What’s up everyone?. I hope this blog post finds you well. This is one of those brain dumps I’m having, where I overthink all things Hip-Hop and put it out into the ether because, I really enjoy healthy debate, whether it’s someone agreeing with me, or completely seeing things from a different angle. We can disagree and still be amicable, that’s what being an adult is about.
I guess some of what I write about now may touch a few nerves, but just know, everything I say/do or write about, is coming from a real place, with no subtext or ulterior motive. I mean, I ain’t on no “jeez, you can’t say anything these days without people getting offended” vibe, as I find a LOT of people who use that phrase are just annoyed their ignorance’s and bitterness are falling on ears that are fatigued from years of just that, and people are calling it out more these days.
On that note, lets begin.
GENERATIONAL GAP IN HIP-HOP/MUSIC
It’s normally par for the course that generations view music differently. I doubt my mum, when in her teenage years, wasn’t into the music my grandmother was into as a teenager, that’s mainly a given. I wasn’t really into what my Mum was into when she was a teen, but, I find, the further the generations go, the gap is closing for most genres. For example, my Mum was into Michael Jackson, that bred an early obsession for me with his music. She also introduced me, just by having it play in the house all the time, to Tracey Chapman, and a lot of Reggae music. It’s the old mantra, good music is good music.
On the flip side, I was heavily into Hip-Hop as a teen, and there’s an abundance of music that my mum would resonate with, from that realm. Yeah, she wasn’t too enamoured with some of the more coarse elements to Hip-Hop in the 90’s but I always remember her telling me to rewind a lyric on Warren G’s “This is the Shack” because she thought it was real clever. That line was “I’m sitting with my feet up on the table in the shack, with my revolver, problem solver” haha!. She said it was such a cool lyric and she could picture this guy, totally blasé in attitude and unconcerned about his surroundings, because he has his “problem solver” tucked in his belt line.
I don’t think the generational gap has been anywhere near as big as it is in Hip-Hop music today , from people within the culture. I’d imagine some of those from the 70’s and 80’s era may have had some negative things to say about the artists coming up in the 90’s but I don’t think it was anywhere near the levels of today. In fact, I have seen mainly positive things being said by the likes of Grandmaster Caz, Kool Herc about the likes of Nas, Wu-Tang, De La Soul, ATCQ and a whole bunch of artists that came out later in Hip-Hop. I also remember that love being reciprocated by the likes of 2Pac (Old School) and Da Youngstas (Hip-Hop Ride), who gave it up for those that paved the way. There seemed to be, for the most part, a genuine appreciation from both demographics to the music that came before or after them. Today? I think we are heading toward total disconnect.
Let me explain my thoughts as to why:
If you look at Metal/Rock music, House music, Drum & Bass, Jazz, or whatever music you can think of. Is there such a disconnect between generations? I wouldn’t know a LOT about all them various scenes, but, from the outside looking in, I don’t see the same level of disconnect. For example, I have friends who are into some of these genres of music, and they still go to events, concerts and support the individual scenes. I doubt a metal head going to a Bring Me The Horizon concert would feel as alienated as an 80’s/90’s/2000’s Hip-Hop head at an NBA Youngboy gig. I don’t think a 90’s House music head at a Hayley Zalassi gig would feel as out of place as that same Hip-Hop head at a Playboi Carti gig.
HAS THE GAP WIDENED BEYOND REPAIR?
When you flip it, it has the same outcome for the most part. Just look at the recent debacle of one of Hip-Hop’s elder statesmen in Method Man & Redman performing at the Hot 97 Summer Jam. A totally disconnected and uninterested crowd made Method come to the conclusion that he won’t be performing at any future Hot 97 shows. Similarly, Busta Rhymes had the same disconnected crowd recently in New Orleans. But, if you look at say, any recent gigs from the likes of Todd Terry, Carl Cox etc, the crowds are pretty diverse in age range. Why is that?
I feel it’s mainly down to music quality. And this is where the waters get murky. I feel Hip-Hop, in the commercial realm, has severely dropped the ball in regards to music quality. And before you throw the tired old cliche out there “you’re just getting older, Hip-Hop is a young mans game”, I love a ton of music coming out today. Yeah, mainly by older artists, as I do resonate with them more, the point is, Hip-Hop is still in it’s relative infancy, and in my opinion, some artists are making some of their best work in their later years, or at least still make music at a high level. So, to me, that point is moot. What is definitely up for debate though, is the quality bar.
I don’t listen to the likes of NBA Youngboy, Playboy Carti, 21 Savage etc because I don’t really see anything in them that makes me think “wow”. I get that they aren’t really lyrical, and not everything needs to be. It’s just there’s nothing that separates them from the vast amount of artists out there with the same level of musicianship/skill. I remember seeing a tweet that Phonte from Little Brother put out, that is pretty much what I’m trying to say.
QUALITY CONTROL
I mean, that’s a good point, whichever way you look at it. For all the great things the internet is responsible for, the way it gives independent artists the chance to get their music out there without the need for record label backing, and truth be told, I’m glad there’s young people out there who’ve made big dough doing something other than a regular 9 to 5, so more power to them, but, what we have also, is a complete lowering of the entry bar. I think the landscape in music has changed dramatically, and record labels have very little control over what can blow up and not.
