Words by Jayy Ghost

Simply put, the million dollar question; “Is Hip Hop losing it’s credibility?” Sadly enough, yes it is. However, there is a shred of hope shining through the abyss of what’s left of Hip Hop.When Hip Hop was born, it was like a beautiful newborn baby girl, with all the hopes and dreams a good parent would want to instill in her. Instead she turned into a club-hopping whore, dancing for dollars, and demeaning herself with very little to show for her actions. This is the problem that needs to be tended to and stopped. The base of it all really boils down to the companies, the artists, radio and the youth.

It seems that the youth has collectively lowered it’s standards. Or maybe it’s society accepting its lackluster fate of no substance and zero educational value in modern Hip Hop. Nevertheless, it’s vital that we change the perception of the genre to lead it towards greater horizons and give credibility back.

Nobody really knew where rap music was going in the beginning, but throughout the years it’s become a platform for many uses in many communities. For the youth, it’s not all their fault that they put out/listen to the garbage that is being blasted on radios, in clubs, & in cars. They are only responding to the environment they grew up in. If prior generations were absorbing what is being played and programmed today, today’s results would be vastly different, in a bad way.

The saturation of bubblegum music on the radio is also a huge obstacle. I don’t even bother anymore because its all rave music, even on the so called Hip Hop stations. This is in part the music labels fault as well by making this the new “how to make it in music” strategy, which is shoving music-that is the equivalent of puke-down your throat and convincing the younger market that its delicious. By changing this philosophy, we will truly help save Hip Hop for the better.

With groups like “The Lonely Island” and White other people imitating how they think rappers act on the VMAs & the like, it makes it harder to respect most of what comes out in the mainstream market. It’s either “stupid hoe” this or “pop that!” Regardless of the lack of diversity in the market, I do understand the need for it and am not completely opposed to it. There are a lot of monstrosities being played on daily rotations nationwide, but there are also plenty of amazing Hip Hop artists & records. It’s a shame they don’t get the spotlight they rightfully deserve, though.

In all genres of music, there are subdivisions to specify what type of branch of the music a consumer is listening to, and it seems like they get a decent spread of what gets put out into the market. Hip Hop is the only one that really forces the mass population to hear one type of rap which dilutes the customary values of what Hip Hop really is. It’s hard to defend it when you cant tell a actual hip hop record from a parody off of a comedy sketch show. The damage may be so ingrained into the youth’s minds that it would be hard to for them to prefer Kendrick Lamar over Meek Mill. If Hip Hop “fans” can’t even determine what is a higher level of talent and artistry with the music, it makes it even harder to give a good portion of the fan base any merit.

Lil Mouse, a 13 year old rapper from Chicago, is promoting gang violence on Lil Wayne’s latest mixtape “The Dedication 4.” And if the youth can’t see how detrimental this is towards development in their communities then I have lost all hope for them. It’s bad enough when adults do it, but they are adults. Adults have the right to act and speak on mature situations. But what does that say about the adults advocating these type of questionable teachings to 13, 12 years old & younger demographics?

As corny as it sounds, the children really are our future and they idolize these so called role models whether we like it or not. So why not teach them to read and apply themselves instead of bragging how much crack you have or money you throw? You just might see an improvement with these bad ass kids and cultivate some respect for your race in the process. Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “All credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth come only from the senses.”

Think about that for a moment.

Words By Jayy Ghost
@ObeyJayyGhost