What I have been looking for in music during the past few months has led me through quite the journey. I was ready to give up on Hip Hop, but was reinvigorated and encouraged to pursue the underground scene by a close friend. Since then, I have never looked back, keeping focus on Hip Hop’s future. Underground artists have given me hope for the music I so love and admire. Most appealing is the substance of the artist’s content. Real-world issues are tackled and dissected daily. When exactly what’s lacking in the music scene is substance, enter Soul Position.
Soul Position is the combined effort of rapper Blueprint and DJ RJD2. Their latest effort, Things Go Better with RJ & Al, “Hand-Me-Downs” is a highly charged song tackling the issues of black stereotypes within the hip-hop community. With a heavy trumpet based beat by RJD2, Blueprint rhymes and spits with the conviction of a revolutionary and the spirit of a new age Malcolm X, attacking issues regarding the seemingly repetitive idolization and worship of mainstream rappers.
“Rap now-a-days is by a bunch of ignorant cats, no young, gifted, and black, just guns, bitches, and crack… If you let the TV define what black is you think that ice and violence is all we think that matters. I guess this is what happens when rappers look up to thugs and kids look up to rappers…” Power-charged lyrics such as these are what Hip Hop needs. The beauty of Hip Hop lies in its ability to address contemporary issues. It is about ideology, not materialism, and Blueprint captures this ideology well.
Blueprint criticizes the drivel that mainstream american calls “Hip Hop” and attacks the lack of positive and intellectual African American programs on TV. When referring to BET, Blueprint compares the BET of today with BET of yore: “I react by turning off BET and sambos telling me what blackness is supposed to be… Used to give us World News now it’s all videos… Replace Tavis Smiley with reality shows…” With the help of Blueprint, the pollution that has contaminated this network is finally recognized.
There is so much depth within this song, that it’s hard to ignore its significance. The beat provided by RJ allows the song to speak the truth. With commanding trumpets and a single drum background, people are forced to listen with their minds, not just their ears. It should be a mandatory listen for anyone looking for reasons to continue listening to Hip Hop, or anyone new to the genre. Look out for this song.
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May 3rd, 2006 at 1:53 pm
havent herd from you in a while ..good to see ya back on the boards, nice choice… these guys are commin to philly in a couple weeks..whats goods with the jordans?