Not ANOTHER Hip Hop is Dead Article?!
By: B4or
Oh god, not another Hip Hop is Dead article?!
Hell no, hoe! The doom and gloom doesn’t sit comfortably with me. In fact, I don’t even really see the doom and gloom, so why would it even concern me? The truth is, that whilst every hip hop artist, mag and website sit there, scratching their collective heads wondering what is wrong with hip hop, there is nothing at all wrong with it. Sure, your favorite artist might not be having his new video played 30 times a day on your not so favorite music video show, he might not be blowing up popular radio, but who cares? If the masses of people wish to support corny artists, let them do that. Let them overplay a whole heap of terrible records that I don’t give a fuck about. Let these corny artists have their one hit, so they can carry off into the sunset and we can forget about them even quicker than they popped up on the radar. Please!
The truth is, that the genre as a whole has never been more popular. Hip hop has become a staple on any top 10 song or album list anywhere in the world, and I’m talking units moved, air time received. So it’s obvious that a hell of a lot of people are taking an interest in the culture. Sure, their version is slightly different to perhaps how you or I perceive it, but that’s fine. I’m more interested in listening to a nice melody, a cool soulful vibe and some real, introspective lyrics rather than a bass line that I can dance like an epileptic to. I’m not even trying to come across as a hip hop elitist, I’m just saying that different people will like different things, and want different things out of the genre, and if we all thought the same and liked exactly the same artists, it’d be a boring world.
No, there will not be another Ready To Die, another Aquemini, or another Soul On Ice, but good music is everywhere if you know who you like and where to find it. Over the past few years, I’ve actually felt a rejuvenation in hip hop. The underground/independent scene is thriving like it never has before, with many well established artists who are still on their grind big time. Add to that a whole range of artists who continue to drop solid material, and it definitely seems like even the most stubborn golden era hip hop fan will find something to like in this day and age. While guys like Ghostface, Field Mob, Cunninlynguists, Boot Camp Click, Atmosphere and a whole range of others continue making good music, I’ll continue sitting here with a sly smile on my face. I know that there is plenty of good music out there, and while every other hip hop fan argues about how we can save hip hop, I’m jumping into my car ready to bump the latest record while fully confident that the culture we love is in good hands. Yea, it isn’t 1994, or even 1988 anymore, but there’s still plenty of amazing, ground breaking music to be discovered...
...that is if you're prepared to step outside of your small little world, and really see what this genre has to offer.
Contact: Ed@rhymehouse.com
