Rap music killing Hip-Hop Culture?
Michael Tarasov
Rap Music Is Killing Hip-Hop Culture by Rashida Restaino
-Article taken from www.BlackElectorate.com
"Hip-hop is dying, and it is dying because of rap music.
Before you get that perplexed look on your face, please keep in mind that rap
and Hip-hop are two different things.
Rap is a music genre that is linked to the Hip-hop culture. Rap is to Hip-hop
as chapter is to book.
Hip-hop is dying, and 50 Cent is holding the murder weapon. As a rap artist, 50
Cent's success includes being ranked No. 1 on the Billboard charts for weeks
and selling more than 870,000 CDs, making him the rap equivalent of Britney
Spears: Not only
does he not add anything positive to the music genre, but he also exploits it
for his own financial gain.
50 Cent's idea of entertaining lyricism includes a song titled "Bloodhound"
where he says, "I love to pump crack/ Love to stay strapped/ Love to squeeze
gats but you don't hear me, though."
What is occurring here, and in most cases in Hip-hop, is the push from big
record labels who aren't concerned with the integrity of the music or message,
but how many units of a violent and negative record they can sell.
Hip-hop is the graffiti, the urban vernacular, the breakdancing, the culture
and way of life that rap is a prominent part of.
The thirst for money and perpetuation of violence is the reason why rap is
dying, and it is killing Hip-hop in the process.
To understand how these diseases have infested the genre, you have to know how
rap artists are defined. If I have to explain why Talib Kweli and Jay-Z are
both commercial rappers, I am going to break my headphones.
The word "commercial" means for profit. Anyone selling his or her CD for money
is a commercial artist.
Many people will argue that it is the lyrical content that separates different
rappers. For instance, because Jay-Z and The Clipse rap about money, drugs and
women, their music is put in a different category than Common or Mos Def, whose
lyrics are
about cultural awareness. What people fail to realize is that no matter what
the messages, the artists make a profit. The only difference is the number of
zeroes behind the dollar sign when you compare one artist to another.
Which leads me to my second point. People who take money away from the artists'
record sales are stealing from the art form.
It is a sad day in Hip-hop that artists have to protect their music from "fans"
stealing the songs.
According to an article displayed on Launch.com, respectable artists like Jay-Z
have to cleverly maneuver their way around pirates that are trying to release
his CD "The Black Album" before he does.
"That's why we're moving the release date,"Jay-Z said in the article. "There's
no honor among thieves, people bootleg strictly for capital gain."
Not paying for CDs by your favorite artists is stealing, and it is another
virus that is killing Hip-hop.
What did you do before Napster? Oh, I remember. You dubbed your friends' tapes
for the songs you wanted. Well, it was called piracy back then too.
Besides a couple of interviews with some rappers, I have no ties to the
industry; I am disappointed in sharing music files as a fan. If these artists
are good enough for you to listen to, than why not support the music they are
making financially?
Don't misconstrue what I am saying. Hip-hop is not dying because supposed rap
fans keep stabbing it in the back. Many of the artists in rotation right now
are not responsible for the sounds, messages and images they are inundating
their audiences
with.
It is bad enough that the culture is being diluted by the elements of Hip-hop
being used to sell common products.
The music industry is nothing but a conglomerated machine that pushes 50 Cent
onto the masses and uses the media's negative stereotype of young
African-American males to further their market share in urban music.
As far as I am concerned, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is a worthless pawn holding
the gun that is killing the integrity of rap music that others before him have
struggled to earn.
There are several factors that play into the death of Hip-hop. Destructive rap
music provided by "entertainers" like 50 Cent are hurting the genre from the
inside, and bootleggers stealing from the artists are causing a dichotomy in
the social
exchange that Hip-hop offered through rap music.
Now everything is a battle to the death."
- - Rashida Restaino is a columnist for The Northern Star, where this article
first appeared and can be contacted via e-mail at: rres...@northernstar.info
Peace! Hold on, be strong!
[-=#Jackie Chan#=-] [-=#RAP#=-] [-=#Formula-1#=-] [-=#Euthanasia#=-]
np: TQ-Our Life Feat Warren G-streethopcom
Oleg Valshin
::Michael Tarasov wrote [2] All::
MT> Hip-hop is dying, and 50 Cent is holding the murder weapon. As a rap
MT> artist, 50 Cent's success includes being ranked No. 1 on the Billboard
MT> charts for weeks and selling more than 870,000 CDs, making him the rap
MT> equivalent of Britney Spears: Not only does he not add anything
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LOL! ;)
::ADAM feat. M.O.P. - Stand Clear
mbj
MT>> making him the rap equivalent of Britney Spears: Not only does he
OV> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LOL! ;)
что-то я эту строчку пропустил через себя, а сейчас заценил. _8)_
_[workmanship]_
Alexey Mikhalchenco
20 Hоября 2003 года ты писал(а) к All:
MT>> Hip-hop is dying, and 50 Cent is holding the murder weapon. As a
MT>> rap artist, 50 Cent's success includes being ranked No. 1 on the
MT>> Billboard charts for weeks and selling more than 870,000 CDs,
MT>> making him the rap equivalent of Britney Spears: Not only does he
MT>> not add anything
OV> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LOL! ;)
А что, не что ль?
_*<mgei.by.ru>--<nettobuck>--<soopaman(dogg)supermail.ru>--<Есть ЧЁ?!?!>_*
Oleg Valshin
::Alexey Mikhalchenco wrote [2] Oleg Valshin::
MT>>> making him the rap equivalent of Britney Spears: Not only does
MT>>> he not add anything
OV>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LOL! ;)
AM> А что, не что ль?
Интересное просто сравнение...меткое...;)
::Killah Priest - From Then Till Now
Alexey Mikhalchenco
21 Hоября 2003 года ты писал(а) к мне:
MT>>>> making him the rap equivalent of Britney Spears: Not only does
MT>>>> he not add anything
OV>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LOL! ;)
AM>> А что, не что ль?
OV> Интересное просто сравнение...меткое...;)
Я уже подобное сравнение стопудова где-то видел, поэтому как-то не очень
зачепило.