If you have seen the movie Brown Sugar starring Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs, you’re probably familiar with the question “When did you fall in love with hip-hop?” Masterfully, the question was the whole theme of the movie, because if you love hip-hop, you certainly had the experience of opening your ears to a sound you have never heard before. The phenomenon, I can imagine, was similar to the emergence of Jazz from the Blues era in the early 1900s. The birth of a cultural elemental revolution, there’s simply nothing like it.
And of course, there isn’t! In the 1970s, when the Bronx was burning, this underground movement we call hip-hop swept the borough by storm as it focused on bringing the community together featuring emcee and dance battles, and displays of art (graffiti). Before the days of G-Unit, Suge Knight, and Bobby Shmurda, before the guns, the chains, and the exploitation of women — hip-hop was once an honorable art form.
I apologize too, because I’m a native New Yorker. I used to b-boy with my homies after school right off Forest Ave in Ridgewood, Queens. I can rattle off Jay lyrics mid-bar if need be — but what passes for hip-hop today is simply a sham. I’m not an “old-timer”, although I have absolutely no idea what the hype is with dying your dreads multiple colors. I like many of today’s artists; Kendrick Lamar and Drake to name a couple. Do they call women b**ches in their songs? Yep, but I digress.
To put things in perspective, I am a married man and we are coming up on our anniversary next month. The simple reality of having an Amazon Alexa in the living room is that if a song is playing, everyone hears it. My wife, the ideal women, and boss in many regards likes reggae, hip-hop, and R&B, but despises artists who openly degrade, exploit women — perpetuating a narrative of homophobia and one that says “black women are worthless”. I do not blame her either, black women and members of the LGBTQIA as subgroups of the population, receive the worst treatment across the board.
Are there any other couples out there that have this issue? Men, do you skip over the song if it becomes grossly offensive to women? What if "Suck it or Not" came on by Cam’ron? I remember when" U.O.E.N.O" came by Rocko, and Rick Ross straight up talked about date raping a woman. Reebok dropped Ross' endorsement deal immediately after the track’s released.
“Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it
I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it”
In 2006, Nas released “Hip-Hop Is Dead” at a pivotal point in the genre — when Chamillionaire was close to the top of the Billboard 100… when Kanye appeared to have some sort of control of his health/wellness. Nasir must have had some foresight.
“Hip-Hop been dead, we the reason it died
Wasn't Sylvia's fault or because MC's skills are lost
It's because we can't see ourselves as the boss
Deep-rooted through slavery, self-hatred
…
We on some low-level sh*t, we don't want ni**as to ever win”
Have you seen some of the tracks on Rap Caviar on Spotify? How did Future get so much spotlight after displaying hyper misogynistic behavior both in and out of the recording booth? Moreover, how did he do a song with Beyoncé?
Well, I have this hypothesis that white (and black record executives alike) are amplifying this culture to drive the conversation away from what hip-hop is really supposed to be all about, community, improvisation, and art. How can we build families if we keep the discussion of hip-hop limited to drugs, sexual improprieties, and diamond chains? And if we can’t build families, how can we build a community that combats the white male patriarchy that has kept blacks subservient as a population for hundreds of years? Easy, take control of the culture.
What are your thoughts? Share them in the comment box below!
