Earlier this week, the true roots of hip-hop resurfaced via the Subway Series, a traveling concert made up of dancers, beatboxers, emcees, and singers that perform on an NY subway train.
It was the latest of the series, and will be the last for a while, which is a shame; in an era where hip-hop is plagued with pop-friendly tunes, trashy Paris Hilton collabos, sellouts like Jadakiss and Fat Joe, corny southern snap music, and lack of lyricism, there should be more, not less, of the support which preserves "real rap" and reminds us that true hip-hop really exists.
Pop artists like 50 Cent, Eminem, and Nelly have all contributed to the destruction of hip-hop that was first birthed from constant radio rotation. Have you ever heard a corny rap song that you couldn't stand but then you realized that its constant airplay grew on you? Brainwashing the listeners into thinking a song is hot--even though it's not--is an effective marketing strategy that always works. Not only that, but a kid once asked his teacher, as I read in a magazine years ago, if "Eminem created rap." That was the ending of hope for hip-hop.
So in the event of rap's demise, the only mainstream hip-hop pioneers to be granted an afterlife in rap's heaven would be Nas, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common, Dead Prez, to name a few--the only few, which is hardly enough. Nas wasn't lying: hip-hop really is dead.
Cafe Louis
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