…Houston we have a problem! Being of the first generation of hip-hop, the first time that I heard of N.W.A. in the late eighties I knew that there was a problem and that the music that I had fallen deeply in love with would never be the same again. Just as if your woman had been molested or raped by some dirty, demented, cretin. The bastardization of this beautifully creative, positively expressive yet urbanely benign form of expression had officially begun.
Just as some our best Black organizations in history of civilization were started with the best of intentions (The Black Panther Party and The Nation of Islam), they were later infiltrated by “outsiders” (FBI, CIA, etc.), contaminated and became corrupted; the same thing was allowed to occur to Hip-Hop by the beast of capitalism and commercialism, the epitome of Black-on-Black crime and yet another cog in the down-ward spiral of our Black communities.
To me anything south of Philly was in another genre. Like comparing a beautifully crafted vehicle like a Mercedes to a mere “car”, such as a Kia. No comparison whatsoever. No longer “Hip-Hop”… this clamor was instead only rap, or better yet insipidly wretched noise.
Just as some our best Black organizations in history of civilization were started with the best of intentions (The Black Panther Party and The Nation of Islam), they were later infiltrated by “outsiders” (FBI, CIA, etc.), contaminated and became corrupted; the same thing was allowed to occur to Hip-Hop by the beast of capitalism and commercialism, the epitome of Black-on-Black crime and yet another cog in the down-ward spiral of our Black communities.
To me anything south of Philly was in another genre. Like comparing a beautifully crafted vehicle like a Mercedes to a mere “car”, such as a Kia. No comparison whatsoever. No longer “Hip-Hop”… this clamor was instead only rap, or better yet insipidly wretched noise.
An 180 degree switch occurred from, lyrical content (actually talking about something)… to focusing on beats, misogyny and self-hate all under the guise of “street reporting”… [*said in a dumb, slave-like manner*] “We are just reportin’ what we see happenin’ on the skreets” (massah... Mr. Record Label). What they neglected to acknowledge through the thick fog of ignorance was the self-fulfilling prophesy of their rhetoric (i.e. excuses). The more you “report” on dumb sh*t… the more dumb sh*t occurs.
As Common stated, before the contamination process was complete…
in I Used To Love H. E. R.
That shes just not the same lettin all these groupies do her
I see niggaz slammin her, and takin her to the sewer
But ima take her back hopin that the shit stop
Cause who Im talkin bout yall is hip-hopSadly though, I think that it may be too late now that the proverbial box of Pandora has been opened and all types of festering, malodorous, maggot-ridden garbage is now emitting from it.
That shes just not the same lettin all these groupies do her
I see niggaz slammin her, and takin her to the sewer
But ima take her back hopin that the shit stop
Cause who Im talkin bout yall is hip-hopSadly though, I think that it may be too late now that the proverbial box of Pandora has been opened and all types of festering, malodorous, maggot-ridden garbage is now emitting from it.
4 comments:
i remember that day myself. i was in class at howard when i guy said he just bought nwa -- then told me what it stood for.
No doubt Beauty. I think that he is attempting prove some type of illegitimate point, as well as drum up more discussion/interest in his upcoming album (although he says otherwise).
btw I only used his album cover because it stated what I was/am feeling about the music formerly known as Hip-Hop.
D.A.D.
I think that NWA has legitimacy in hip-hop history. There is a difference in expression and gratuitous foolishness. You had many genuine artists who spoke of negativity, but did so in a creative manner. Big, Pac, DMX, and Eminem for example, told some of the darkest tales ever heard in music, but they did so with so much passion, honesty, and raw human emotion that you can't deny the artistry in it. Now, the problem arises when record companies develop controversial-me-against-the-world marketing schemes for artists of minimal skill level. That's where you get your Young Jeezies and 50 Cents who have compelling marketing schemes and no true talent to back it up. Their gun talk is mindless drivel and has nothing to do with expression. It's all about making a buck. The N word is, and always has been, a part of our culture. To deny its existence or not address it in our art taints the truthfulness of our stories. If Nas is indeed the artist I think he is, his use of the word won't be gratuitous. Let's just see what the man has to say before we cast him off of the island.
Good post. I think everyone in our generation feels the same way.
Underground hip-hop isn't the same but it speks the same... thank goodness for it. If not for that and all my jazz... I would have no music at all. Well I would but...well...you get what I am saying. lol
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