Will Hip-Hop EVER Reach Its Full Potential? Balance and Options by Diezel P
GREEN COMMUNITY — By rahmielmitchell on September 19, 2009 at 8:25 pmBalance and Options
By Diezel P
Have you ever heard someone ask where the REAL MC’s are? Or what happened to REAL Hip-Hop? I believe they are referring to an era when Hip-Hop had substance; they spoke about subjects that mattered and effected their lives and community. At the same time they were acknowledged by the mainstream media, praised for their artistry and activism within their culture. Why did the REAL 
no longer become appealing to the world? What is REAL (Relevantly Expressive Artistic Leaders, I just made that acronym up…. I think, haha) Hip-Hop? How did socially aware, creative, and political hip-hop get buried to the point that it is now referred to as “Underground Hip-Hop?”
In order for Hip-Hop to reach its full potential, we will have to somehow bring a balance to the present commercial scene. We may never be able to replace the senseless rap music that clutters our airwaves today, but we can up lift the REAL Hip-Hop to gain the same recognition and rotation as the highly popular mainstream rap. This will enable the listeners who may not have the resources or knowledge beyond the radio play lists, to weigh their options or find a healthy balance of a wide variety of different styles of Hip-Hop. Too many people embrace the trendy sounds continually blasting out their favorite stations because that’s simply all that is blasting out of the radio stations. Or even worse when a naysayer volunteers repulsive remarks about the Hip-Hop culture in general because of a one-dimensional experience they may have had.
Some may say that REAL Hip-Hop wouldn’t be REAL Hip-Hop if the mainstream took control of it, I agree! It would be a lost cause if our most talented spokesmen and women for REAL Hip-Hop conformed to the meaningless topics of most commercial rap just to climb the latter of success. I feel that these same artists who speak of improving their environments and cultures values, need to continue relaying their message and demanding exposure, by using entrepreneurship to either start their own movement, radio and television programs, record labels, and/or businesses. This is definitely easier said than done, but there are many artists such as Mos Def, Wu-Tang Clan, Common, and Lupe Fiasco, who have made it to the top by sticking with their roots, setting the example that it is a possibility with a hard work ethic and unique ways of expressing yourself. The problem is a lot of the underground artists are content with their status, remaining underground to avoid association with the bubblegum rap that’s heavily rotated and shady industry executives, which causes a lack of initiative within the culture to rise up and make a change.
Fortune and fame has turned the humblest of people into shallow, greedy, and unappreciative pessimist, so there is no surprise when some underground emcees get overwhelmed with their new found glory and convert over to these negative aspects of hip hop. But on the contrary, fame and fortune has done the complete opposite for talents, and has been used as a very effective tool. For those artists who practice what they preach and believe in the message they are spreading, fame can be a tool used to help reach maximum exposure of their cause and identity, while fortune can support the progression of their purpose.
It would be beneficial to both the industry and the consumers if the mainstream media could find a healthy balance of promoting and funding both party-trendy Rap and Socially aware Hip-Hop. Underground Hip-Hop could regain their position amongst the masses and 
relay their message to a wider variety of people while gaining the funding to make an enormous impact on their communities. Trendy Commercial Rap could broaden their horizons and take risks with their music without the fear of losing their position permanently, and I believe a lot of commercial artists are pressured into some of the songs they produce because of the high demand surrounding their label and image, so some of them could return to their roots and start making music from the heart. And most importantly, the consumer will have more exposure to a wider variety of the Hip-Hop/Rap Culture, which will give them an opportunity to choose a style that relates best to them, instead of selecting mainstream rap by default.
Can Underground Hip Hop and Commercial Rap coexist under the same mainstream lime light? Would Underground Hip-Hop begin devaluing its culture once it gained the money and power it has lacked for so many years? And could the massive exposure of socially aware hip hop actually make a difference within our culture? Either way opportunity should be equal, while achievement should remain individual, therefore our talented hip hop artists deserve a chance to promote their image on a wider scale and flood the airwaves once again!
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11 Comments
I really can’t wait to here people’s perceptions and opinions!
i think these are great questions…right now, it seems like the goal is to imitate and “break into” the mainstream, and i think that will be forever unsuccessful for most artists who deserve success.
my personal take is that the mainstream music machine is a complex system of exploitation, and that any single effort to infiltrate it results in co-optation and selling out. i think we need to build alternative community-based local/regional economies to support independent artists. i don’t think the industry will willingly give up any airway or audience to conscious music, because it’s a slippery slope once that happens.
profit is just one part of it. the current system also maintains white privilege (racism) and hetero-male privilege (sexism). so we have instances where quasi-mainstream artists are allowed to be class-conscious, OR race-conscious OR (very rarely) gender-conscious, but never all three, because that would be very openly hostile to everything that the current system stands for: white male economic privilege. all it takes is fear of one aspect to protect the status quo.
we also have a demand problem: we have largely a passive consumer base that is force-fed mainstream crap (airway monopoly) and who don’t even know that there are local working artists near them who are likely as good or better than the mainstream national acts. so we need to activate and engage mainstream consumers and convert them from mainstream.
Ethan I definetely agree with your whole comment, I think that the success of Hip-Hop is mainly in the hands of the consumers, because the artists are going to go whatever direction the consumer does! Thats why we as Hip-Hop Artist and Activists need to educate the people around us!
