It’s official. Hip-Hop is suffering from some serious health problems-at least according to a recent Los Angeles Times article. Geoff Boucher’s article should not have come as much of a surprise to those of us who recallformer Tribe Called Quest front man-cum-jazz-balladeer Q-Tip boldly stating “Hip-Hop is dead” a few months ago.', ' Many industry insiders have also been voicing their concerns on the overall health of the genre.
Old school heads are claiming that the new breed of stars is more obsessed with their Bentleys and ice than the music, younger cats are telling them to get over the fact their shine has dulled. So what’s the reason for all the rumbling? Well let’s face facts. Today’s Hip-Hop is definitely not your big brothers Hip-Hop. When Hip-Hop first began, it served as the voice of oppression, an outcry of a generation of have-nots who were sick of not having.
As the industry grew, voices of dissent popped up all over the country giving mainstream America social commentary off the streets of Harlem and straight outta Compton. As volatile and violent as critics accused artists such as NWA and Public Enemy of being, one couldn’t deny the passion and truth behind their words. The music was brutal. It was frightening, but more importantly it was real, and people were living it everyday. Whether the mainstream public wanted to admit it or not, people related to the music, the rhymes, and the lifestyle.
During the Reaganomics of the 80s, and the reading of lips in G.W’s daddy’s 90s, the general public was looking for an outlet. Hip-hop provided that outlet. It offered a rebellion that much of America was aching for. So what made things go from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five 1982’s blistering The Message:
Broken glass everywhere
People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don't care
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
Junkie's in the alley with a baseball bat
To The Big Tymers:
Gator boots with the pimped out Gucci suits
Ain't got no job, but I stay sharp
Can't pay my rent, cause all my money's spent
But that's okay, cause I'm still fly
Aiiiiight, so a Democrat with an affinity for cigars was in office for 8 years, but things didn’t really get that much better! As the industry has matured, so have its artists. No longer are rappers hungry kids needing only two turntables and a mic, but industry savvy men and women who want to have their publishing and eat it too. And their clothes line, and their own label, and their masters, and restaurants, and endorsement deals, and... you get the point. Artists quickly sought to become multi-hyphenates, learning the delicate dance of exploiting their art while trying (well sometimes) to remain true to it.
Rap became a tried and true formula; do A, B, C you’ll go platinum, do A, B, C and D you’ll go triple. Labels looking to make money (and rightly so, after all, this is the music business) churned out artist after homogenized artist, all according to the formula. However, this formula has grown old and the lack of creativity is beginning to become frighteningly clear.
With the exception of a select few artists willing to take creative risks in the least few years, the record buying public is faced with a monotonous stream of lyrics and videos that boast of excess and the so-called “good life”. Fast men, fast women, faster cash-life’s a party-let’s celebrate!! Hip-hop has taken a far turn from politically accurate commentary to Belve, Cris and Jacob and his jewels. No longer can the public relate.
Sure, everyone would love to floss, but be honest...who amongst us actually does? The record buying-public is looking for more. As Soundscan figures have shown, the public is no longer willing to shell out a disc for two or three hot songs they can bump in their, well definitely not in their Bentley. As online music piracy becomes more and more popular and the public grows more and more apathetic to this form of (extremely illegal) bootlegging, the hip hop industry is faced with the difficult task of finding itself and returning once again to producing songs that say something.
However, anyone’s claims that hip-hop is dead, or even in danger of dying, are not only premature-they are completely unfounded. Hip-Hop can’t die. It is a sound, an industry, a lifestyle that has been built out of the blood, sweat and tears of far too many innovators and musical geniuses for anyone to write it off so quickly. Dead? Not a chance. But after the last few years of hard partying, perhaps it’s recovering from a hangover, but as any of us can attest, hangovers are completely curable. Stay tuned here at 88HIPHOP.com in the coming weeks as we further explore the present and future state of the Hip-Hop industry.
Written by Community Member Rebekah Lanae. Rebekah Lanae is a Music Business student and music promoter from Miami, FL. She is an award wining playwright and has written for 88HIPHOP.COM, Manhunt.com and the online Hip-Hop Newsletter. Send any comments you may have to:
rebekahlanae@hotmail.com