*HIP-HOP....CULTURE ?

Ok folks, here we are again, with another I Gotta Know editorial. Alright class, can we all say Hip-Hop?

What’s the FIRST thing that comes to mind when we say Hip-Hop? Black people and our so-called culture. Now, don’t get upset with me, for I am not here to offend any race, or anyone in particular. All I’m trying to say is, making Hip-Hop our culture is a joke…and I’ll tell you why.

In the beginning, in the days of Africa Bambatta, The Sugar Hill Gang, and groups like BDP (Boogie Down Productions…KRS-ONE for all you un-cultured Hip-Hop heads), Hip-Hop had strong tendencies of becoming a “culture” for under privileged blacks. It gave us an outlet that could allow us to vent our frustrations, and showcase our talents and our way of life, in a positive light.

Nowadays, Hip-Hop has become a joke. I say that because instead of us making music that hits home with all of us in our daily lives, we’re making, and celebrating music with gimmicky dances, and finger snaps. That’s not music, that’s not culture, that’s not Hip-Hop. So, what do we do in turn…we give our “Culture” different categories. We call Hip-Hop our “Culture”, and we call the finger-snapping, toe-tapping other stuff “Rap”!! What’s up with that!?!

We’ve excused ourselves, once again, from taking responsibility for the messes that we create. What do I mean….I mean, Ebonics for example. That was such much of an insult to me, I almost threw-up! What the hell is Ebonics, and more importantly, why the hell are we making it ok!?! Why, I’ll tell you why! It’s because we (black people) tend to make excuses for why we accept our inferior labels. I speak broken English, and I don’t have to change for nobody, so I’m gonna call it Ebonics. Broken down (semantically), that’s just Ebony(black/brown/dark) Phonics(the way we sound)…..am I the only one insulted here!?! What the hell is going on…but I digress.

Our latest crossover Hip-Hop artists have used the record label contracts as excuses to make inferior music, cause it sells, and the record labels don’t care about us anyway. Newsflash, record labels NEVER cared about their artists! They only care about what all of us work-a-day Americans care about, and that’s keeping our all-mighty-dollar! If ONE major rap artist stopped agreeing to make b-s music, the trend would change, cause that’s all the rap is…a trend. Once we get back to positive rap, or better rap for that sake, the Hip-Hop “Culture” would follow suit. We follow trends, we follow dollars, and we accept belittling labels just to fit in, to get a piece of an American Dream that was never designed for us in the first place.

We need to take back our “culture”, take it out of the hands of the major label big-wigs, and make music that we don’t have to feel embarrassed about dancing to. I’ll be damned if you EVER catch me in a club snapping my fingers and tapping my feet to some backwoods, country “Rap”. I’m a Hip-Hop head to the fullest. Play any song from before I was born, and I bet you I can tell you who it is, but start playing some of that gimmick-hop that’s on the radio now, and you’ll probably get a blank Homer Simpson stare for the record books.

As always, I COULD go on and on, but I’d LOVE to hear from you..so, with that in mind

****WHO'S GOT AN ANSWER FOR THE QUESTION MAN****