“Old School, New School, need to learn tho” -The Notorious B.I.G., “Who Shot Ya?”
“Being up-to-date is more important than knowing your history to be honest” –A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Spotify
2017 is one of those years that mark the end of an era in all aspects of society, especially facts. The year also seems to brazenly reject anything that came before it. As it relates to music, Hip Hop is a unique genre which requires different guidelines for discussion. It seems like every week a Young G is talking trash about an OG, or vice versa. The youth sound like delusional trolls while aging heads sound like aggressive curmudgeons. As the generational gaps broaden, instead of arguing whether or not 90’s artists are overrated or denouncing mumble-jumble, I’d like to introduce something that seems to be missing in the discussion - context.
Historical Reference
Let me use Erykah Badu’s ode to Hip Hop to help frame the discourse. We must agree that the subject matter is a mutual love. If there are elements you dislike it’s probably because they are similes, metaphors and allegory you don’t understand. It is a song of oral history where every lyric has a back story. Whether or not aware, this is our innate ancestry continuum which predates the creation of the genre.
Decoding the lyrics means understanding how you got to a place that even allows you to have dumb opinions about B.I.G, Tupac or any prior great while imperviously benefiting from their legacy. You should know that the song is actually an unofficial sequel to Common’s “I Used To Love Her” which is why he’s featured on it, not to mention it consummated their own relationship off the record. You have to understand while others may appreciate and participate, Hip Hop is apologetically for us, by us (on the low). Now that it’s your time, she belongs to you—the crux of my gen’s criticism is about knowing her worth and not just net worth. We just want you to get more in tune with her mind, body and soul - power.
If this is going to be an on-going argument, let’s create a better framework:
Verse Comparison
I’m starting with this because it’s the most bias comparison. For contemporary rappers under 30 versus those of yesteryear, when going verse for verse, there’s no contest. You guys probably have less than 10 who could even step in the arena. Let’s move on.
Age Comparison
I find the most interesting litmus test of talent is to compare artist of different eras to their respective age. For example, I would compare a 19 year old Prodigy from Mobb Deep to any artist who is currently 19. If you don’t know why I chose Prodigy at that age, then ask the nearest OG.
Album Comparison
If you don’t like age, compare the first, second and third albums. What you can NOT compare is sales or awards. I know it’s hard to fathom, but for a long period of time, getting The Source quotable was more coveted than a Grammy. Regardless of all the nostalgic inclusion they now sell you in commercials and movies, Hip-Hop was NOT widely accepted and didn’t dominate the mainstream until the early 2000’s around the time Carson Daley hosted TRL.
Impact Comparison
If we combine age with album, we get impact. When Ready To Die was released in 1994, Biggie was 22 years old. He died in 1997 before the release of his second and final album, Life After Death. Technically, Biggie became a legend with a catalog he created in only three years.
While I like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie more than others in his generation, I would like to point out that he is currently 21 years old. By the time his first official album comes out, like Biggie, he should be 22, too.
Course of time
Ironically, many old school songs that get play today are often not the best representation of those old school artists; it was probably just the most commercial, not to mention there are publishing politics behind the scenes. If you ask most heads from the 90’s era what their top ten Biggie songs are – “Hypnotize,” “Juicy” and “Mo Money Mo Problems” probably wouldn’t even make the list.
So when discussing Biggie’s peers or predecessors, I don’t expect my teenage cousins to appreciate antiquated pop culture references that pre-date them. However, I hate when they’re dismissively clueless of impact or obstacles of the era. A frustrating factor in this debate is a younger person will lack the multiple points of reference needed to have an expansive discussion. I doubt Kodak Black’s fan base has ever heard of the industry Goliath Eastman Kodak Company – nor ever had a camera that wasn’t in a phone. While that off kilter example isn’t specific to his music, per se, it captures the lack of intrinsic perspective for Hip-Hop’s evolution.
