Is hip-hop dead? It sure sounds like it if you turn on the radio. What used to be exciting, groundbreaking music seems to have been reduced to a one-note din. The only topics discussed are Bling - Bing materialism, how many guns you have, and "Hoe's. Back in hip-hop's days of the '80s and early '90s, some of the most popular groups were also some of the most vibrant - the militant Public Enemy, the uplifting Arrested Development, the stylistically abstract A Tribe Called Quest, and the teacher KRS-One. Despite different approaches, they seemed to be working together to speak about the black experience and create the melting pot that made hip-hop so refreshing and vital. In the late 80's there was such a diversity in hip- hop. But times has surely changed. It's certainly harder to find. And offering it may take courage. When everyone else is talking about violence and riches, it's tough to talk about more cerebral issues without being laughed at by your peers and being called soft. The lyrics of artist now does not inspire me now, they go in one ear and out the other. so i believe that over the years hip- hop has changed not for the better but for the worst.
-La'Shawn Moore
Hip-hop in it's own right is a culture that stands on it's own. Through music it's been a spread of understanding trials & tribulations of the community. Now, as you said, it's the materialistic things that define it. Hip-hop has changed and lost it's way. There are people out there with a conscious thought, but not enough to realistically create something worth while. Look at artist such as Nicki Minaj. Do tell us more about your barbie appearance and the money you make over Lil Kim because it is very enlightening. We gain nothing from marketed artist as such. We deserve better than this and until we have enough voices demanding this, how can we become a conscious society over a consumer society
ReplyDeleteYou speak truly on most of it. Hip hop isn't dead but it has lost its true meaning. I understand what you mean when you say it is very different when we turn on the radio. Things have changed and are still changing in the music. Hip hop used to be so meaningful, yet today it is not the same.
ReplyDelete