Hip Hop Dead or Alive?

Shadesradio.com/2007

Some people question whether Hip Hop is dead or not? Well obviously, Hip Hop is not dead; just ask Mos Def, the Roots, De La Soul, MF Doom, Common, Joell Ortiz, Ghostface, Sean Price and others. They have been doin Hip Hop music for years with no question. The truth is mainstream Rap music is dead. Tired concepts, uninspired tracks and bubblegum bullshit put out by today’s “hottest rappers” make True School Hip Hop fans say the music is dead.

But I’ve been listening to the grapevine for awhile, and from someone in-between the hood and the industry, I say Hip Hop Lives! The takeover is coming when True Hip Hop, represented by artists like KRS-ONE, and those mentioned earlier gets its shine time in the forefront like it should. For all the fans that missed them, the real talent of the culture has spoken. Nas’ Hip Hop is Dead is a classic album. Track after track is filled with truth, understanding and originality. Concepts like Blunt in the Ashtray to Where Are They Now? provide welcome relief to the barely thought out rhymes spit by some. Hip Hop Lives by KRS-ONE and Marley Marl is unquestionable as a classic Hip Hop album by definition of the colllabo. While Jay-Z’s return to the CD game has gems like 30 something and Kingdom Come which show a mature sound any true Hip Hop head from back in the day to now can appreciate.

This is the foundation on which shadesradio.com bases our claim that Hip Hop Movement is in full effect. For years behind the scenes we’ve heard how commercialization of rap music has built up fake-gods, like Nelly, who dared to disrespect a pioneer like KRS. To some he will never be forgiven and it won’t be too soon if his shine time in music is extinguished for good. Since the 90’s we’ve gone from consciousness, to gangsta, to thug, to player, to bling to cornball party rhymes. It’s over!

Time has come for there to be more critical examination of the music. Too many sell-out critics and shook-ass interviewers have been punked into pushing a lot of whack artists. Others do it for the money but from where I sit most are scared to speak the truth. Just like the war in Iraq, the media is to blame for the EZ-Pass given to charlatans of the culture.Critical examination of Rock and Roll in the early 70’s lead to the real solidification of Rock and Roll as a genre of music. It’s the people in the industry who will keep it alive not the artists. The majority of fans are followers, lead by popular “authorities” in the business. Hip Hop’s problem is that the critical leaders of culture are in it for the money. Those leaders are on radio and in magazines. Those leaders are journalists, DJ/Hosts on radio and CD, and video show personalities. The people who transmit the info have to be more responsive to the needs of the Hip Hop community. If every opinion is from a passive observer who uses nothing from the past to reference things to, then we have one more follower talking about shit he doesn’t know about for real.

We don’t give you that on shadesofhiphopradio.com. We give you truth and the perspective of true Hip Hop fans. In 2001 we put out a DVD called the Resurrection. It was, like the rest of our volumes, ahead of its time by years, but we were referring to Hip Hop. So before Nas came to the conclusion that it was dead. We were already in gear for its resurrection. To understand a critical analysis of music, listen to the Unsigned Artist Review volume 1. Long Live True Hip Hop!

One – Kurt Nice