The Say Hip Hop Is Dead...

I have heard so many rappers utter the phrase 'hip hop is dead' over the years, so much so that i'm forced to wonder when it has ever been alive. Common says the line in Kanye West's 'Get 'Em High' and Nas crafted an entire song around the bold statement and as much as i love these two rappers, in particular the former, i am forced to disagree.

This image is by the artist Inua Elam. The writing reads 'They Say Hip Hop is dead, i'm here to resurrect me', taken from the aforementioned Kanye West song. 

They tend to make these claims based on the idea that hip hop has become far removed from its roots. What was once a way of expressing the social injustice that African Americans were forced to suffer under and bear witness to every day has now become the medium through which opportunistic young Blacks can get rich quick.  Provided they are willing to cash in on America's obsession with needless violence and criminality - 50 Cent put it aptly when he said that 'America's got a thing for this gangsta shit' - or simply become professional buffoons, they will be granted easy riches. Not wealth, though, only riches. I can assure you there's a difference. 

Now whilst i can, to an extent, see how someone can look disdainfully on the state of hip hop today, it also has to be pointed out that a music so young is bound to evolve. Hip hops roots can be traced back no further than the 70s and the late 70s at that. It is barely 40 years old and much like the musical traditions that have come before it, it will change both normatively and structurally. That's just the nature of the beast. Rather than crying for what has been lost, you should embrace what has come. 

In closing, i would like to turn to Mos Def. On his 'Black On Both Sides' album he speaks of hip hop and gives an exposition as to his thoughts when people ask him 'where is hip hop going?' His answer is brilliant. He says that we should stop treating the music as if it is a giant on the hill. Hip hop will be whatever the people are. Provided the people live, Hip Hop will live. 

Case closed.