Subjectivity
This debate is also challenging because talent is subjective and can’t be fairly measured like sport statistics. Still, there would be no reason for Nick Young to belittle the skill set of Kareem Abul-Jabbar or James Worthy even. Yet, there is something to be said if those retired Lakers felt Nick Young wasn’t league caliber. Think of it this way, if you ask most music critics over 35 about Big Sean, they would probably agree that he could be a starter (or at least 6th man) in any era of Hip-Hop.
To push the analogy further, disappointment lies most in the player’s basketball IQ – most critics can successfully argue that Hip-Hop’s status quo has a lower intelligence quotient. Gucci Mane and Future have become Godfathers of Trap and Percocet rap. Their progeny remind me of students in the cool crowd who didn't want anyone to know they were in Special Ed class - this is Ritalin rap. Seems like we’re witnessing a City of God cycle where the streets are now run by illiterate runts who have power, by default.
Substance
There’s much to be said about this IQ insufficiency and it’s deeper than lyrical content. Hip-Hop isn’t just a genre of music. Hip-Hop was, is, still a weapon of empowerment. Hip-Hop was traditionally populated by rebels with a cause, even if they had polar messaging. What made this art as weapon so successful was it wasn’t the Master’s tool.
Sonically, this current thing passing as Hip-Hop sounds pretty amazing (there’s a lot of ignorant songs I really like) but when it comes to those on that mic device…not so much. Entitled by Autotunes, most don’t know how to hold the microphone like a grudge; so when I spell MC with five letters they look at me strange. I know there’s a nice crop of emcees bubbling under, so I don’t think the species is endangered. Well actually, that’s not totally true—rappers are in danger due more to industry entrapment under the guise of reward. ‘Knowledge of self’ used to be a key attribute of Hip Hop; without it we are being fooled by forewarned tricknology. That’s why every year a new rapper bursts onto the scene then quickly gets arrested with a bail priced at seven figure exorbitance.
“People died so I can rhyme, you think I’m gonna grab the mic and waste my nation’s time” –KRS-1, “We In There”
There’s no more nation-building in Hip-Hop. It seems to stem from a lack of purpose – most rappers seem less concerned with artistry and more focused on fame, fashion and carnal desire overload. If I write a part two, I’ll expand on the emcee as a Jedi and how today’s rappers don’t maximize their power for the people, only for themselves.
Criteria
This leads me to my favorite question to ask anyone born in or after the 1990’s – what’s the criteria for a good rapper? The answers quickly start sounding less like credible qualifications and more like excuses. Further justification comes in the form of prize possessions and being in pole position to date a popular stripper, or Kardashian.
Conclusion
What we had was a failure to communicate. Hip-Hop progressed while program directors and DJ’s didn’t properly educate along the way; all those episodes of MTV Caribs and no rooms displaying books. Now when I say “do the math” you apply common core. If you don’t know what a “85er” is, you probably are one.
Ideally, I wish every generational baton pass could be as smooth as Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa on 4/20 but I’m wise enough to know the power of youth is unexplained disruption. I’m too old to be on the pulse of youth trends. I think p/k/a’s with articles and sentences are stupid. If I was an A&R and Artist J. Dubose came in my office I would have told him to keep his first name and middle initial – it’s cool (and timeless). But A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie would’ve probably laughed at me, and rightfully so because he’s speaking to his audience, not mine.
Even though I quoted him in the epigraph as juxtaposition, A Boogie made a (somewhat) valid point as it relates to today’s mindset that is programmed, thus brainwashed, for linear advancement. Devices are now designed to be extinct within 4 years, therefore, artificial intelligence has already begun to neutralize the critical thought and anti-establishment trait of Hip-Hop. All these years of Black Lives Matter yet there were very few protest songs to serve as a soundtrack. [Sidebar salute to YG, Nipsy Hustle, G-Easy and Macklemore for “FDT” Part 1 & 2, each artist deserves to be individually acknowledged for their contribution to the resistance.]
So yes, if you want to have a joyride of fame, it’s better to be “up-to-date.” However, if you are purpose-driven to have a career, it is always better to know your history—because if there’s anything history teaches us, it’s that most artists are here today and gone tomorrow.
“…and I’ve seen a lot of you die” –Drake “Free Smoke”
