Quote:
Originally Posted by mulattogyrl
I agree, the messages were delivered more carefully. But then again, I'm all grown up now and don't always understand what the gangster rappers are referring to in their songs. Like somewhere in another thread, one of us didn't know what 'Ds' were in a song. My question is this: As far as the negativity in rap music today, is it the fault of the rappers, music industry, etc., or is it really a reflection of what is going on in the streets? The reason I ask this is because like I said, I don't understand some references, but these younger kids sure do, and just like Ms Docta Kay said, when we were young, we didn't understand. So, is that a reflection of how the younger generation is different/growing up too fast, etc., or are lyrics really that much worse? Or maybe a little bit of both?
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Uhmmm soror.... very thought-provoking.
I think for the most part, the older generations were always left in the dark about the street vernacular or the terminology of that day. I was born in 1971, so my teenage years were the 80s. We'd say stuff like, "Def", and "Fresh", and my moms would always ask:
What does that mean?? 
But here's the thing.... you always had two areas of hip hop. You had the UNDERGROUND, that wasn't accepted, endorsed, or ever heard by the mainstream .... and obviously, the MAINSTREAM, that was played on the radio, and some times, managed to cross over.
[Today, mainstream isn't defined by crossing over, because all cultures embrace hip hop - only being played on the radio makes it mainstream]. In those days, the FCC would go crazy if certain things were allowed over the airwaves. However, with the relaxing of "rules", and the censorship crusade led by Luke, songs we would've NEVER heard on the radio (back then) and was relegated solely to the Underground, made their way over to the mainstream.....
On the other hand, you tackled another interested point that I had to seriously ponder.
..if you're not a product of the streets, you may not always have a clue about what's going on... I don't know if that's ALWAYS the case... I was raised in suburbia....however, we always knew and understood what was going on in the music of our day. Maybe that's because back in our day, there weren't REAL gang members in the game... who had their own code and vernacular. Now don't get it confused with Gangsta Rap - not all who are involved in gangsta rap are REALLY in gangs.......Again...when I speak of back in the day, I'm speaking about New York.....
I would really like to know what others think...
Hybrid Mode
