together. Thats power people. But we oo dumb to realize that. But its whatever. All I’m sayin is like what Nas said… If I Ruled the World… lol.
in my opinion, I don’t think you have to emphasize that your music has to have a message. if you listen to Illmatic, Nas ain’t really hittin yall off with the positive messages or important world topics like that. yeah you got ” The World Is Yours” that’s like a message but that’s like a joint right there where if you wanna come up that’s the song the ride to or bump on the steps. I think being introspective within yourself has lacked in alot of albums. only Nas and Jay are doing that now. listen to Pac’s albums and Big’s albums and yall know ” Everyday Struggle” (Ready To Die), Dear Mama (Me Against The World) that personal is lacking in albums now. but no knock to the X Clans, Brand Nubians, Public Enemy albums they was schooling the youth at that time. So if you picked up any albums in the 90’s (K Solo, even Dana Dane, Cool C, PRT, ) I’m tellin ya you share that fortune that insight that you got open on shit like that like rap albums was like actual books. I still look at them to this day like audiobooks. Especially if you didn’t rhyme, you are a true hip hop fan to the heart cause you ain’t even comin from an MC’s perspective where you got school yourself on albums. we still got Nas and Jay to hold us down in the forefront. (there’s a reason why they in the forefront and people like Busta and Common ain’t mentioned like how they get mentioned. Leadership and Skills. I still like the gun toten stories cause it’s a skill to be rhyme narrator. G Rap is a master at that. I think the only way to get the kids to get open on messages is to get them open on listening to complete packaged albums instead of flava of the month singles filling the whole 12 to 13 or more tracks.
when hip hop began it was a PARTY music, not until it KRS-one and NWA was it gangsta. But, message rap started with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious. Other than that the game was about boastin and braggin and being creative FOR FUN. The reason why cats dont buy music is because there are toooooo many avenues, to obtain FREE/STOLEN music. Lets keep it real, if cats have to the opportunity to cop something and not have to pay, then know that they’re gonna take advantage. Music sales have nothing to do with the content, but, the over saturation of the industry and the-make-a-new-artist-everyday mentality by these conglomerate music money makers which young (mostly white) consumers eat it up, and then move on to the next.
okay for all of u who think they kno there history…when hip hop started it had 2many critics…wat r u ? critics..when hip hop started ..was anybody caring about who listened? no cuz it was jus fun talkin about there everyday lives..what is the everyday life of a rapper now? jewelery, sex , drugs, and money because we gave that 2 them..we did this 2 hip hop 4 buying it n the first place..the more we brought it ..the richer the rappers got ..and the more interested became white wealthy america …think about it..if rappers start rapping 4 free again..then down with white wealthy america..that brings the real artist out who really love hiphop..nd dnt love it cuz it puts money n there pockets..we also have 2 blame the internet 4 puting everything out 4 free..the u have 2 pay extra taxes 2 buy songs or anything on the net..the day record sells come bac ..thats the day the american economy bounces back..im onli 18 and i see this everyday..its not the rappers..its us 4 buying this stuff its us 4 allowing the record companies 2 dictate wat we listen 2
i dnt no about da rest of d’s rappers but my mc stands 4 MAD CRACK, cuz das wat i spit, check me out
http://www.myspace.com/ocnmusick
man hip hop is still an artform…you just gotta be ovservantand listen to the right artists
check this out and i bet you this went right over your head…Nas and other keep hip hop an art
http://www.thisisscolla.com/nas.html
‘… Let’s face facts, although MC’s lace tracks/
it doesn’t mean behind the scenes there ain’t no dirt to trace back/
That goes for all of us, there ain’t nobody to trust/…’
Guru of GangStarr on Moment of Truth