No! You’re wrong, Hip-Hop is certainly, unquestionably and without a doubt alive and well. It is very cliche to say “Hip-Hop is dead.” That’s really a positive self-fullfilling prophecy. Yes, I’m a sarcastic pin-head, but I do understand why heads claim Hip-Hop is “six feet deep.” Hedonism, hypersexual lyrics, illusions of grandeur and pathological “crime” rhymes are the venomous creatures eating away at our beloved culture. Since the advent of such foolishness, I too have been catching up on my sleep. Smell me?

Once upon a time, hip-hop had “Krusty the Klown” status. Nowadays, it seems that the culture has garnered “Side Show Bob” merit. This is true to a degree. As much as we honor the Golden Era (1986-1993) of Hip-Hop, we must realize three things:

1) Every genre of music is infiltrated by the “evil that men do,” and the inevitable commercial influences.

2) You, yes you, the fan helps dictate what’s hot and what’s not. By “buying” into a particular artist, you elect an artist into the position of prestige they recieve, if they happen to sell a ton of records. No one person can’t necessary change things, when I say you, I mean the entire Hip-Hop community, but it starts with the mind set of one individual.

3) Imagine Hip-Hop as a person. Perhaps a child. Its beginnings are very pure, unblemished and promising.Time passes, and this individual develops a variety of unforgiveable attributes. This person may develop an insatiable libido, a pursuance of knowledge, or simply an inclination toward a life of crime. If we embraced this person in the beginning, should we love them any less in the end? I wouldn’t; my love is unconditional.

Think of Common on “I Used to Love Her.” Here, he embraces the changes of the culture:

“I wasn’t salty, she was with the boys in the hood
Cause that was good for her, she was becomin well rounded
I thought it was dope how she was on that freestyle shit
Just havin fun, not worried about anyone
And you could tell, by how her titties hung”
It’s not cool to reject popular Hip-Hop, or reject underground Hip-Hop. It seems that Eastern Conference and Definite Jux fans are quick to dismiss popular camps like Roc-A-Fella and Bad Boy. Why? Whether you’re the popular guy in school like Jay-Z, or the obscure low-key geek like Mr. Lif, you’re still a relevant part of the collective collage. You can’t have an underground artist without a commercial emcee. The real problem is that commercial artist are disproportionately out-numbering thorough underground Emcees, that where the real problem lies. On this accord underground Emcees deserve way more respect and attention. Once undeground kats get the shine they deserve we shall have balance. Essentially balance is the conduit which binds Hip-Hop to reality, which other genres are scared to explore. Please believe me!

I smell you when you say the art is lost, but what about artists like Edan, Zion-I, M.F. Doom, Styles P., Nas and De La Soul? Considering these artists you can’t say the art is lost with absolute conviction. The realness is definitely still out there, but you let P. Diddy’s influence manipulate your mind, until your third eye is blind. Hip-Hop is not some ideal culture exempt from the vices of human nature. It will mature, go to school, become immoral, learn how to treat women in time, use a few drugs, get laid-off and in the end, Hip-Hop will rebound and become righteous. Why do several Hip-Hop heads think artists like Cage are more relevant in the game than 50 Cent? Just ’cause you identify more with Cage as an individual doesn’t make him more relevant in the scheme of the big picture of the culture. Hip-Hop reflects the inherent contradictions in life, not just the opinion of “one-track minded Hip-Hop heads.” Marinate on that.

3 Responses to “Hip-Hop Is Dead”

1. Kid F Says:
   February 21st, 2006 at 6:29 pm

   This is a very good post man…very relavant..its a funny time in hiphop…balance is shifting somehow…it’ll be interesting to see where she lands

2. rosabelle Says:
   February 26th, 2006 at 11:23 pm

   this post is hilarious. i esp. like how hip hop as a genre is compared to a person and is seemingly going through some sort of obnoxious rebellious adolescent period. couldn’t be more true. but at least the bright side of it all is that the music right now is really fun- in ways only rebellious adolescents can be fun.

3. H. Pinot Says:
   March 29th, 2006 at 12:01 am

   True, I agree with the statements made but to play the devil’s advocate, in this case the white suburban teen, hip hop is being hijacked more than it is said to be dying. In essence hip hop could never be dying, becuase that is an inherent contradiction, hip hop is always changing, growing. We do have a voice in what is played but Ralph nader never got close to winning the election. Every few months new styles emerge, whether we like these styles or not ceases to matter, the point is that hip hop will find another trend, hopefully one that moves in the direction reminiscent of Stokely Carmichael and not that of “. Like Com also said, “It ain’t ‘94 yo we can’t go back”

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