Notes

Hip-Hop Isn't Dead-But It's Dying-Here's 10 Reasons Why
1. Everybody wants to become a gangsta

There was previously all kinds of MCs rhyming about all aspects of life. Hip-Hop used to be fun. Hip-Hip was previously social conscious. Hip-Hop used to political and militant. Hip-Hop used to be grown and sexy before Jay-Z made the phrase popular on his song, "Excuse me Miss".

Hip-Hop has always been gangsta. Many credit Schoolly D with making the first Gangsta rap record, "P.S.K." Ice-T arrived with "6 N in the morning". Boogie Down Productions released "Criminal Minded". And how could anyone fail to mention "the most dangerous group", N.W.A. and their infamous classic record, "Straight Outta Compton".

What I'm saying is that Gangsta rap is not new and most of the so-called gangsta rap acts nowadays all sound exactly the same (no matter where they're from) and so are not nearly nearly as good and cutting edge as the pioneers of this sub-genre within Hip-Hop.

Bottom-line: Hip-Hop needs to diversify by time for its true tradition of telling stories that reflect a range of perspectives and not simply exactly the same ol', same ol', "shoot 'em up, bang, bang" mentality and lifestyle.

2. Hip-Hop is driven more by commercial success than cultural integrity

Hip-Hop is not any longer a culture, it's a business. Nevertheless, you Hip-Hop is indeed a culture that is commercialized, therefore, compromised. Corporate America, whether you're talking about corporate-owned record labels, magazines or cable channels, are in complete control of Hip-Hop.

Hip-Hop is big business and is creating a lot of people a lot of money. But how many of those who profit from Hip-Hop are actually true to the preservation of the culture? And just how much of the profits are increasingly being recycled back in the communities around the globe that gave birth, raised and praise the culture such as a proud parent?

Bottom-line: Hip-Hop, as a culture, should be resurrected and moved forward in having a direct effect on the planet socially, politically, religiously, economically and not simply exploited to make greedy opportunists rich.

3. BEEF

Let me start out by saying that you will find a huge difference between "beef" and "battling". Beef is what happens on the streets and even in the boardroom. Battling is competition; what happens in sports for instance and of course Hip-Hop music. Battling may be the foundation of MC'ing.

Battling separates the thorough MCs from the "Sucker MCs". There were legendary "battles" throughout Hip-Hop history; KRS-ONE & BDP vs. MC Shan & The Juice Crew, L.L. Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee to mention a couple.

But beef is another whole can of "words". Beef can (and has) spread beyond records and onto the streets. Beef, real beef, is approximately more than words. Beef can be dangerous and should be studied serious. Beef is dangerous to Hip-Hop because it damages the culture's credibility and hinders its true intent. Hip-Hop as a culture and rap as a form of music was not founded on "greasy talk" and violence.

Bottom line: Beef may garner some publicity and sometimes, tragically claim lives but it does nothing to uplift Hip-Hop culture and the communities it represents.

4. The most used MCs are often probably the most overrated

It is possible to ask today's average fan to list their 10 favorite MC's and at the very least half of the people they name are average at best or downright wack. The MCs who get the most attention in radio, print and television tend to be not MCs at all; they're rappers, or I assume you can say, entertainers that rap. Your preferred rapper may have popular song getting 100's of spins each day on the air but that doesn't necessarily mean that he or she is a true MC.

Most rap songs played on the air are the weakest lyrically. Almost all of the components of Hip-Hop are completely absent from the music videos that serve as a visual for the songs. These entertainers reap the benefits of various factors that put them at the forefront of Hip-Hop. But often lyrical prowess isn't one of these brilliant factors. Meanwhile many of the best MCs that have mastered the art of MC'ing (see #9) receive little to no promotion from corporate America and their great talents are heard and witnessed by few.

Bottom line: True MCs who are in the overall game for the love of it should be more visible and the popular MCs who dominate the charts and grace the covers of magazines should challenge themselves and be challenged to step their rhyme game up.

5. Hip-Hop journalism must step their game up

I'm a writer. I was raised an avid reader of Hip-Hop themed publications. There was a time when I thoroughly enjoyed reading these publications waiting anxiously for the brand new issues to hit the newsstand or be delivered in my mailbox.

However the last 5 years roughly, the "Hip-Hop press" has let the culture down. For example, the two biggest and most successful magazines (I will not name them. You know...) for me have perpetuated, instigated and contributed to pushing on-going beefs between rap crews. And these publications themselves have engaged in on-going beefs between each other!

This doesn't happen in other publications unless you're talking about the tabloids. And if it does happen within other publications, the ramifications are not as detrimental to the entire wellbeing of the "profiles" featured within their pages or the readers of their publications.

Plainly, the Hip-Hop press includes a responsibility to the culture it covers. It should challenge the culture while celebrating it. The Hip-Hop press shouldn't lower their journalistic standards or "dumb down" merely to sell magazines. I hate to say this, but some of the best pieces I've read on Hip-Hop attended from mainstream publications which really have no authority to speak on matters of Hip-Hop.

Bottom line: Sometimes, the Hip-Hop press comes across cartoon-ish and for most of us that was raised in Hip-Hop, we expect and deserve better. The younger generation of Hip-Hop desperately need better (even if they don't really realize it). There are great writers within our culture but we all must present Hip-Hop in a shining light while being objective. The Hip-Hop press includes a credibility problem (and I ain't talking about street cred).

