Global Hip-Hop
Came across this article from the UK Guardian on Brazil's MV Bill (who is set to tour with The Fugees), which was recently reprinted in Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper. Good article on the whole (and MV Bill is a legend), but the premise for the piece made me wanna pull my hair out:
"At a time when American hip-hop is becoming a spent force, the rest of the world is waking up to the transforming power of rap."
People really need to put that shit to rest. That angle is so played out. Everyone and their freakin' uncle--from drive-by hip-hop journos to random Baby Boomers that chat me up at parties--takes that stance on global hip-hop. Here's why it's not just cliche, but also plain old wrong:
(1) American hip-hop is not dead.
I'm sure I don't have to explain to the hip-hop blogsphere why. But for random lurky-loos: please be aware that what you see on TV and hear on the radio is just a tiny, tiny glimpse of what's going on in hip-hop at any given time. Plus, a lot of the mainstream stuff is hot. Plus, using the term "spent force" for a multi-billion dollar industry is hardly appropriate.
(2) Global hip-hop is not a uniform entity.
Surprise! Every scene in every country I've been to this year has many different types of rappers. In South Africa, for instance, you have folks who are using hip-hop as a vehicle for social change, it's true. (And God bless them, they are doing *amazing* work.) But you also have guys that rhyme about crime, sex, and/or partying. There are abstract, experimental, poetic guys that aren't political at all. There are grimy street stars that lean left. There are dudes that are feeling 50 and dudes that dig Mos--plus lots of dudes that love 50 and Mos.
Reducing global hip-hop (yo! thousands of cities! hundreds of thousands of scenes! millions of MCs!) to one catch-all tag line is redonkulous and, frankly, kinda insulting to the individuality of everyone involved.
In other news...
DOSE has a great feature on indie music around the world out this weekend.
I was beginning to wonder if anyone was ever going to address Elliott Wilson's editorial in the March issue of XXL.
"At a time when American hip-hop is becoming a spent force, the rest of the world is waking up to the transforming power of rap."
People really need to put that shit to rest. That angle is so played out. Everyone and their freakin' uncle--from drive-by hip-hop journos to random Baby Boomers that chat me up at parties--takes that stance on global hip-hop. Here's why it's not just cliche, but also plain old wrong:
(1) American hip-hop is not dead.
I'm sure I don't have to explain to the hip-hop blogsphere why. But for random lurky-loos: please be aware that what you see on TV and hear on the radio is just a tiny, tiny glimpse of what's going on in hip-hop at any given time. Plus, a lot of the mainstream stuff is hot. Plus, using the term "spent force" for a multi-billion dollar industry is hardly appropriate.
(2) Global hip-hop is not a uniform entity.
Surprise! Every scene in every country I've been to this year has many different types of rappers. In South Africa, for instance, you have folks who are using hip-hop as a vehicle for social change, it's true. (And God bless them, they are doing *amazing* work.) But you also have guys that rhyme about crime, sex, and/or partying. There are abstract, experimental, poetic guys that aren't political at all. There are grimy street stars that lean left. There are dudes that are feeling 50 and dudes that dig Mos--plus lots of dudes that love 50 and Mos.
Reducing global hip-hop (yo! thousands of cities! hundreds of thousands of scenes! millions of MCs!) to one catch-all tag line is redonkulous and, frankly, kinda insulting to the individuality of everyone involved.
In other news...
DOSE has a great feature on indie music around the world out this weekend.
I was beginning to wonder if anyone was ever going to address Elliott Wilson's editorial in the March issue of XXL.
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