Who Killed Hip Hop?
Before I step into this large issue with my take on the events that might have contributed to the downfall of good, quality hip hop let’s first think about what was happening around 1994-1996 which I feel was a crucial turning point. The introduction of the indie labels was flourishing and DJs were trying to get their hands on any new white label pressings or pre-released joints from labels like Rawkus, Seven Heads Recordings, Uproar, Front Page Entertainment and Fat Beats. We all new this music was straight from the source and not scrubbed down by the industry. We were always looking for the lost and unreleased tracks from artists like NAS that we starting to get main stream attention. Tons of new music was getting released and pre-released on mixtapes every week.
I remember calling Ryan Siko over at Fat Beats on the weekend to place my order for music that was coming out on Tuesday and he would always sell me a few extra gems that I wouldn’t have know about like the now classic 12” record from J-Live that had Braggin’ Writes and Longevity on it. I got the blue colored promo label of it with the silver sticker. I would scan Sandbox Automatic almost daily for updates on music and would read reviews on 88hiphop.com on upcoming releases. Damn I really miss those days but I have a nice collection of vinyl to listen to anytime I want to hear some real hip hop.
I have a number of theories as to what led to the demise of this music form that I cherish so much. Let me lay them all out in no particular order of importance for you to all see then comment on so we can hopefully get to the bottom of this issue.
1. Was is Clear Channel Communications and our own government that in 1992, relaxed radio ownership rules allowing Clear Channel to acquire more than 2 stations per market. By 1995, Clear Channel owned 43 radio stations and 16 television stations. In 1996, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 became law. This act deregulated media ownership, allowing a company to own more stations than previously. Clear Channel Communications went on a buying frenzy and purchased more than 70 media companies and tons of individual radio stations. They own approximetely 1,200 stations today and are the largest radio station group owner in the US. In 2005, Clear Channel Radio alone recorded more then $3.5 billion in revenues.
Need I say anymore or is this one quite obvious? Control of the airwaves = Control over what the average Joe consumer gets exposure to. We all know that if you watch a certain commercial a certain number of times it eventually rubs off on you and you start to associate with the brand advertised. Clear Channel can program a certain set of music to play a certain number of times, all day long.
2. 2Pac’s death on September 13, 1996 and The death of The Notorious B.I.G. on March 9, 1997. R.I.P. I remember being in my apartment in Capitola, CA when I heard the news of Biggie getting fatally shot and I was in total shock. We pulled out the Ready to Die CD and played it over and over and over again. Being that I spend most of my youth growing up in Central California, we were all big 2Pac fans and his death also had a profound affect on myself and friends.It was like losing two leaders and role models in a strange way as we appreciated 2Pac’s defiant personality against the law and Justice system. Why both of their deaths have still been unsolved just adds to my suspicions that they had so much control between just the two of them on the industry with their fan bases in the US and worldwide.
3. The Death of the House Party. I seriously can’t remember when I was last at a house party or have heard younger people talk about house parties. I used to DJ house parties almost every weekend during the summers in Ohio during the mid-90s and this kept me connected to what music people enjoyed and allowed me to play songs for people that they might not have had any exposure to. Club culture has taken over the main stream and all ethnic groups are now spending most of their weekends at nightclubs in every city. Here in Seattle there are about 6-10 hip hop club nights a week that you can check out that all play about the same format of music a step away from being top 40 hip hop. Yo Son! is one of the longest running hip hop nights that actually plays really good music until about 11:30pm and then the club format music starts and takes over for most of the night. I am actually guilty of this same formatting when I play out no matter how much I try to stay pure to good music. It is hard to explain what is actually happening in the clubs this past few years but the music is getting formatted for clubs and not for the house party anymore.
It was a total tipping point where a series of events moved the music in a direction to where it tipped and never turned back. Artists like Method Man started doing collaborations with R&B artists, Rawkus selling to MCA, the sounds of the Dirty South entered the clubs, producers like Scott Storch having a net worth of $70 million, release of 50-cent’s “In da Club”, hip hop peeps doing Xtacy…
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Comments
Hip-hop ain’t dead it just left home and got one of them good jobs in the city. Change isn’t death and all who claim it is must be stuck in a certain era unable to change themselves. If hip hop is dead explain Lupe Fiasco, Soulebrity, Rayne Storm, Ludacris(yeah i said it), Talib, Common, Pharoah Monch, Jay-Z, Eminem. All artist who seem comitted to bringing us good music whenever they give us anything (with the exception of “show me what ya got” sorry jay).
