UMMM IS THIS???....NOOO, THIS IS NOT HIP-HOP THIS IS INDEED A JOKE!!!

First let me say this am I a 100% lover of a variety of music. And of course there are some music genres that I don't particularly care for, just as a lot of people. However my true heart of music is more on the mellow genre. Example; pop music (some) soft rock, R&B, lounge music, Contemporary jazz, neo-soul, grunge(some) and the list goes on. I also enjoy rap or hip-hop. Let me go back a bit so that I can give you some history of when and where I fell in love with hip-hop. Due to fact that I was born in 1966 I was quite young when hip-hop or rap hit the scene. Not like some who were born in the seventies, eighties and nineties and rap is now considered a staple and excepted by the world. Rap was a statement of young men that had “something to say” and actually the first record of what was actually considered rap but not labeled a rap song went as far back as 1968 “HERE COMES THE JUDGE” 1968 a silly song that was performed by Pigmeat Markham. But I am going back too far. The first recorded song that was a commercial success was “Rappers Delight” Performed by the Sugar Hill Gang. They took the track form the group Chic “Good Times” and placed their fun lyrics on it. Now that song came out in 1979 and at that time I was in the seventh grade and thirteen years old. It was a song that was a hit in skating rinks. And was played over and over and never seemed to play out.

Of course I loved this song, and now we welcome in the East Coast! And most of the songs that came out were from rapping duos or groups that surfaced from New York. Afrika Bambaataa came hard with “Planet Rock” And that was a commercial hit in the African-American community. I enjoyed this song as well. It was the mid eighties that my love for hip-hop grew with such groups or rappers like; Heavy Dee, Public Enemy, Tribe Called Quest, Erik B. & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions “Criminal Minded” De la Soul and the list goes on and on and yes I am missing a lot of wonderful rappers. Even when rap had now crossed over with people like Jay-Z, Wu-Tang, Method Man, Redman I was feeling some of these songs. But when the late eighties had come and we had hit the early nineties a shift happened. And that shift had ushered in the south. No disrespect to the south but I wasn't feeling what Master P was saying. And neither did I typically enjoy gangsta rap and it took me some time to like Corrupt & Daze, Snoop, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. But the beats were infectious and I had to tune out the nasty put down of women and how they were being spoken of. And that is another “Speak On It” In itself. But to me this was technically considered real hip-hop, the truth, stories, fun, life and wonderful energy. I guess my love of hip hop is truly in the eighties. When a lot of groups and rappers came to the table and some were just one hit wonders. Oh! Oh! And I truly loved when hip-hop went conscience and jazzy!!

So now here we are in the new millennium and I loathe the music the industry has put out and are calling this hip-hop and it has been pure crap! Let me start off by giving you the definition of what hip hop is. The Urban Dictionary defines it as,“A long definition but I do agree and its break down. Now in this report I do speak openly and honestly with no holds barred and I can tell you that the trash that is now considered hip-hop and rap is far from it and it is polluting the airwaves. What and who is Drake? Not feeling him. I think that maybe he should sit with DMX and learn some gritty raw raps. And yes DMX is one of the rappers that has made an indent in the world of rap. Maybe he should just stick to producing....hmmm... I use to not like and dislike Lil Wayne at the same time. And at one point and time he was a rapper. Maybe it's just me but how did you go from being hardcore gritty (dressing that is) to wearing leopard tights and looking like a glam-rock punk rock rapper. And what is and who is Niki Manaj??? Is she a rapper? I don't think so. Long gone are the days of Monie Love, Queen Latifa, Lil Kim, Foxy Brown (even though they brought glam to the game they had flow) Eve and there a sleuth of underground female rappers that didn't make it on the radio but had flow.

Long are the days when you got great acts with huge great lyrical flow. I know that when rap came out it was disliked by so many. Especially parents because they didn't want their children polluted with such filth. And when N.W.A hit the scenes with their gangsta rap it opened the doors for West Coast rappers while I admit my co-horts were digging the whole vibe of the likes such as Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Jayo Felony and a sleuth of other rappers that had one hitter quitter and made one album and then fell off. I too at a young age had an issue with the lyrics of Too short and E40 all the reference to women in a negative way didn't feel good to my ears. But at the end of the day I dug the production of this music because it was genius.

I believe rap has now turned into a huge conglomerate gimmick! And it is no longer a “skill” one must have to do sixteen bars. I am literally sickened by the“trap” music that pollutes the air!! Seriously! It all sounds the same to me. There are no real lyrics anymore, there is no more meaning, no cry, no pain, no history and no culture. Rick Ross and the likes rap of money food and fortune. So what! What happened to the innocence of battle rappers? Well Park and 106 keeps it gritty every Friday. I honestly enjoy the battle it reminds me of the“good ole days” Rap is a joke! And is mow way over a multi-millon dollar corporation in itself. Remember when the Grammy s didn't even acknowledge rap as music? Now it's in commercials, radio ads and white people are rapping! Not that I have anything against them bless them! But anything and everything that the African-American makes moves in musically is always taken from us and makes multi-millions for them. That is another story, and no I don't have anything against Eminem. Honestly he is a stand up rapper and guy who has many skills and holds true to what rapping is so I cannot downplay what he has brought to the game at all!

Rap is commercial and pop now, it is no longer a culture of grit and truth and lyrics. Though I am not a true hardcore Kanye West fan, but I again have to give him his props. I guess one could say or should say “Get your money man” hey I am far from a hater! But you can give me some X-Clan, EPMD and Biggie Smalls any day and tuning into the lyrics this is rap! The true stories and life of it. Why is it that acts such as Mos Def and Talib Kweli The Roots are not given major radio airplay however these acts and more are very prevalent to the culture of rap and have a conscience role that they continue to bring to the forefront. Long gone are the days it seems that “rap with a message” is popular to listeners and the industry. I sigh and shake my head to this because it is more needed now than ever. Am I a producer? Engineer? Performer of rapper? Far from it! But I do have an ear and taste for pure music and it seems those days are just a in-graded memory of my loving past and love for hip-hop. Black Sheep, Special Ed, Pharsyde I wish that all of you would come back and show these boys to men what real rap and music is all about!

Toy High