Where is 'Real' Hip Hop Headed?Category: Entertainment
Article added by: RB Riddle
Where is 'Real' Hip Hop Headed? by RB Riddle
Hip Hop seems to be a fading art form many are saying. True, if you look at all the re-mixes and re-re-mixes, it does seen that today’s hip hop and rap performers are having a hard time coming up with a ‘fresh’ thought on their own.
There are those artists, like Ludacris and Missy Elliot, who always seem to break new ground with every release that they put out. But there are also those artists who you know their next album will be just like their last.
Besides the artists, hip hop is full of conspiracy theories and speculation about some of hip hop cultures best known and loved citizens. Tupac (2Pac) Shakur is one iconic figure of hip hop that seems to have so much ‘myth’ and presumption behind his murder, that it has become almost amusing to see people who know very little about hip hop, come up with their theories and their speculation of what really happened to him.
Tupac is not alone in that category though. Many theories and much speculation swirl around the death of Tupac’s east coast rival The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Christopher Wallace).
There are a few things that you can count on in hip hop culture; someone is always riding on the coat tails of the legends. It happens with Tupac, Biggie, Big Pun, Jam Master Jay and the list goes on. Their names are put on tracks, their demise is dissected with a magnifying glass, and still in the case of Tupac and Biggie - police officials are no closer to solving these cases now as they were years ago. Maybe we should just wait till we read about any updates on these murders in the LA Times or on Matt Drudge, instead of spending hard earned cash on someone’s theory, speculation or assumptions.
Hip Hop culture has lost many of its notable figures. East Coast to West Coast; the violence that surrounds the culture knows no boundaries.
Since the Don Immus situation hip hop has been looked at closely by everyone. It has become something it was never meant to be; much like the Crips and the Bloods and other street organizations.
Some artists still recognize the power the mic gives them; this is evident in the Jena 6 travesty. Hip hop and rap artist have done everything from drop tracks to financial support for the youth in Jena.
And now one of the top mainstream artists is arrested on gun charges. Clifford Harris – better known as hip hop artist T.I. has been arrested by federal officials on weapons charges.
T.I. received a BET award for ‘CD of the Year’ the same night.
It is a shame to see this happen to T.I. while he is at the top of his game, but we have seen so many hip hop figures mess up that it should not really surprise any of us.
Hip hop rapper Snoop Dogg was just honored at the Fourth Annual VH1 Hip Hop Awards show in New York, along with Missy Elliot for their musical achievements. Snoop has had his share of legal problems lately but still some feel it is appropriate to honor an artist who brings so much bad press to himself and hip hop thru his actions.
It seems that many of today’s notables in hip hop and rap find themselves facing charges, but few actually do any ‘time’ over those charges; and that is the problem.
Look at all the artists who have found them selves on the other side of the law; from 50 cent and his crew of g-unit to Snoop and all the others in-between. Very few spent any time in jail for the charges against them.
The younger people see this and they to think it is kool and ok to imitate their ‘heros’ and then the reality settles in that they are not like their ‘heros’ and they are lost in a system that they can never really get out of.
The point is things need to change or hip hop culture – thru the perception put out there by the mainstream media, hip hop artists and the culture itself; it is the blame for most of the violence we are seeing in society today – but many of us know this is just a ‘perception’ and not fact.
In May of last year T.I was in Cincinnati, Ohio when his entourage was involved in a shoot out along interstate 75. In that shoot out long time T.I. friend Philant Johnson, was killed and 3 others were wounded.
Cincinnati police told us at that time they were working on information they had received about people associated with the hip hop camp of rapper T.I. are in the Cincinnati area looking for retaliation for the past weeks events. Is this why T.I. needed to have machine guns? Did they finally figure out who was responsible for starting the shoot out? Who knows but it is sad when a performer with the talent of T.I. is accused of the charges alleged against him now.
The point is hip hop is at the cross roads. It is time for changes to be made. Many in the underground hip hop scene and in hip hop culture have known this for some time, but now if changes are not made it seems what we know as real hip hop will fade away and the twisted version of hip hop or hip pop will be what the mainstream perceives and remembers – when hip hop is declared dead.
There are many good hip hop artists who are good people to and all this negativity in hip hop is not fair to them either. There are many foundations that where started by hip hop and rap artists who do wonderful work; Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, the Ludacris Foundation and Nelly’s Foundation to name a few. But we never hear of the good things these artists and their foundations do, because it is not headline grabbing news like beef or trouble.
As a culture we should be concerned about how our image is perceived by the mainstream society. We should take steps to ‘protect’ our status and creditability. We as a culture should be willing to speak out and speak loud now or we have no one to blame when it is all gone and the memories are all we have.
I do not condone making T.I. the ‘poster child’ for all that is wrong in hip hop, especially since these are alleged charges – yet to be proven. But I do think it is time to hold accountable any artist that messes up and I feel they should not be given a ‘pass’ just because they make records; it sends the wrong message to the youth.
It is time to put an end to all the negatively in hip hop and support only artist worthy of our support. Think about that next time you buy an album. Just because the major labels put it out and spend lots of money making it the only thing you hear or see – does not make it good hip hop nor does it mean that any particular artist deserves our support because ‘they’ tell us he or she is hot.
If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
RB Riddle is the site founder and a writer for the hip hop news source ThugLifeArmy.com
Posted By: RB Riddle
Web: http://www.thuglifearmy.com
Contact: e-mail
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