HIP HOP …. YOU CHANGED

 

  At 42 years of age I remember when Hip Hop was “Now see everybody around the nation I want to give you some inspiration” Rc-Larock “Micstro” 1980 is a classic “time capsule” song that gives a glimpse of what Hip Hop was. It is not that I expected Hip Hop to stay in that form but what we have now I do not really see as Hip Hop. There is Hip Hop artist that are doing what the Pop stars were doing in the late 80s and 90s. The Pop stars of that day wanted to get a “hard edge” about themselves so you would see the video with them doing dance steps with African Americans as back up dancers. These artists would seemingly go out of their way to seem part of the Hip Hop Culture. What I would have never expected to see was Hip Hop artist decide to go the other way. So many of acts in Hip Hop have decided that they want to be like rock stars of the early 80s. I understand that fashion trends change as well as music trends but can anyone honestly think they would see the day that Hip Hop artists would be wearing jeans that fit like thermals?

   From a music standpoint the music we get from the most successful Hip Hop artist doesn’t sound like the Hip Hop of old and sometimes that can be a good thing. I am a student of all musical genres and I sometime can only tell if a song is a Hip Hop song is  by listening to how many rap “bars” that are in the song opposed to the singing “bars”. It seems that many of today’s Hip Hop artists no longer want to be Hip Hop they would rather become Pop Stars. Now more the ever it is the reverse of Pop stars of the 80s and 90s. Hip Hop artists look for Pop stars to put in a Hip Hop song. If they can find one then they fill the role themselves of the Pop star on the said song. Hip Hop was always more than just the music. I think that essence of what Hip Hop used to be is now being lost and completed encased in Pop.  I realize that it is about records sales and that radio play and now more than ever the “hot” music is not something that a classic Hip Hop Head can understand or relate to. There are Hip Hop artist that have decided that they do not want to be a Pop Star and try to stay true to Hip Hop but so many of them either “flame out” or have to go the independent label route as the major labels no longer even sign those type of artists. There is no answer to this other than to say HIP HOP YOU CHANGED!

Chuck Da Original Oldhead