Hip Hop (often a synonym for Rap music) is a genre of music arguably originating from New York in the 1970s. It was and is practiced throughout the world, which makes it hard to say which specific location or group started it. Unlike most other genres of music, Hip Hop differs in the roots, beliefs, and even its practices. It is a completely original and pure form of poetry which shocked the nation, began many legacies and brought new elements to the world of music and art.
Skills and the ability to transform the energy of the streets fueled rap artists and their careers. Being the top dog was always at the forefront of Hip Hop, but it has evolved into something far different – the “underground” doesn’t exist as we remember it. Social media has taken over the world, so a “buzz” isn’t even a true buzz anymore. Hip Hop artists have now gone to being entertainers and beef has become a common entity in the entertainment world. Though this new social media beef (“thumb thuggin”) has been the cause of lost lives, it hasn’t, and probably never will, impact us like the loss of Biggie and Tupac. How would it have gone down if Pac and Biggie had Twitter beef instead? What would their Facebook pages and statuses look like? Would they have been YouTube sensations first?
The originality of today pales in comparison to the originality which used to exist, to say the least. There isn’t anything groundbreaking. Maybe it’s not their fault. I’m not sure how many cyphers really exist, how many people are actually face to face battling for rap supremacy anymore, even amongst their peers. So then what happens? They reach into other musical cultures and copy that, but is that really original?? Unfortunately the state of Hip Hop today isn’t meeting the needs of the true Hip Hop heads.
Is there hope? Yes! Despite how the Hip Hop purists feel, it is still alive and well today just in a different form. Now, there are probably some fundamental elements that all Hip Hop artists should incorporate into their music (and we can debate that I’m sure), but in the end it’s the same movement that drove us when we were teenagers too. I wonder how much space and time we give them. Have today’s Hip Hop artists done their research to properly represent Hip Hop today? Only time will tell.