Hip Hop, well it’s dead. And this idea that “mainstream” is what keeps it from reaching it’s full potential sounds like “it’s” one single concrete thing. By labeling it and keeping it in a specific category you’ve already ruined “it”.
It’s art not a product. There’s no boundaries to art. There are boundaries to those who have to have their preconceived idea of what art is SUPPOSE to be. Why does someone make music that sounds like “hip hop” have to abide by anyones rules? There are rules to making art? By trying to keep it in a container you’ve already lost. What’s real anything? Its so subjective it should be obvious. That goes for anything. This idea that you have to follow certain guidelines for it to be “REAL” is exactly what keeps ANYTHING from growing and evolving. Hip Hop never was. It’s an abstraction to help communicate and simplify an idea. The more “true” or “real” the less it’s real. Real is human and humans change and so has everything. This goes for everything in the world. And this concern with “the industry” shows how “real” your own belief is that it’s a commodity. A product. And what’s the goal of selling things? Making money. Rigid dogmatic and closed minded are the trademarks of oppression and authority and should be the antithesis of an artist. It doesn’t come across as love for music as much as it comes across as defending it as a product.
Yo, not to be too much of a hater, but check out our review from two LADIES in Seattle who are EXACTLY what ethan is talking about. Black and women. And artists.
http://renegademag.com/2009/09/28/thee-satisfactions-snow-motion/
This is what the world needs more of.
Yo, Renegade thank you for your feedback, you got some very valid points! I agree Hip Hop is a limitless art. But even with that said, hip hop artists (no matter what kind of hip hop they do) put out PRODUCT and they sell them for a reason; to get heard and to gain funding to further expand their music and message!
I think REAL hip hop, is hip hop that actually expresses what REALLY goes on around us wither personally, publically, nationally, or globally, and is created by an artist or artists who are really expressing themselves and their opinions, rather than conforming to what the hottest trend is, wither it be commercial or underground trends. And on top of expressing these points of our society, trying to make a change for the better through this very art. KRS-One defined Hip-Hop the best I’ve heard it, he said to be HIP to something is to be updated to your surroundings, and the HOP is to well…. HOP up and do something about it, if need be. So thats what I think hip hop was founded upon, being more than just an art but more of a tool that could be used to up lift the hip hop community which at the time consist of mostly poverty stricken areas (and the majority still is), and unfortunately for hip hop to make its full impact on its culture it will need to gain the same demand and financial stability that mainstream rap has today. I’m not talking about dictating artists to become more appealing to whatever the trend is, but to let hip hop artists create whatever style of hip hop they want, while given an equal opportunity at mass exposure.
My Love for hip hop should not be questioned by this column, I love hip hop so much that I want to make a living off of it and give back my experiences, knowledge, and wealth to the hip hop community, and further expand my success as an artist/columnist so I can better relay my messages and do my part to better the urban culture. And living in a captalists society where the circulation of currency is necessary for survival and expansion, I’ll need to make a product out of my expression of hip hop to reach such goals. Unfortunately our culture cannot eat off of just the creativity and love for hip hop alone.
Hip Hop is not dead, its very alive, but just locked underground for the time being. Thank you again for your feedback, and big ups to Snow Motion, I’m all about female artists…. especially when their coming with their own style!!!!! We need more of them!!!!
Jay Z kind of summed it up in a lyric where he said something like this “I used to rap like Common Sense, then I got paid and ain’t rapped like Common since, gotta go with what makes sense.”
Meaning he used to be on some conscious real music, but then he got paid to do it the way he does it now, so he stayed with that. Before Jay got big, his whole style was different. I actually liked his style better back then, but we never got to hear much of it, because once he started putting out albums it all changed. I’m not here to knock Jay, but this article reminded me of that quote.
The emcees need to persevere. It’s going to be hard to compete in the mainstream for the “real” emcees, but they just gotta keep doing their thing and telling their story. Every artist is going to put their own touch on hip hop if they tell their story. No need to emulate what someone else is doing, hip hop won’t be interesting if artists keep being clones of other artists. They shouldn’t pick a beat because it sounds like a style of beat that they think the people want. It’s gotta be something that suits them. So hip hoppers, don’t get discouraged. Do you. Make music that you love, hustle it every chance you get and knock down these barriers of seperation from the mainstream brick by brick. That starts by taking hip hop places where it isn’t seen everyday. Keep touring the small towns where people are bored and need some entertainment. Build up a following that way, because it’s a one in a billion that any of us is going to get that following the mainstream way. So we gotta be present in our communities. Not some larger than life figure, but we gotta be real people, as well as artists. Nobody can say you aren’t real if what you are doing in the world is real. Entertainment is a rough business. The money isn’t always good. The money usually sucks to tell you the truth. Sometimes you gotta perform for nothing more than a free meal and a couch to sleep on. But God gave us our gifts and ambitions as musicians for a reason, so it’d be a sin and a shame to not act on it. We gotta give ourselves as many outlets as possible to showcase our music, and it’s going to take alot of creativity to make it happen, but according to that tibo dude, if there is a will, there is a way.
Haven’t had a chance to actually read the article yet (busy day and all), but Luscious Lisa put me onto this site, and I just want to say that I’m astonished to find some good old fashioned Hip Hop Journalism going on here in the City of Roses… I look forward to coming back to read this when I get a break…
-Icepick
Cool, DJ Icepick, I’m glad you appreciate what we’re trying to establish here! Let me know what you think of the article!
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