I’m About to Set it on Society/Watch Me While I do It

Originally Posted on the PlentyProphylactics Blog - Monday, 23 April 2006

Daily Lyric: Check it / I spit it for the righteous and the wretched…

                                                -“Pay Attention,” Dilated Peoples

Music, in its purest form, is a reflection of the artist’s emotions as they work through their lyrics to convey their message.  Whether the message is one of social change, of concentrated rage, or of sexual exploration, the end result is always the same – a reflection of what the artist (or songwriter) was feeling at that time. Since human beings are all privy to the same types of emotions and have similar experiences with love, rage, despair, and longing, it would make logical sense that different types of songs will resonate with different people at different times in their development. So assuming all of the above is true, why are so many members of the hip-hop community determined to force hip-hop music (and the underlying culture) into one microscopic mold? 

There are two very distinct factions of hip-hop heads at war with each other: the intellectual elite (also sometimes referred to as hip-hop progressives) and the legions of pop culture. 

 In an era where songs like the “Laffy Taffy” [chorus: Gurl shake dat laffy taffy/Dat laffy taffy/Shake dat laffy taffy/Dat laffy taffy] and “Ms. New Booty” [chorus: Booty, booty, booty, booty, rockin’ everywhere] are in constant rotation on radio airwaves, many of the intellectual elite have retreated back to base, eschewing mainstream radio for satellite and internet stations.  However, the hip-hop intellectual elite occasionally rallies to reclaim what they call their own – movements, political protests, and thoughtful discourse through the avenues of print, photo and film. 

Just last week, I had the pleasure of attending one of the hip-hop oriented films highlighted in this year’s DC FilmFest. The film was titled Letter to the President (www.filmfestdc.org under the Hip-Hop 4 Reel heading) and was intended to be an examination of hip-hop culture and its responses to American politics. During the Q & A session, I was shocked to hear the criticisms leveled at the producer of the film – it was as if she was being taken to task for all the ills of hip-hop culture. The effectiveness of the film was called into question for various reasons: the decision to use Snoop Dogg as a narrator; the inclusion of the opinions of non-political rappers such as 50 Cent and Chingy; the discussion of predominantly commercial artists like Ludacris. The opinions expressed by the intellectual elite charged that the film was diluted in purpose by including people who did not reflect political hip-hop – and questioned if the opinions of non-political rappers were even relevant. The experience in general left an acrid taste in my mouth.  My impressions of the film started to fade as I was confronted by a part of hip-hop culture that I tend to ignore.  As the armchair intellectuals continued their tirades against popular culture, and about “the ignorant youth” and how “this music isn’t hip-hop,” I felt the need to scream welling up inside of me.

My question to the hip-hop intellectual elite is this: What are you trying to accomplish?

If your end goal is to alienate the core audience of contemporary hip-hop, to cause those interested in party hip-hop to turn a deaf ear to your cause - you have succeeded.

If you want to showcase your obviously superior intellect, and cast judgment on all those who do not conform to your standard of hip-hop ideal - you have succeeded.

If you get an ego stroke from feeling superior to the unwashed masses, and use your knowledge of world events and historical hip-hop minutia to verbally masturbate all over the ideas and thoughts today’s youth - you have succeeded.

But if, just if you present yourself as a champion of hip-hop culture, and see your mission as moving hip-hop back to “the way it used to be” – you have failed.

The reason you have failed is because you have allowed your arrogance to blind you to the universal truth of popular culture – something is popular simply because it resonates with a large audience. 

In the 1980’s, political issues where everywhere and affected everyone in a tangible way.  Hip-Hop reflected those views.  As new generations have arisen, the current issues of the day have bled into the music.  As our society grows increasingly segmented, the general consciousness has turned away from political discourse.  Political issues are no longer aligned with one set group of people.  While Grandmaster Flash was able to successfully launch a campaign for awareness with “The Message” in 1982, we live in very different times.  It is foolish to think that things can go back to the way things were – we live in a different world.

If the point of progressive hip-hop is to raise awareness for social issues and spur people to action, why does that automatically preclude all other forms of hip-hop music? In order to be a political progressive, do you need to dismiss anything that is not political out of hand?  By taking a high handed approach to artists that are not classified as political, and belittling or demeaning their opinions you are also setting all the fans of popular music against your cause. Their ears are automatically closed to everything you have to say before you begin making your case. It also perpetuates the stereotype that in order to be progressive, you need to rock natural hair and hemp, read Adbusters & the Utne Reader, and be against all forms of institutionalized or popular anything. It is this extreme view that drives many people away from advanced political or social discourse – too many people take pleasure at making others feel inferior when they are simply uninformed.   The simple fact of the matter is that people are exposed to different ideas at different times in their lives.  We learn by experiencing what is foreign to us, and what is introduced to us in a way that we will be receptive.  Very few people are born into a politically active household – everyone else has to form their opinions based on what they are exposed to.  As a result, the heavy hitting politics of Talib Kweli or Immortal Technique may be too intimidating for the average 15 year old with limited knowledge of world politics to even try to understand. However, 50 Cent’s rant against the NYPD is easily compared against past experience and news stories.  The key to getting political hip-hop more exposure is not to spend time disparaging the current climate of hip-hop – it is to figure out exactly what is resonating with popular hip-hop that takes it to the national stage and apply that base level knowledge to how politics are packaged and presented.

Some members of the progressive hip-hop movement have found ways to reach people by using other methods.  Common drops a commercial single every few years that reaches a wide variety of people.  Those people then get to learn more about the issues and ideology the artist advocates and then use that knowledge as a springboard for their own exploration.  I wonder how many casual listeners of hip-hop and R & B were turned on to Mos Def because of the remixes and collaborations he has done with Bilal and Craig David.  And in turn, those new listeners of Mos Def were introduced to Immortal Technique and Pharoahe Monch.  Maybe the answer is to try and foster dialogue between artists – to create a space where progressive hip hop can peacefully coexist with party hip-hop and elevate hip-hop music and culture to another level. Maybe hip-hop elitists should spend more time promoting their favorite artists, instead of selfishly hoarding the information in hopes the artist will not “sell out” or go mainstream. 

Whatever method we chose to ingrain hip-hop into being a major influence on the social and political culture, one thing is clear: snobbery from hip-hop elitists or purists has no place here.