Hip Hop vs America

Let me start by saying, after having watch all 3 shows to BET's Hip Hop vs America, the 1st half of the 3rd installment has to have been the most intriguring. Particularly, David Banner and his remarks about the industry and how it effects the type of music a successful artist puts out. Banner went to expound on the fact that every positive record he has made has tanked and whenever he comformed to the formulated music of what is now "hip hop" he was successful. This was just one of many truthes that he spoke of, the most prominent for me was when Banner stated that essentially...

THIS IS BIGGER THAN HIP HOP!!

Also another rap artist, Talib Kweli, confirmed Banners statements by adding that this is a focus only on the "mainstream" Hip Hop music, but that is not a depiction of what is Hip Hop - only about 10% of it. Basically, since right now, Hip Hop is at the pinnacle of its mainstreem success - and dominated by african american males - this genre recieves a litany of peccable reprimands. Which in my most humble of opinions, is quite odd considering that no one cared to really draw an eye to Hip Hop until Tupac and Biggie were murdered. Before that no Hip Hop was played at sporting events, in areanas, on commercials, and rarely in movies - the only outlets were the "urban" radio stations and videos.

I think about this....

If it were rock-n-roll, which has a plethora of sub-genres (punk, alternative, surf, rockabillie, death metal, heavy metal, 80's rock), it would the equivilant of making death metal or punk rock the mainstream for rock. Nowadays when you visualize Hip Hop you think of all the negative (bitch, hoe, shoot someone, sell drugs, pimping, fancy car, throwing money around).

Now this is not all fault of the industry. People who are lovers of Hip Hop need to embrace and make a push for all forms of Hip Hop, if they want the other side to be shown. We need to support the positive rappers as much, if not more, than the idiots who are part of the new Hip Hop Minstral Show.

Surprisingly no episode of this is on youtube or on the home page of BET.com (or ANY "hip hop" blog or website) - so this is obviously of no importance to "the masses" - but I digress.

The most powerful statement ...."we are well adjusted to injustice"

Talib Kweli "Eardrum" go buy it make it platinum...

originally written Thursday, June 26, 2008