Hip Hop: Poison or Art?

[Little32]

Originally Posted by StarFish106

Q: Why do you think it happened?

A: I think there are a myriad of reasons. First, there's a belief in the generation gap. Second is the exploitation of kids. When you're exploiting people, and exploiting their sexuality, you have to find new ways to continue to do that...
The third thing is the traditional American relationship with the minstrel show. Black people acting the fool. Always, there's some money to be made off of that. It's comfortable to the national psyche. And also black people's enjoyment of that - for taking what is serious and reducing it to entertainment, which is the same thing that happened with religious music. And it starts with the whole belief in youth music, and the separation of the 14-year-old from their parents."

This is a provocative thought, hip hop as modern minstrelsy. I hadn't thought of it that way before.

I think that hip hop could be art, but at this point it has become stagnant--this is particularly the case with mainstream stuff that we hear on the radio. Can art emerge from the static, I don't know?

[MzDoctaKay]

Originally Posted by Little32

Can art emerge from the static, I don't know?

If so, who would be responsible? The rapper? Or the industry machine?

[Little32]

Originally Posted by MzDoctaKay

If so, who would be responsible? The rapper? Or the industry machine?

I think that there is culpability on both sides. Of course, industry is primarily concerned with what will sell; it will appeal to the lowest common denominator. On the other hand, there have to be artists that embody or are willing to espouse ideas that are palatable to the LCD--and willing to be exploited--for this type of situation to persist. And as other have said, there is always going to be someone that will sacrifice their artistic integrity and vision for money. So industry and artists are responsible for the stagnation that we see in mainstream rap--I won't call it hip hop.

There are artists out there that continue to create real, thought-provoking music with lyrics and beats that will stand the test of time, as opposed to those songs that are here today, gone tomorrow (To that list, I would add someone like Del). But as with other genres of art, it is rare that those people are widely appreciated in their time.

I guess the other question is how is "art" being defined?

[MzDoctaKay]

Originally Posted by Little32

There are artists out there that continue to create real, thought-provoking music with lyrics and beats that will stand the test of time, as opposed to those songs that are here today, gone tomorrow (To that list, I would add someone like Del). But as with other genres of art, it is rare that those people are widely appreciated in their time. I guess the other question is how is "art" being defined?

You're right to make the distinction between rap and hip hop....I'd describe rap as the audio portion (lyrics...djing...music) of the entire hip hop culture. Although many of us use the two terms interchangably.

As for the definition of art, I'd use Webster's definition: "...the conscious use of skill and creative imagination; or an aesthetic object produced as an artistic effort".

[7thSonofOsiris]

Originally Posted by Little32

I think that there is culpability on both sides. Of course, industry is primarily concerned with what will sell; it will appeal to the lowest common denominator. On the other hand, there have to be artists that embody or are willing to espouse ideas that are palatable to the LCD--and willing to be exploited--for this type of situation to persist. And as other have said, there is always going to be someone that will sacrifice their artistic integrity and vision for money. So industry and artists are responsible for the stagnation that we see in mainstream rap--I won't call it hip hop.

There are artists out there that continue to create real, thought-provoking music with lyrics and beats that will stand the test of time, as opposed to those songs that are here today, gone tomorrow (To that list, I would add someone like Del). But as with other genres of art, it is rare that those people are widely appreciated in their time.

I guess the other question is how is "art" being defined?

Hip-hop is the artistic side of the genre for sure. Poetry is the foundational keystone of hip-hop, and not everbody that "raps" is a Poet. Rap is to me, the poison filled expression of today's game. To me it is a symbol without substance. It's all about hooks and beats. There is no true storytelling power to "rap". I dig the cats that still bring the Poetic flow to the game. Cats like Common, Mos Def, Eminem, Jay Z and Nas. I miss the likes of Rakim, Tupac and Public Enemy. Those cats knew how to mesh it all together and when they did, they created art. Hip-hop is all about the happenstance expression, and it may appear to some that, we as a people, the founding culture of hip-hop, have either forgotten or have lost the thing that we used to bring the Poetry about....life. Everything's not about women with big asses, Bentleys, and jewels, but rather, it's supposed to be about our current state of existence, our pain, and our future hopes. We have sambos who sell a million CDs, and that to them is, the mark of their success, or, the mark of their progress

[luv4denzel]

A few months ago, my sister and I were discussing this very subject. We talked about the good ole days y'all mentioned here, when hip hop was fun, and nobody was dying over it, and women were being respected. To me, it's not fun anymore. I miss the Heavy D, Dana Dane, UTFO, fun music that hip hop used to bring. Now it's gotten away from that. A lot of it is disrespectful to women and the videos are borderline porn. There are some who remain true to the quality and integrity of those who came before. But I can't take another shake ya a**, I got money and you don't, look at me make a fool of myself song in the name of hip-hop. Don't get me wrong, I know that everything must change. But all change isn't good. I remember when I was coming up, I could listen to a lot of hip hop music in front of my mother. She even liked some of it. But when a classmate gave me an Eazy-E album for my birthday, I had no idea what I was in for. I remember when Mama came home early and heard me playing my Eazy-E. She said, "Girl! What the hell is that?!" I told her it was a birthday gift and it's a new rapper. She said, "That ain't rap! It's trash! Turn it off and put on some LL Cool J. What happened to the other stuff you listen to?" What could I say? I have much respect to the genuine artists of this genre of music who manage to do the damn thing without compromising the true art of hip-hop. But then there are those bafoonish, so-called entertainers who manage to make a mockery of hip-hop music in its entirety. Bottom line: I miss the good ole days!

[TheEpitome1920]

*apologizing now for not reading every single post*

I saw the CNN special on Rap music and I'll say this:

DuBois said that art is supposed to be propaganda. If we were to apply that to rap music today I would say its poison. There is nothing on the radio today that was created to advance the movement or Black folks.

[7thSonofOsiris]

Originally Posted by TheEpitome1920

*apologizing now for not reading every single post*

I saw the CNN special on Rap music and I'll say this:

DuBois said that art is supposed to be propaganda. If we were to apply that to rap music today I would say its poison. There is nothing on the radio today that was created to advance the movement or Black folks.

I agree 100%, and no doubt Epitome, Brother DuBois couldn't have said it better. If you look at the true African American transformational Poetry from the last century, it was all propaganda. It was all about the propaganda that promoted progress and change. And, congrats on birthing a future King.