Music is the soothing mechanism to many. Hip-hop is a genre created and introduced to the world by the black community. It all began with a few young kids painting pictures with words in a circuit. Ultimately evolving into one of the largest musical epidemic’s ever. What began as a fun and creative form of uplifting the community, has taken a turn for the quest for currency.
Like many other things, hip-hop is changing as time progresses forward. Throughout the years, hip-hop has introduced many forms of creativity that reaches the masses. Yet, as new artists add onto the hip-hop movement, the overall message is changing, and ultimately hurting the culture.
In the 1980s, hip-hop was aimed to build a sense of proudness through creativity, dance, and culture music. Around 1995, the message began to change, becoming more violent and egoistic. In today’s music, a five minute song can consist of one or two substance deprived verses, with three minutes of a catchy hook. The hook is what listeners yearn for, yet the verse is the opportunity to bring a message across. Sadly, many songs do not have it.
Artists have conformed to the society thirst for negativity. Many songs are speaking on situations that is keeping the culture down such as money, drugs, killings, women exploitation, etc. Granted, many can only talk about what they’ve experienced, but it is not helping the overall progress of the community. However, there are some hip-hop heads that are pushing for the positive uplifting message this genre was built on.
J. Cole is an artist from North Carolina who speaks on realistic situations many go through. He often sends out informative messages as far as the uplifting of the black community. Kendrick Lamar is another artist from Compton who speaks on conspiracies that many overlook. These two conscious artists are reviving the old hip-hop.
The amazing thing about hip-hop is the amount creative individuals there are. However, many artists are blatantly hurting the culture, and some are relating to the newer generation in a way they can not only listen, but also comprehend and relate to the message.
Take Drake for an example. Drake is an artist that not only is relatable, but he has music to uplift many. ‘I’m a Legend’ is a song off of his “If you’re reading this it’s too late” album. This song is reflecting on how he is happy with his legendary moves he’s made in his life. He reflects on all of his hard work and dedication to his music. This is relatable being that many students at Mesa work countless hours to be successful.
Other artists such as Young Thug, Fetty Wap, and Rich Homie Quan have many catchy radio hits, but the substance in the music is missing. This is not to say that their music is unacceptable or unworthy, because each artists brings a different form of creativity to the genre. However, it is too many artists playing hook infested radio hits and not enough verse substance.
Every artist and hip-hop song has something to offer to the community. Whether it is encouragement to become more conscious, or an amazing song for a good night out, all music is appreciated. Hip-hop needs to be more balanced between uplifting and fun music. It is okay to Milly Rock on any block, or run through the six with your woes; yet be sure to let conscious music engulf your mind from time to time.
