It never occurred to me that Hip-Hop has been transformed into a genre more catered for white culture until my mentor brought it to my attention. Perhaps we should explore the attributes of Hip-Hop when it was still locked and sealed in the culture of African-Americans. First, Hip-Hop was a form of social activism. Songs such as B.D.P's "Stop the Violence," "Self Destruction" and Tupac's "Brenda's Got a Baby" clearly showed how Hip-Hop was a medium to address real time social issues concerning the plight of African-Americans.
What was even more rewarding for old school Hip-Hop fans was they often only needed to turn on the radio to access those kinds of songs. Groups like X-Clan, Public Enemy, The College Boyz or artists such as KRS-One, Nas, Kool Mo Dee all were signed to major deals. Furthermore, they had creative freedom to release songs that were up to speed with the social needs of the average African-American (not excluding other races by far).
But just as China invaded Tibet and purged out many of the ancient traditions of Buddhism, corporations have colonized Hip-Hop and now, Hip-Hop is far from its original square which began in the late 70's. Now, what do I mean when I say Hip-Hop is white culture or better yet, what was my mentor referring to?
In a nutshell, corporate America has changed the image and purpose of Hip-Hop.The final effect has produced a genre of music that is about making you dance; whereas, the quality of lyrics don't matter to the average listener. Good production and a catchy hook is the key to your secular Hip-Hop songs these days. In laymen terms, it has become "dumb you down music"-especially in the south.
Hip-Hop (amongst other things) is modern day's most succesful Minstrel Show and the Minstrel Show entertained who? Ahhh, yes white culture. Just a brief quote from Wikopedia brings the point home: "Minstrel shows lampooned black people as ignorant, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, joyous, and musical." There's not enough space to discuss such a vast issue in one blog so we might need to discuss this topic again. Also, this is not to say that original Hip-Hop doesn't exist anymore. It is only to say that the kind of music that made Hip-Hop so successful is not what is defined as Hip-Hop anymore. Hip-Hop is T-Payne, Souljah Boy, Jeezy, and the likes. Artists that actually used Hip-Hop as a vessel to enlighten the mind or address social issues were or have been put on the back burner. It hits home because I'm a Hip-Hop artists and I can directly see how all this has influenced my Hip-Hop career. Yes, Hip-Hop is the new white culture. The question is what will we do about it? Take the time to see how Hip-Hop culture now is used by Whites/Europeans to stereotype African-Americans in the video below.