Personally I don’t mind hip-hop but I for one think that music is constantly changing and evolving. 70’s was disco and southern rock, 80’s was electronic music and heavy metal, 90’s hip-hop and grunge rock, right now musically we are definately in a transition for the most part artist and society at large are very reluctant to change from hip-hop and start bringing in new fresh music. Personally I think we need to take a listen to European music and get some influences. House music is incredibly huge everywhere else in the world and it is slowly leaking into USA ’s major cities. You have Fedde Le Grande, Armand Van Helden, David Guetta, Bob Sinclar, Eric Prydz, Freemasons, Benny Benassi and the list goes on. House music is not to be confused with techno music. House gets its influence from disco, 80’s and even hip-hop it is a fresh and crisp sound that more Americans need to start paying attention to. Hip-Hop is not dead but the sound that people wanna hear is definately evolving into something new!!
Scribe – Thanks for listing some other artists I haven’t heard before. I am always looking for new music. You listed artists like Common, Pharoah Monch and Talib which I heavily respect but what new music of theirs do you hear on the radio waves? Artists like Young Jeezy, Hurricaine and T.I., T-Pain, Shop Boyz are flooding the main stream market with crap music. I am totally open for the music to evolve and change but there needs to be rhyme scheme, story telling and punch lines instead of a long ass hook talking about cars, jewelry, money in the bank and going to the club.
Hip hop is dead to me right now. I personally think snap music/Crunk stinks and should not be allowed to be called or be considered hip hop. Hopefully the Wu Tang crew, Mobb Deep, Nore, Fugees, Nas, Lupe, Mos and Talib, Common, Rakim, KRS One Dj Premier’s and various others who I have missed can bring Hip hop back and alive again. I also think the unfortunate Deaths of Big Pun and Big L also was a substantial blow to the fall from grace of the glory days of Hip Hop.
Im a Hip Hop fan of over 25 years, from The early Sugarhill stuff through Electrofunk (Planet Rock,Warp 9 ,Man Parrish,Cybotron etc) all the way through Mantronik,BDP,P.E and the rest of the classic NY Boom Bap stuff.id say about 1993 was the year it started to unravel.First the b-boying was left out,then the graffiti side was left out,then even turntables/scratching more or less vanished ,and that was about the time that the recording industry managed to box Hip Hop up and sell it to the mainstream as loudmouth scary black dudes from the street -just the kind of thing middle class white boys with no girlfriends could try to imitate.For all its selling power (even though thats on the slide too!) mainsream “rap” to me just sounds false and totally contrived – totally designed to do its job -excite white boys n girls.Theres no random style element – no improvisation.While im writing this im listening to a live jam tape from 1979 Kool Kyle and Grandmaster flash at the T Connection – the style passion and FUN coming out of this old tape just shows me what a an empty shell MOST modern Hip Hop is. ( Respect to: Mos Def
Talib Kweli, Dj Shadow ,Jurassic 5 , DJ Missill ,Cut Chemist ,Company Flow , Edan, Electrofunk, Style Wars and Wild Style!!)
all that music comin up fromthe south is wat killed hip hop. the 90s was it for me. u had pac, biggie,nas,mobb deep, big l, pun n somany more. that was rap music. not to knock nas…but listen to hip hop is dead n compare it to any of the niggas first albums. aint no comparison…wtf happened. mobb deep is anotha case. after they signed with g unit they lost my respect n i was a die hard mobb fan. after my man big l passed, it all went down hill.
HIP HOP AINT DEAD COZ THERES CATS LIKE COMMONSENSE STILL PUTTIN SOME ILL SHIT OUT THERE ,I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE WACK SHIT ’S ABOUT TO GET PLAYED OUT AND WE WILL GET BACK TO BUMPIN THE REAL SHIT . YOU WAIT .AND MUCH RESPECT TO NAS AND TALIB KWELI AND TUMI FROM SOUTH AFRICA , EVERY SELF RESPECTIN HIP HOP HEAD SHOULD HEAR THAT NIGGA SPIT
HIP HOP AINT DEAD COZ THERES CATS LIKE COMMONSENSE STILL PUTTIN SOME ILL SHIT OUT THERE ,I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE WACK SHIT ’S ABOUT TO GET PLAYED OUT AND WE WILL GET BACK TO BUMPIN THE REAL SHIT . YOU WAIT .AND MUCH RESPECT TO NAS AND TALIB KWELI AND TUMI FROM SOUTH AFRICA , EVERY SELF RESPECTIN HIP HOP HEAD SHOULD HEAR THAT NIGGA SPIT
I think that da south killded hip hop but you got tight rappers like z ro chamillonare but niggas like young jezzey chris brown young joc soulja boy t pain fuck it up so i say fuck da south
I think that da south killded hip hop but you got tight rappers like z ro chamillonare but niggas like young jezzey chris brown young joc soulja boy t pain fuck it up so i say fuck da south
the bitch that said somethin bout chris brown kiss ma ass
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