The Hip-Hop Purist Debate, Round Two

(Editor's Note: A while back RefinedHype regular Mike Dreams penned an article titled "Hip-Hop Purists Could Kill the Music Forever". As expected, the article generated a lot of discussion and debate, so much so that just the other day I got an email from a reader named Scott who wanted to revive the debate. Mike Dreams agreed, and the rest is history. Enjoy.)


Hip-Hop is (Almost Dead) - Scott

Just wanted to share a few thoughts on an old article by Mike Dreams regarding Hip Hop Purists. While I can appreciate his optimism in regards to the music by new artists, I tend to agree with the opinion of Nas- Hip Hop (as I once knew it) is pretty much dead. I can appreciate Eminem's work from a writing standpoint, and Busta's rapid-fire delivery, but they don't get my blood pumping like Rakim at his best. And I still can't help but wonder how much different & better hip hop music would be if Biggie & Pac were still here. I agree with Mike Dreams that you can't expect to hear "One Mic" at the club- sometimes when I'm in the mood to party, I'd rather hear "If It Ain't Live It Ain't Me" by Mystikal than something more thought provoking- so I'll give him that. That being said, what will happen to the artform when Rakim, Nas, Jay Z & Eminem are gone? I'm 40 years old, so I grew up with Ra, KRS 1, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, etc. & to me, Hip Hop as an artform seems to have peaked with the arrival of Pac & Biggie. It hasn't been the same since they died, and to me, at least has steadily declined ever since then. Rakim hasn't sounded like "The God MC" since the late 90's, due in part to weak beats & production values. When I think of true Hip Hop, (in its purest sense) the lyrics should flow & be thought provoking. (Example: 1st verse of "It's Been A Long Time" by Rakim:)

Follow procedures, the crowd couldn't wait to see this
Nobody been this long awaited since Jesus
Who wouldn't believe this - I heard the word on the street is
I'm still one of the deepest on the mic since Adidas
They said I changed the times from the rhymes that I thought of
So I made some more to put the New World in Order
with Mathematics, put your status above the average
And help you rappers, make paragraphs with graphics
Cause new days is dawnin, new ways of peformin
Brainstormin, I write and watch the night turn to mornin
On and on and, I got the whole world respondin
Rock, I keep it hot and blow the spot without warnin
The Emperor, well known for, inventin a sentence
full of adventure, turnin up the temperature
Rush with adrenaline, how long has it been again
to be in the state of mind that Rakim is in?

It's disheartening to me that after Nas, Jay Z & Eminem disappear from the scene, no one will be left to represent the art form in its purest sense, and, at that point, hip hop will basically be dead.


Hip-Hop Never Dies, It Evolves - Mike Dreams

Not to sound cynical here, but the fact that you said this really shows me you are a little out of tune with the hip-hop climate at the moment:

“It's disheartening to me that after Nas, Jay Z & Eminem disappear from the scene, no one will be left to represent the art form in its purest sense, and, at that point, hip hop will basically be dead.”

Clearly you don’t believe that all hip-hop lyricism only lies within the arsenal of those 3 artists. I will say that they are probably the top 3 lyricists alive, but there’s definitely new guys out that still have incredible lyrical and mutli-syllable flow ability. (Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole. Lupe Fiasco, Yealwolf, etc). The problem I have with your thoughts and those who think like you is that you let the past cloud your judgment. You don’t allow hip-hop to evolve, and therefore kill it off yourself. So instead of finding and embracing these new artist trying to keep the art alive, you’re constantly comparing them to Rakim and other past artists and feeling like if they don’t live up to that, they genre has died.

Let me state something that might be interesting to you. In human nature, I really don’t believe much of anything can compete with NOSTALGIA. So even if an artist came out now with a Rakim-like candor, I still don’t believe you’d be satisfied or embrace them, because you’ll have them be competing with a memory, and that will take precedent. As I mentioned before, other genres have died in the past because no one wanted to go and redefine them.

The longevity of hip-hop has thrived off redefinition. People need to stop waiting for this “Golden Age” revival, or this idea of hip-hop getting “BACK” to it’s roots. Instead, we should be focusing on this new piece of history we’re making and the mark we’re leaving for the future generation. You’re 40 years old. The Rakim era will always be something you hold dear, and it’s awesome that you were able to be a part of that in your youth. But hip-hop music is a music of the youth, and serves as a time capsule for a generation. In this moment, it’s the teenagers and 20 something’s who are leaving their mark on the climate of the culture through the music. Groups like Odd Future and Fly Union, etc. It’s never going to be the same, and it’s not going to go back.

The only thing that needs to occur here is acceptance. Hip-hop will never die, but it’s definitely going to keep evolving. My theory is that in the next decade, a lot of the genre lines will be blurred; and music will be redefined as we know it. Now purists and people like yourself may find this disheartening, and that’s just personal preference. But you have to let time run it’s course and let an art form thrive and go wherever it wants. What I hope to see is more sincere, lyrical artists, merging with commercially viable outlets and getting the music out there. People hated on Lupe’s “Lasers” and B.o.B’s “The Adventures of Bobby Ray” to death, but those were two examples of sincere, true artists and lyricists, making albums that were able to have mass appeal and still convey positivism and progressive, thought-provoking, non-detrimental messages. If purists weren’t so busy complaining that it’s not some 1982 Boom Bap Music, they’d start to see that.

The problem isn’t that hip-hop not longer has sincere voices and lyricists. The problem is that all the old heads are too caught up in not wanting to embrace anything new and throwing the baby out with the bath water.




And there you have it folks. Vote above, comment below, it's obviously a topic worthy of some serious discussion.