Of course, they still have the monopoly on things, and they still have the power to push an artist to stratospheric levels. I just feel that it’s a long way from the 80’s/90’s/2000’s, where A&R’s would seek out the talent, and try to give them a platform. These days, I think a lot of record labels simply watch the metrics and jump on what’s hot at any given time. Again, this lowers the bar significantly, because let’s be honest, almost anything can gain traction today.
A silly TikTok dance can propel the backing track it uses to crazy heights. But, I digress. It’s the landscape now. I just feel there’s got to be some sort of renaissance in the commercial realm, and hopefully it will balance out over time and we will see some younger artists emerge that are more lyrical and keep the spirit of Hip-Hop alive for even younger generations to come.
THIS IS A LOCAL SCENE, FOR LOCAL PEOPLE!!
I also see the same thing in local scenes. I’ve never really wanted to limit myself to be part of any local scene, as I feel it’s a limited scope from the get go. I’ve always supported what I rate from where I am based, Wales, and I’ve always tried to shine a light on what I think deserves praise. The organisation I am part of, The Hold Up, have always tried to do that. We used to run monthly cyphers, where emcees, singers, producers, and anyone within Hip-Hop culture were welcome to come along, build links, network and just feel a part of something. There was no required skill level as such, but it was definitely a place where you honed your craft and sharpened your skills etc.
We used to run club nights in conjunction with the cyphers too, and a few of the younger artists who showed progress over the previous months were put forward to perform at our club nights, as we knew they were at a level, and could handle a crowd and what was expected of them in a live performance. Yes, creativity shouldn’t be exclusive to only those at a certain level but it would be highly careless of us to put an artist on stage when they aren’t ready. That could be disastrous and hurt the artist more than help them.
OPINIONATED MUCH?
Another reason I’m hesitant to get too involved in the local scene as a whole, is this term that can be bandied around. Gatekeeper.
I get the negative connotations of the word, I really do, but I think the lack of any “gatekeepers” keeps a scene from thriving and lasting. I mean, who the f*** am I to say what it is or isn’t good? Well, I’ve been a DJ/Record collector/music fanatic since around 10 years of age and have made music for around 15 years too. I’m not saying that to beat my chest or anything, it’s just my opinion is as valid as the next persons. I just find your opinion doesn’t count, but only when you are not showering praise on someone. THAT is a problem. Our inability to speak openly about our thoughts on music has a whole scene that seems to like pretty much everything that is released under the banner of “Welsh Rap/Hip-Hop”.
I hate to be that guy, but some of the stuff that I see being shared and “gassed up” is abysmal. Totally abysmal. And that’s not one of these “music is subjective” things, as there’s a lot of stuff I don’t really vibe with, but can totally see the talent in it and understand why people resonate with it. Some of it though, I don’t think should see the light of day, but it’s shared and gets the obligatory flame emojis, because we have become so manipulated into believing that you have to show support to “the scene”.
What happened to honing your craft? to putting in the hours/days/weeks/months/years into developing yourself as an artist? It seems anyone can write any old lyrics, record it, put it on Instagram, and people will fall over themselves to share it and big it up, and put this forward as a true representation of the Hip-Hop scene in Wales. I think that sets us back. Significantly.
In respect of transparency, I will always stand behind my views, but I also wouldn’t want to cause any undue ill feeling with anyone, so I’d never throw someone under the bus for the purpose of generating focus to a random blog post of mine, but, if you’re reading this, and you think I’m in any way directing any this of at you, then hit me up, and it’s something I wouldn’t hide, and I’d be happy to chat about it respectfully.
Anyway, to sum up, I think the lowering of the bar in commercial Hip-Hop circles is absolutely linked to the lack of quality control in smaller, local scenes. I feel Hip-Hop is losing it’s competitive element and a lot of people abide by the “if you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything” schpiel. I wholeheartedly despise that way of thinking when it comes to art.
Praise something if you love it. Berate something if you think it sucks. I always see people say things like “you do better then”, if you dare to critique the Great White Hope’s music, yeah, Eminem fans are the absolute softest of people when it comes to someone talking bad about anything he does, but, I never see people say “you go and direct a multi Grammie award winning movie then” because someone said they didn’t like Titanic, or “let’s see you score 15 goals a season in the Premier League then” because someone took issue with a random person on the internet saying they don’t rate Dominik Solanke (apologies for alienating anyone outside of the UK with my football/soccer references).
LAST WORDS:
People are so careful not to rock the boat. it’s so transparent too. You can’t like EVERYTHING. I’ve had people moaning at me every time I post something negative online. They always seem to pop up when I’ve said I don’t like such and such album. I’m then called a “hater” (if you still use that word in 2024, you’re lame as f*** by the way). It’s funny that the same people will also swerve the numerous albums I’ve praised. This weird personal attachment people have to artists is baffling to me.
I mean, I highly rate Billy Woods, Aesop Rock, Oddisee and numerous others, but if someone posted that they thought their latest album was wack, I wouldn’t trawl through their Facebook page, trying to pick apart their music/career etc, on some weird personal vendetta. That’s the behaviour of someone lacking in a lot of social skills to put it bluntly.
So, that’s my wonderments for another while. I hope what I have wrote here is taken in it’s realest context. I’m all about opinions, disagreements, agreements…it’s all healthy debate.
Until next time, stay smiling….PEACE!