The State of Hip Hop - Thoughts On The Elders

What is the state of hip hop? That is such a broad question because the state of hip hop is vast. You have to break this down into sub topics in order to begin to dissect and figure what is going in this culture. In this piece of writing I would like to talk about the music of hip hop; rap music. The state of hip hop from this perspective will be addressed.

The State Of Hip Hop: Intellectual Perspective

Rap music, like most musical genres designed by African decedents (black people) are rooted in African culture. African culture runs between the veins of hip hop music and although it wasn't calculatedly done, it is there.

If you study any part of African culture at any period of time in history you will always find a great honor for the elders. They were viewed as wise, noble, spiritual and the counsels of the villages or communities. For some notion, as African as rap music is it has lost its respect for the elders of the village. More on this in a moment.

The State of Hip Hop: Rap Music And Tradition I was watching the last season of American Idol and I was appreciative and at times jealous of how these young kids adored and beloved the elder rock stars that came before them. It was terrific to see how well versed these youngers were in the history of their genre of music and how they were shaped by the elders to become who they are.

Not in hop hop

I was with a young brother a little while back, he was 17. We began to discuss rap music and the state of hip hop and I asked him if he knew who Nas was. "He aight" the young man replied. I was astonished. This young brother just said that possibly (I said possibly) thegreatest lyricist to ever pick up a mic was only."aight"? We continued on and he had never heard any of Nas's albums. This isn't an alone incident. Most of the younger generation has no proper knowledge or respect for the legends.

What went wrong?

I think that there are a few reasons for this this state of hip hop.

The first is the mainstream music industry and media constantly force feed us the false belief of hip hop only being a young genre as if it was a pro sport. Second, the older generations and elders aren't holding up their end of progressing the culture along into maturity. Two genuine issues that I will address on another post on this subject.

As far as the state of hip hop I will leave you with this. The wise elders are required to guide a community and to lead a community. Without their appearance the youth is lost. I think that is what we are witnessing right now in hip hop. Mainstream hip hop is unconscious.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Post your comments below on the state of hip hop with our elders.

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