Hip Hop Just Died This Morning...

In Honor of Black Music Month I have decided to pay a tribute to the most original form of music since the DAWN OF MAN!!! Okay I may be taking it a little over the top but you get my point. Hip Hop is something different to everyone who encounters it. To some it is everything and to some it's nothing at all. To me Hip Hop is a part of me that I don't think I could live without. When I was younger my mother would not allow us to listen to Hip Hop, rap, or house music. She was all about the Blues and some good 'ol Soul. I grew up on Al Green, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Shirley Murdock, Stephanie Mills(my Mom's absolute favorite) and you can't forget about Lenny Williams. Although my siblings and I were not allowed to listen to Hip Hop my mother worked two jobs and she did hair in her spare time so we would sneak in our Lil Kim Hardcore tape and Notorious BIG a little Tupac and artist like that. But my Hip Hopucation did not kick off until I became a teenager and decided to find myself. That is when I learned about True Hip Hop and where it came from. So in honor of Hip Hop and Black Music Month I am going to be writing a three part series entitled Hip Hop: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. And I am going to be starting with THE UGLY!!!

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Since the beginning of Hip Hop time this music has been something that portrays the lives and trials of the African American community. Despite what was said these artists had a way of telling a story that would depict something as ugly and gruesome as drug use into something beautiful. "Even as a crack fiend, Mama, you always was a black Queen Mama" Tupac Dear Mama.

That has been the glory of Hip Hop from the very start. It was all about having fun, telling true stories, educating the youth and maybe throwing some fly ass parties. But in the end no one got hurt. But the times oh how they do change. In a day where Rap stars with platinum chains, big cars and bullet proof vest masquerade as Hip Hop artist no one really knows what the hell is going on. I can't tell a Young Joc song from a Young Dro song and I don't think I really want to. And to me Young Jeezy sounds an awful lot like Lil Weezy. (Is anyone else wondering where the hell they got those ridiculous names from?) With Hip Hop being flooded with so many little ones and young'uns who haven't been potty trained yet our music is going right down the shitter. In the end what will be left? Nothing but a funky smell and a feeling of relief after the mourning. Although some have been able to capitalize and become successful businessmen instead of living a life of crime or spending the rest of their lives in prison others just fall short every time. In a day where most young Black men raised in the "ghetto" dream of becoming a rap star their role models are those they see on BET. A man who brags about getting shot nine times and another that glorifies selling drugs as a hobby and way of life. Our children are doomed. I remember thinking that I wanted to be just like Bahamadia. Not because she was famous or because she had money, but because she was beautiful and she had a message besides killing, stealing and just getting by. Do these rappers understand that they are doing way more than making a rap song and selling a few CDs. They are molding today's youth. What are we to do? With all the positive literature and music that I expose my niece to she still told me that she wants her first automobile to have "spinning rims" on it. Now she is only six years old but I thought to myself, are the things that she sees on television more influential than what I try so diligently to instill into her? Maybe. Maybe not. After all it is not the rappers responsibility to be role models, right. WRONG! As long as they expect us to buy what they are selling they should consider our side of view. Now in no way am I an advocate of censorship but I am one of boycotting and not buying their shit.

___________Problem & Solution____________

The Difference A Good Beat Can Make!!

Problem: Often times I turn on the radio to the "All Hip Hop, All the time" radio station and become entranced. It mostly plays out like this...I am in my car riding through Montgomery, AL rush hour traffic(the most horrible I have ever witnessed) and I hear this nice loud but somewhat soothing sound radiate from my speakers. I start to bob my head and shake my upper body. Than I start to tap my feet. All of a sudden I hear "I want to Fuck You, You already know" and I am like what the...who the hell is this? The song would have perfect if there were no words. With super producers like Kanye, Scott Storch, Juicy J, Lil Jon and Timbaland we find ourselves shaking our asses to some of the most degrading music ever created. And I think women especially should take it personally. I mean, every time I listen to a rap song or club song I walk away feeling like an empty hole waiting to be filled. Its ridiculous. Up beat Hip Hop has changed a lot since "I like Big Butts".

Solution: Don't buy that shit.

I Just Want to Kill Somebody!!!

Problem: Often times I am sitting at home listening to the "All Hip Hop, All the time" radio station and I become enraged. It mostly plays out like this...I am cleaning my kitchen and all of a sudden I hear this man and he's telling a really sad story. They stole his car, robbed his home, shot at his dog and rolled his mother down a steep hill in her wheelchair. (I'm serious) And just when you think it can't get any worse he loses his job, gets pulled over for no reason at all and savagely beaten by some racist cops. In my head all is lost until...He grabs a gun a knife and takes their lives, that will teach them to fuck with an OG like me. "I live the dangerous life", he says and I am like what the...who the hell is this? The song would have been perfect if there had been no ending and they had left that deranged man in jail instead of giving him a mic and a record deal. Story telling Hip Hop has changed a lot since "Broken glass everywhere, people pissing on the stairs you know they just don't care"

Solution: Don't buy that shit. (and maybe stop listening to the "All Hip Hop, All the time" radio station)

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THE UGLY END....

Stayed tuned for the GOOD and the BAD!!!

PEACE
IAMNOTANIGGA