A Contiuation Of A Conversation On Hip-Hop

I was recently asked by a reader, Albert, to discuss which hip-hop artist I would consider good, bad, and in between. Well first off, I will say that I am by no means disrespecting any artists abilities. I am only giving my thoughts on the state of hip-hop as I see it. It is my opinion, as far as main stream, hip-hop is lost in the darkness. But there are a few artists that have seen the light.

The artists that I believe has shown to be an individual as of late is Common. This man has been putting together well thought out material but has been over looked by the main stream. His lyrics are thought provoking and insightful. He is a very intelligent man. He is also one who is a master of the live show. He gives all of himself through every song that he performs. His music is full of heart and wisdom. He is a genius at his craft. There is no other like him. He is in a class all by himself. It is about time he is recognized for his great talent.

Another artist that is true hip-hop is Mos Def. Another genius at his craft, Mos Def spins a web of aptitude that draws the listener in like a light house to a lost sailor. He is a deep thinker with an activists heart. The listener becomes a part of the experience, not just an audience member. Every lyric is felt and absorbed. The mind is lifted. The soul is nourished .

KRS 1 is of course a crowd mover. Since the day way back, this man has been a lyricist of the highest caliber. His catalog is like hip-hop past present and future. The depth of his knowledge seems unmatched . His words are golden. His stories are hard core with out being ignorant. He is a teacher. He is an entertainer. He is the truth. No matter what the industry says, KRS 1 will always be the man to go to for true, real, positive hop-hop.

MC Lyte! This woman is not only the best “female” rapper to ever hit the studio , or the stage. She is one of the best artists in hip-hop period. Lyte has always put thought into her music. She is very conscience. She is motivating. She is inspiring. Positively one of the brightest stars in the industry. Lyte is an Icon in the hip-hop world. MC Lyte is the Queen of hip-hop.

As far as bad artists are concerned, I will put it this way. Most of the people you hear on the radio and see in videos are, let’s say, below standards. If you listen to top 40 radio, as I have said earlier in my first post, the five artists that are rotated daily are artists who lack quality writing skills. They feed the audience empty calories. They feed candy to the listener . They feed abnormalities. They feed greed and sexual garbage. They feed murder and ignorance. They feed death and destruction . I do not have to name these people. Just tune your radio to any so called hip-hop station and you will hear the artists that I write about.

Albert wanted to know who the in between artists as I see them. I are no in between artists that I can think of at this time. Some would say that NAS switches back and forth from positive to negative. But, if you really listen to NAS’ lyrics you will notice that his stories teach. There are no empty calories in NAS. There is more knowledge than thug glorification.

Ice Cube is another artists that gives knowledge. From the days of NWA, Cube has always taught with his style of rap. At first glance you would think that Cube is just rapping about bangin and slangin. But listen close to the outcome of his stories. Most of his work is an observation of street life. He is a street reporter unlike others who just do what I like to call “writing to fit in” Most people these days just write to fit into the industry. Cube is in no way one of these types of artists. He does not write for a committee. He writes what he sees from the heart. Others write what they are told to write. Or, they have goast writers write for them. And they call themselves artists?

So, there it is there. The good. The bad. The in between.



Keep Using Your Brains Yall

Peace To My People

I’m out

A Response To A Conversation I Had On Hiphop/Rap Music

I'm so glad to see that there are still some of us that use our minds. This mental pollution that is spreading all over the air waves is causing minds to turn into a self-hating, materialistic soup that is leading to the massive heart attack in our collective selves. Our pulse is getting weaker. We are about to code. We are slowly being conditioned to chase the dollar at all cost. We are putting dubs and chains in front of education and the true good life, which is family and close friendship.

These days if you're not bangin thug and showin yo a.., you're a punk. If you're not braggin about what you have, you're some kind of loser. If you're not talking about laying down with some body and taking chances with your life, you've got no game. Well let me tell you from experience, the Labels, the print media, film and TV want you to believe that all of the above is true. But let me tell you, it is all a part of a plan.

The plan is to keep your mind busy with bullsh... That way you are not a threat. They keep us dancing to catchy songs with B.S. hooks that say truly nothing but foolishness and destruction. Look. The number one children's learning tool is Hooked On Phonics. I wonder why? It's because music goes into the subconscious. That is where all of the information is truly stored. They know what they are doing. It's just sad that some artist would rather make money than use their God given talent to teach while they entertain.

Listen to any given radio station at any given time. You will hear the same five songs played in different order. Listen to the content. What do you hear? How do you feel after hearing the same five songs? Does the music help you while it entertains you? Remember. You mind hears every thing and absorbs every word even though you may not know it. Remember the old saying? Garbage in garbage out? And we wonder why our young is dying in the streets every day trying to keep up with each others greed, or trying to out thug each other? These are our babies that we are losing to the pen and the grave. We should care even if no one else does.

Now I'm not saying that every song should preach. But, what I am saying is every song should not put our people in a mind set that will continue to cause the destruction of our people. It should help our people grow as it entertains. Why is there so much pride in being one of the people holding us back, jailing us, killing us. Why is being ignorant so cool? I just don't get it.

There are artist out there that can handle the job of both keeping the party going and teaching at the same time. This is no sales pitch, but I am one of them. No, I'm no mega star. But I have excellent work that I will be making available in the months to come. If you are interested, leave me a note and I will give you more information. But don't stop with me. Seek out the artists that are trying to bring us along. They are out there.

No one will ever replace Pac. It just won't happen. But we owe it to ourselves to make our concerns known to the Record Companies that there is a market for true music. Let the media know that we deserve better music, film, and TV productions. Let them know that we are tired of the poison. We deserve better!


Thank you for taking the time to read me.

Keep using your brains yall.

Love to my people.

I'm out.