Hip Hop vs. America

Is hip hop dead? Have we sold out? These are the questions being asked by rappers, journalists and politicians but no one has really answered the question. Hip hop is very much alive but we have not made positive strides as we have done in previous years. Hip hop began as a voice for the unheard but has now become a corporation. It is now quantity over quality and no one will take responsibility. We as the consumer have the power to dictate what sells and what does not but we have failed to do so. Racism plays its part but as a community we need to open our eyes. Look at the state of our community because our young people are now aspiring to become thugs and video “models”. Hip hop is no longer just milking the game is has begun to milk our children.

The world looks at us like we are just a group of poverty stricken, uneducated thugs and whores because we present ourselves that way. In the beginning of hip-hop everyone strived to be different but now everyone is doing what sells. It is easy to blame the artist, record companies and record executives because they distribute and market this material. But at the end of the day they are only doing their job and like us they aspire to be successful but my only question is; at what cost. I understand that these artist and record executives have families to take care of but when do we put our foot down. I grew up listening to NWA and Slick Rick but I never wanted to do or be what they discussed in their albums. They talked about b*****s and h**s but I knew they were not referring to me because I did not and do not carry myself in that manner. But there are some women that do and for that reason we cannot blame men for speaking on the issue.

Lyrical content has been greatly affected by the decline in album sales primarily but not limited to the rise in illegal downloading and bootlegging. With the sudden decline in album sales the artist and record companies began noticing a rise in ringtone sales. Ring tones have single handedly changed the music industry because the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) now awards ring tone sales. Many rappers primarily focus is now on creating great chorus’s and hooks for ringtones to go gold, platinum and even multi-platinum. Why make great a song when you only need thirty seconds to sell out?