If a Savior of Hip Hop Materialized...Would We Care?

If a Savior of Hip Hop Materialized...Would We Care?

For a few years now a debate has been raging over the health of the hip hop/ rap community. Even the name itself carries its' own debate as some feel that hip hop and rap are interchangeable terms whereas others feel as if they are distinctively different, therefore for the sake of argument lets just refer to it as the "urban music" community at this point in time until we delve into the reason for the separation further into the article. The urban music community is more or less very similar to religion.

Just as with religion, in the urban music community you have your fundamentalists and your radicals, your left wing, right wing, and in between followers. Some people live, sleep and eat urban music whereas others just think it is "cool". Just as with religion, the movement has its followers, some more dedicated than others and just as is true with religion; every follower of the "urban music" movement has his or her own beliefs about said movement. Furthermore, once again just like with religion, anytime the subject is brought forth a debate will inevitably ensue as no compromise can ever be agreed upon.

Although some followers feel as if hip hop is at its' peak and has simply evolved, the majority of followers are detractors to that belief and feel as if hip hop is in a state of peril or at least regression. Most can agree that the state of urban music just isn't what it used to be and is in dire need of some quasi super hero, rapping phenomenon to bring it back to its' glory days when music was full of substantive material, witty, oft times genius lyrics, and the oh so missed multi-platinum album sales. Although this is what the masses claim to want, is it really what they desire or do they more thoroughly enjoy gripping and complaining about what is wrong with hip hop and rap?

Although some people will surely state that the current state of hip hop and rap is fine, spouting some statistical fact about Soulja Boy's digital album and ring tone sales, I undoubtedly digress from said opinion as I know that those people clearly aren't old enough to remember what it was like to listen to music on a .45 or cassette. For now, let's not talk about whether or not hip hop and rap need a savior but whether or not we would accept said savior should they mysteriously appear. In order to do so we first need some definitive answers to what actually differentiates hip hop and rap and whether or not one singular individual can combine the two successfully.


As far as I am concerned, rap and hip hop isn't the same thing and never has been. When I think of hip hop I think of Sugar Hill Gang, Run DMC, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Talib, and most recently SlaughterHouse. I think of 1520 Sedgwick and of break dancing, beat boxing, graffiti artists and people who "couldn't live without their radios." When I think of rap, I think of Jeezy, Weezy, Soulja Boy and The Game. I think of the lower ninth ward of "Nawlins", College Park, Georgia, and of Compton. I think of baggy pants and tall tees, Crank Dats' and Stanky Legs, and people who can't live without their iPods. To me hip hop is the 80's and early 90's whereas rap is the late 90's into the new millennium. To me the mid 90's is where hip hop became profitable and some ingenious Caucasian began experimenting with Petri dishes in a lab somewhere and bioengineered a seedling which turned into rap. That is the Tupacs', the Biggies, the Nas', and the Jay-Zs' Those artists were hip hop to an extent hence "brenda's Got a Baby", "Hypnotize", "It ain't hard to tell", and " Dead Presidents" but were also rap as well, hence " Hit em up", "Ten crack commandments", "Nas is like" and "Big Pimpin". Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with those rappers, personally they take up four of the spots on my top 5 dead or alive list, but what made them that popular is their ability to connect the old generation with the new generation. With that said, is there anyone that can still accomplish that daunting task or has the gap between the two grown too far apart?

Now with it substantiated that the two are separate entities, lets' decide whether or not we would willingly accept a "hip hop/ rap savior." Personally I don't think that we would. If that were to occur, where would all of the people go who post comments on urban music sites about whether or not hip hop/ rap has died? They would cease to exist or serve no purpose. Furthermore, would it even be possible to properly satiate everyone's idea of a savior rapper with one person? No. Some people think dwindling album sales is the cause of the problem and that if someone could come around and sell 7 million albums like Em did or 50 did or hell Nelly did, then urban music would hop off of its deathbed and start doing the rigor mortis leg dance. My question to them is this: is dwindling album sales the cause or effect of the current state of hip hop and rap?

Other people believe that Nas got it wrong when he said hip hop died and that he should have said rap died. I believe this as hip hop was never about going platinum, having the number one album on the Billboard 100, having the most played single on the radio, or making a lot of money. Hip hop was about the expression of one's self via spoken word masterfully intertwined with music, rhythmic, choreographed body movements on a piece of cardboard that somehow successfully convey one's emotions, and the use of artwork to visually evoke real emotions. Rap is the one who wants to be ultra marketable and commercially viable and therefore rap is the one failing to live up to its' expectations.

There is an old religious parable about a man who lives in a house. One day it begins raining monumentally and the man's house begins to flood. Soon a rescue team comes by and tells the man to get into the truck-the man declines, stating that God will save him. Pretty soon the flood waters start to rise and the man is forced into the second floor of his home. A boat floats by and the pilot of the boat pleads for the man to get it. Once again the man declines the offer and says that he is waiting for God to save him. The water continues to rise and eventually the man is forced onto the roof of his house. As he stands on his roof watching the water rising, a helicopter flies by and drops down a rope for the man to grab onto. For a third time the man turns down help and the helicopter flies off to safe ground. Eventually the water engulfs the home and the man drowns. Once the man gets to Heaven he stands before God and asks him "God, why didn't you save me?" God replies to the man, "I tried to save you three times but you turned me down. Why didn't you save yourself?"

Continued.....

http://www.thacorner.net/corner-thoughts/editorials/item/1278-if-a-savior-of-hip...