6. Radio & TV has yet to step their game up

Radio and television programming as it relates to Hip-Hop is wack. The most used Hip-Hop show on TV (Guess what happens I'm talking about) may be the wackest. And it's not as a result of hosts or the young, ill informed audience. The blame could be spread over the board between the producers and the corporate companies who are responsible for putting the show on the air.

I don't desire to pick using one particular television show. The point is radio and television execute a terrible job of how they present Hip-Hop culture to the masses. And, frankly, advertisers don't care; all they need will be the eyeballs to whatever they're peddling.

Important thing: Radio & Television have to create more formats and programming that celebrate all the elements of Hip-Hop so that more eyes and ears will see and hear the many faces and sounds of Hip-Hop and not simply the often negative stereotypical stuff.

7. The younger generation doesn't know or acknowledge the pioneers of the game

When I was a teenager, I loved Big Daddy Kane but I also loved and appreciated the soulful sounds of Marvin Gaye. I was students of music, fairly knowledgeable about history and not just hung up on the most recent song on the radio. A lot of my peers were exactly the same way.

On Nas' new record, "Hip-Hop is Dead", one of my favorite songs is "Keep on Tradition" where Nas challenges, "Let's see who is able to quote a Daddy Kane line the fastest." The younger generation should be more informed about Hip-Hop pre-2004. I love fire-spittin', Lil' Wayne, or the charismatic, T.I., but there has been a great deal of Hip-Hop prior to the new school or next school of Hip-Hoppers.

I've always said that the pioneers of the game don't get the proper platform they deserve. That's why I love VH1's Hip-Hop Honors. It isn't the easiest method to pay tribute to the MCs of days gone by but at the very least the producers are trying.

Bottom line: The pioneers of the game paved the way for the MCs that you see now. The MCs of today, radio, television, print and just the common Hip-Hopper on the road should pay homage to the legends. The culture has a history and that history is the foundation from which the continuing future of Hip-Hop ought to be built upon.

8. Live performances are loud, crowded and wack

You could be a hardcore Hip-Hop fan but you'll need to admit that the live Hip-Hop performance is awful. It hasn't been this way. As a matter of fact, in its short history, Hip-Hop is known for its performance element. There were great performers within Hip-Hop and several of these performances were witnessed in the park before they reached the Grammy stage.

Nowadays, MCs just don't possess a clue of what must be done to fulfill an audience. There's so much wrong with Hip-Hop performances today. The music is too loud. You can find so many people on stage. MCs are too cool or too tough to dance or just groove with the music. The stage show just lack true excitement and creativity. Often what you have is a bunch of guys on stage as though they're sitting on a street corner. Is that the very best they can come up with? I think not.

Important thing: MCs haven't shown true Hip-Hop heads nothing if they can't put on a good show. MCs spend lots of time on the highway bringing their music to the people but they should spend more time working on their performance when they hit the stage.

9. "Real" MC'ing is a lost art

If I had to create a percentage, I'd say that no more than 25% of MCs today can actually rhyme. Some have hardly any skill at all. The MCing element within Hip-Hop may be the most celebrated but the least mastered. Now I love beats and I get addicted to a catchy hook, but back in your day, when I heard a record, I zeroed in on the MC. If she or he couldn't rhyme, my ears closed quickly.

Too many songs are chorus/hook and basically nothing else. The MC really is the voice of the culture. What's said and how it's said is essential. A MC will be able to articulate her or his message clearly and skillfully. A genuine MC wouldn't normally compromise her or his lyrical prowess to make a hit record. Jay-Z, for example, has made many hits yet he rarely disappoints lyrically. Biggie was like this as well.

Bottom line: MCs of today should study the MCs of days gone by and the fantastic ones that are still doing their thing. These MCs will be the true masters of wordplay.

10. The ladies are being denied the opportunity to shine and continue being degraded and pushed to the background.

The ladies of Hip-Hop still haven't gotten their due. We can talk about any music genre and some of its biggest names are females. Maybe it is the nature of Hip-Hop and rap music. But to possess that position would be selling Hip-Hop culture short.

If you believe back, women have already been celebrated in Hip-Hop. Now an excessive amount of Hip-Hop degrades its women just for the sake to do so. Hip-Hop rarely makes the distinction between a bitch and a lady anymore. more info or Hoe are two words that have seemed to officially replace the words woman, lady or girl in the Hip-Hop lexicon.

Whatever happened to calling a woman a chick or honey?

Some feminists wouldn't like those terms but at the very least they're spoken as a compliment to women. Nearly all women are offended when you are known as a bitch or perhaps a hoe. Needless to say, nowadays some women embrace these derogatory terms, seeing themselves in this way and calling one another by these names.

But I won't simply dwell on what men treat women in Hip-Hop. That's a record that's been played often. I agree with those that say that the degradation of ladies in Hip-Hop is influenced by society's treatment of women. But Hip-Hop may be a leading influence in changing that.

What I'm really troubled by so far as women, is the fact that there are just not enough females in the overall game on the mic. Who's representing for the ladies? I don't mind saying that some of my favorite MCs are females. MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill...these ladies and others are great MCs within their own right. Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim both can go toe to toe lyrically with anybody in the game; past and present!

Bottom line: Hip-Hop must uplift our women more oppose to holding them down. There needs to be more females MCs in the overall game to represent all aspects (not just the "baddest bitch" perspective) of being women within Hip-Hop culture.

Duane L Lawton is a freelance writer and publisher of "The Rhyme Report", a number of reports that explores the song lyrics of Hip-Hop's greatest MCs. Visit [http://DuaneLawton.com]
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