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Is hip-hop dead? If so, who killed it? What does its demise mean for the average fan? How to bring it back!
The phrase “Hip-Hop Is Dead” is everywhere! Iconic rapper Nas even titled his last album with the pessimistic statement. But is it really? And if so, what does that mean for the average hip-hop fan? Does it mean the genre will go down in the same fiery flames of irrelevance and obscurity that claimed the life of disco music? A Hip-Hop Eulogy: Who Killed It?The answer to who killed hip-hop is as difficult to understand as the statement itself. To answer the question one has to figure out what the statement really means. Maybe it is the fact that most of the genre’s music videos look exactly the same. Maybe it’s the mainstream hip-hop game’s heavy emphasis ridiculously gaudy jewelry. Better yet, hip-hop’s untimely demise can be attributed to the cancerous lack of creativity that has plagued the industry in recent years. Some rappers and industry insiders believe the blame lies at the feet of corporate America as several rappers have recently scored endorsement with big companies. Listeners are even bombarded with rapping ads on urban radio stations across the country. All of these factors have sent the hip-hop community spinning on it’s seemingly broken axis. But according to Benzino, former co-owner of The Source and current publisher of Hip Hop Weekly, it’s the internet that is killing hip-hop. The Internet's Influence On Hip-HopIn a recent interview with SOHH,Benzino (born Raymond Scott) said that although the internet is a good forum for artists and consumers to share music, users usually stray from this intent and use it irresponsibly. “It's really about people understanding that [it] can be used to further your career independently, to help promote your career without having to pay all this money to the [record labels],” said Benzino. “If used right, it could be a great tool, but people use it wrong.” Although his hip-hop credibility has been a bit tarnished, by feuds with rapper Eminem amongst other things, Benzino does seem to have a valid point. In recent years, “urban” websites have popped up offering users an “insiders look” at the industry. Fueled mainly by rumors from people anonymously named “source,” “insider,” and “someone in his camp,” some say these sites have a huge impact on public opinion and can threaten a musician’ artistic credibility. Did Lil Wayne Save Hip-Hop?The first step to saving hip-hop has already been done. Love him or hate him, New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne recently breathed life back into the game by selling over a million copies of his “Tha Carter III” within a week of its release. A feat like that had not been accomplished since 50 Cent’s release of “The Massacre” in 2005. Accusations of the rapper buying his own album have no bearing on what his success has done to boost the average fan’s faith in the genre. “Tha Carter III’s” original beats mixed with Wayne’s tongue twisting metaphoric flow had critics buzzing and Sean “Diddy” Combs calling it a classic. The next step to saving hip-hop is bringing it back to the old school. Skeleton beats, catchy (but not ridiculous) hooks and melodic, thought provoking lyrics is what the game is founded on. Doug E. Fresh and KRS-1 didn’t pay $100,000 for beats, wear horrid pieces jewelry or cavort around with women with large hindquarters, but they made good music nonetheless. The final step to saving hip-hop is to stop saying it is dead. If people say something enough it eventually become the truth. The blame game is fun to play but artists need to take a personal inventory and cast the negativity to the side. It is worth it to save a life!
The copyright of the article Is Hip-Hop dead? in Rap/Hip Hop Music is owned by Erin T. McMillon . Permission to republish Is Hip-Hop dead? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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