Did the Internet Kill Hip Hop?
This is what one person on a hip hop chatline (on AHH.com) stated. I just happen to scroll down & breeze through some of the answers & some I definitely understand where they are coming from. But my first response to that question was.. No!
First of all, I don't think hip hop is dead. I think it's taken an L from what the radio stations bumping & what the music TV networks chooses to play where we're limited to the same autotune, crunk, gun slinging, booty chasing rappers or singing rappers 7 days a week. So much so, that I don't listen to the radio anymore, unless it's on the R&B station. Nor do I watch videos on BET or MTV. Matter of fact, I find myself watching VH-1 videos with Coldplay before I watch 106 & Park.
Rap on the radio sucks, & to be honest.... it's always been bias & partial, even during the Golden Age when radio was sleeping on Tribe, Kane, GangStarr so many others, while playing the hell out of Coolio, Young MC, Tone Loc, MC Hammer & so on & so on. Not knocking them, but I doubt I'll see them on too many ppl's Top 10 G.O.A.T. lists.
In my honest opinion, the internet didn't kill hip hop nor did it hurt hip hop.
IT'S SAVING HIP HOP!!!!
TRUE... the youtube beefs from rappers where they're putting more time into tough talk & making cartoons dissing each other when they should be putting out records (i.e. 50 Cent vs. Rick Ross)...
TRUE.... The convenience of downloading has hurt record sales. But to be honest, with the crap playing on the radio... you can't blame folks for doing it. Besides, before downloading, rap music was heavily bootlegged more than any other music genre. So it's nothing new to hip hop. Matter of fact, the media didn't make a deal of it until Eminem (a white rapper) & Dr. Dre (his producer) complained about his music being bootlegged. As long as it was Blacks hurting Black artists sells, it was all good. But I won't get into that.
The bottom line... is even though the internet exposes a lot of the ugly sides of hip hop which can also be seen in the media, you can't deny that shows the beauty of it too. It's exposed us to some great talent that we know MTV nor BET will not give the time of day unless they're groomed by one of their media darlings.
So for anyone blaming the internet for the horror of hip hop today,
....go to Pandora or your satellite radio station that plays your favorite underground rap music that your local stations will never play.
.... go to youtube and look up your favorite artist at the moment & see the videos that you'll never see on your cable network with over 200 channels.
.... go to myspace & check out the videos & artists the Spitkickers acknowledges & sponsor them everytime they drop an album, a video or a single that you'll never see on your flatscreen HDTV.
.... bottom line... Our traditional media outlet before the internet has turned its heads on the everyday consumer... not just with hip hop.... but this is what this blog is about. All though everything is microwavable, nothing will ever take the place of a homecooked meal. And right now, the internet is the only reliable source to find out there's more to hip hop than what BET's been bringing for the past 5 years.... (which is why Rap City got cancelled after almost 20 years.)
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4 comments:
Great Blog!
I personally go to You Tube to watch my favorites from A Tribe Called Quest to Salt & Pepa!...lol
MTV & BET will never be the same again. I pretty much learned that when I realized they would play more of Souljah Boy than Talib or Common
I Shake my head when I think about it:-(
I feel you Lakia. You know what's sad is that Talib Kweli released about 6 videos from his "Eardrum" album (classic.. BTW)
1. LISTEN
2. Hot Thing/In The Mood
3. Eat to Live
4. Everyday Man
5. Hostile Gospel
6. Joint with KRS-One
I've only seen 2 out of all 6 on BET. #2 & #5 (& only seen the #5 once & it was the world premiere.) sigh. But Souljah Boi can belch on the mic & get more publicity. It's sad & the real reason why hip hop is headed downward.
The internet has helped Hip Hop tremendously in my opinion though it has opened another venue where wack rappers can could get some light. In terms of rappers signed to indie labels, youtube is a godsend. Rappers who aren't signed have fallen in love with myspace. Whereas these rappers 20+ years ago would have a tough time finding anyway to distribute their music, nowadays they have a chance. I feel that the internet may have made television slightly obsolete b/c now it's not necessary for your videos to make a television show to make you popular. I think Hip Hop & the internet are very suitable mates in fact (that is when I don't see fools like Soulja Boy talking his ignorant mess). lol
what up muhammad.
I totally agree. Although ignoranuses like Souljah Boi screw it up for internet rappers (lol) It's also giving exposure to a lot of nice emcees we would've never known about if not for the internet. (e.g. Tanya Morgan, Kidz In The Hall, just to name a few.) Mainstream has gotten so cookie cutter & redundant, that it's become annoying listening to music outside the net.
I finally watched 106 & Park while working at home, & everything I heard had someone using that damn autotune. Thank God for I-Tunes & satellite radio.
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