Yes, Hip-Hop IS Dead!

For the past several months now, ever since the release of Nas's eighth studio album Hip Hop is Dead, the entire hip-hop community has been contemplating the idea that the lifestyle (it is more than just the music) could be dead. The statement was met with denial and contempt from many artists and fans. But hold on a second, b-boys and girls. Let's examine why Nas (and other artists) would make such a statement.

First of all, the concept of the death of hip hop has been around for a very long time. One of the most notable instances was in 1994, when Common (still known as Common Sense in those days) released his song, I Used to Love H.E.R. In this song, Common uses an extended metaphor, comparing hip-hop to a young woman who was positive, creative, and free. She becomes tainted, however, by the influences of gangsta rap and record executives and ceases to resemble the beautiful young lady she once was. This song was also met with hostility and resulted in tensions between Common and the Westside Connection (mainly Ice Cube).

Twelve years later, Nas released his album, on which he blames everyone, rappers, record execs, and yes, even the fans for the demise of the art form known as hip hop. I agree with him, not simply because I am a Nas fan, but because I realize exactly what is happening to our music. What once was creative, artistic, original, and honest is now none of the above. There are similar lines in just about every song on the radio. Every rapper is a pimp, a hustler, a killer, and they are quick to remind us of how wealthy they are and what size the rims are on their cars and SUVs. It makes it hard to believe that this music began in the low-income neighborhoods of New York where there was much poverty and drug use. The music was created to be the voice for low-income youths who felt left out of society. Now, you can't relate to much of what's on the radio unless you live in the suburbs.

Hip hop once represented the thoughts of many different types of people (the afrocentric, the spiritual, the hustlers, the party-goers, and the revolutionary-minded among others). Now only one voice is heard, the voice of greedy young people who don't care what they say and who they have to degrade in order to get paid. But should there be a price at which people will degrade themselves?

Ladies and gentlemen, the history of hip hop is one of positivity, creativity, and social commentary. Those elements are no longer present in the vast majority of the music. We hear the same songs with the same messages put to different beats with different hooks. The problem is, those who try to be original are usually snubbed. Like Little Brother, the intelligent rap group who were told that there song and video were "too intelligent" for the BET audience. Real hip-hop is intelligent! All you have to do is listen to a Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Nas, or Tupac song to figure out how intelligent hip-hop is. Which brings me to the next problem: Rappers of today do not know the history of the music they perform and therefore cannot continue in the legacy left for them. Moreover, fans lack the knowledge of the history of the music and therefore don't expect more from performers than the crap that we're getting. Record execs are getting richer, our community is getting weaker, and Hip hop is cold and dead.