Is Hip Hop Dead?

It wasn't too long ago that rapper Nas released a new album entitled, "Hip Hop is Dead." In releasing an album with a title such as this, the words "Hip Hop is Dead" have rung loud from so many radio stations and from many American lips. Unfortunately, they are ringing from this article as well.

When I heard this title, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. I mean I've noticed many things in Hip Hop culture just getting worst and worst and marketing efforts surrounding the music just becoming more and more disgusting. But, for a rapper I respect so much to make a statement such as that one; it saddened me in the same way that I was saddened when Biggy Smalls died. Something just felt a little empty inside. You may not have agreed with everything that person stood for and preached, but it was still a part of you as a young Hip Hop kid.

When I was in high school, Nas' first album came out. My friends and I thought of him as nothing less than an amazingly talented poet. I frequented many local Hip Hop venues in Washington, DC and even met Nas when he made an appearance at the local independent radio station I was working at, WPFW. I'm sure he won't remember that; but it was a significant day in my life. For me, that is Hip Hop. Before the bling and all the objectification of women was mandatory; Hip Hop was this music and this culture that was just me. It was what me and my friends listened to and what we believed and where we came from.

Even when Hip Hop shifted to include Biggie Smalls and Little Kim, and I was exposed to West Coast rap and more adult themes that my family wouldn't let me listen to when I was younger. That was still me. It was my friends. It was our community. It was how we or people we knew lived. They may not have described the best of situations; but, I loved rappers like Ice Cube, Snoop, and Jay-Z. Hip Hop music to me is beautiful because it always makes me want to dance and it's deep within my heart and soul as a young African American woman.

Nas stated that:

"Hip-hop is dead because we as artists no longer have the power." He continued, "Could you imagine what 50 cent could be doing, Nas, Jay, Eminem if we were the Jimmy Iovines (a music producer). Could you imagine the power we'd have? I think that's where we're headed." He has described the album as a mixture of "street" records, "political" records and collaborations.

In a different interview Nas said:

"..basically America is dead. There is no political voice. Music is dead. Our way of thinking is dead, our commerce is dead. Everything in this society has been done. That's where we are as a country."

These are strong and powerful words, and I can't say that I disagree. Imus' comments brought Hip Hop to the forefront as well causing Nas' album title to ring in the ear of Hip Hop fans even louder. News anchors all over the country asked how we could get mad at Imus' comments when our music says the same or worst. Recent attention is being paid to the dangers of diamond mining and the unnecessary and excessive use of diamonds customary in Hip Hop adornment.

All of this negative attention to Hip Hop has caused important people to respond. Russell Simmons seems to be responding to this shift in Hip Hop with a level of desperation. Russell Simmons is also from the old school of Hip Hop and it's very possible that he doesn't want it to die; or he could be concerned about his own staying power and job security.

He has sponsored financial planning conferences, which in essence have popular Hip Hop artists speak to young people and tell them not to follow in the financial examples of the music videos they are watching. He is also responding by making more moves towards censorship of music and not using certain words at all in his music. These are positive steps towards business awareness and maybe new artists will take the plentiful advice being laid out by Hip Hop's forerunners. If they do, then maybe we can revive Hip Hop as our own creation, of which we have creative control, changing the image and allowing it to be the positive voice it was always intended to be.