I do not claim to be a hip-hop head by any means, but I have some favorite artists, and one of my favorite movies is “Brown Sugar” starring Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs.  Not sure if that’s a great representation of a hip-hop movie, but I like it. *shrugs* In any event, I’m really disturbed by the current state of hip hop music.  And I sometimes wonder if it’s the evolution of our world and culture that has sexualized and sensationalized the bling and hood lives.  I also wonder if Biggie and Tupac were still alive, would hip-hop have evolved to its current state?

What happened to the days of “Krush Groove“, “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo“, and other great movies?  And lest we never forget some of the greatest hip hop artists, Run D.M.C., Fab 5 Freddy, OutKast, N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest, MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa, and countless others. I wonder what types of movies would be made with today’s artists.  I can just about imagine the tomfoolery we would see on the big screen if these types of movies were left in the hands of Wacka Flacka Flame, Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane, Souljah Boy, and the like.  Just listening to the lyrics sometimes hurts my ears, even if I like the beat.  Hip-hop is more than some lyrics over a hot track.  Hip-hop should inspire, elevate, and tell stories.  Now it sells sex and “Pretty Boy Swag”.   I search high and low for quality hip-hop artists to listen to, such as Common, Kanye, Jay, Talib Kweli, and The Roots.  The really sad part is that some of these artists don’t always become mainstream phenoms until they do something like star in a movie or become the house band of a late night show.  Don’t get me wrong-those are definitely great things-and as long as their message is getting heard, I really have no objections.  

So, to hip hop… I hope just as fashion has come full circle, I hope you come full circle, too.  I’m waiting for the day when quality hip hop will become the norm and not the odd man out.  I look forward to the day when I can see you on the big screen again and hear you on the radio.   In the meantime, I’ll continue to search you out on the internet and purchase your albums when they’re released. 

A True Fan,

Elle

My favorite song by Biggie, and my quote my freshman year in high school, “Sky’s the Limit”

Even though ‘Pac isn’t in the video, this is one of my favorite songs by him, “Smile” with Scarface

Lastly, my favorite ‘Pac song, next to “California Love”, “I Ain’t Mad at Cha”