I was kicking it with Trey Taylor last Friday as we drove up to Fergus Falls. We discussed hip hop and what hip hop is currently or was in the past. Back in the day, hip hop was the 4 elements of breaking, graffiti writing, MCing and DJing. Its also a culture larger than those 4 art forms. A unique lifestyle accompanied each art form, but each individual lifestyle came together to form a community that IS hip hop. Hip hop to me is sucking at what you do until you get better and still having fun with it, even in the face of competition in a dj, break or rap battle. Hip hop is busted needles, skipping records, technical difficulties, an angry sound man and showing up on rapper time which means youre showing up 5 minutes before your set and you totally missed sound check. Hip hop is hitting the road with your friends to perform at an empty venue out of town but still rocking a stage like its a full house. Hip hop is a dj cutting and mixing like his or her life depended on it when no one is on the dance floor because you love what you do and not necessarily the attention it garners. Hip hop is throwing tags anywhere and everywhere because you love the rush and rebellion that accompanies the graff writer life. Hip hop is not being able to afford nice microphones, turntables or gear but making due with what you have. Hip hop is stealing what you love because you couldnt live without that new tape/cd/record from your favorite artist or group (makes me think of the stories Terrell Woods talks about). Hip hop is driving home from a gig out of town and running out of gas right as you pass the last exit for gas at 5:30 in the morning, walking to a closed gas station through the snow on train tracks in your suade Nikes, filling up an empty bottle of windshield washer fluid with gas, and walking back, laughing about the whole thing with your friend Trey. Hip hop is bringing together people of all colors and backgrounds to save someones home from foreclosure or trying to feed and clothe the less fortunate, organizing a show with all volunteer performers and donating all the money, no questions asked. Hip hop is addressing the problems we face as a society through art as both a means of communicating those problems as well as a medium through which we can solve them. Hip hop is an international family of like minded people that have a driving need to express themselves through art, music and dance. Hip hop has saved more lives than its ever taken. Put money on that. I think the idea of what hip hop is has grown and evolved and changed, but its core values can still be found if you read between the lines. What do you think?
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 19:14:52 +0000
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