R.eal A.nd P.ersonal
Stop Crying Dead!
By: Deshair Foskey
Last updated May 4th , 2010

I make it my duty to keep my eyes open and my ears on notice. I am watching this industry, not like a hawk, but more like a lover of the craft. I am a creator and supporter of the "Hip-Hop Reform™" era. This is Real, and, this is Personal. There will be no apologies...

To all of you out there, emcee's, media, historians (asleep at the wheel) and fans, stop crying dead! You are, have, and I'm sure will continue to waste your time expressing your ill-fated opinions about the current state of hip-hop. But let me ask you this: when you were a teenager listening to your favorite emcee, wasn't there an older person in your family telling you that your music was below-par? Don't back away now! Maybe it was your parent, or you big brother, aunt or uncle. Trust that someone told you that music wasn't like the way they remembered it. But you gave them you're a** to kiss each time. You told them that nobody was better than Ice Cube; nobody was better than Scarface; nobody was better than Big L; nobody was better than Ja Rule; nobody was better than Eminem. You catch my drift.

Have you ever noticed that the current generation never cries dead? A small percentage of the current generation may have grown up on their older siblings' musical taste. But once you had control over what you listened to, you made your own way. It is the people that have more time clocked in on hip-hop that questions the direction. A 35-year-old would be quick to denounce Wacka Flacka Flame as a credible emcee. But their 18-year-old daughter can't get enough of Wacka. "F*ck an Ice-T Cube," the 19-year-old would say. "Wacka is the truth."

So what does the older generation do? They cry DEAD. They'll tell you that rap music is falling apart; that the new emcees aren't saying a thing. Wait a moment here. Wasn't your favorite group the Wu-Tang Clan? Unless you were drugged up or a 5%(er), Wu-Tang rapped in tongues. So really, you mean to tell me that Wu-Tang exhibited more clarity than Lil' Wayne? To say yes is nothing more than opinion. To say no, means that you have sense enough to realize that rap music is generational. That music isn't dying, you're just maturing.

Please, don't get me wrong. Rap music has changed over the years in how it is produced and marketed. But to say that a Talib Kweli shouldn't be brought up in the same sentence as KRS-ONE is an injustice to hip-hop and all that it stands for. I understand why people would rather say that it's dead. They deem it dead to boost their own relevancy. It's a Jedi mind trick. A 35-year-old rapper would say that hip-hop is dead. People tend to believe that rapper because of their track record. Then this same rapper will set off on a journey to bring the industry back to life. And like most hip-hop fans often do, they'll believe this rapper. A million albums sold and suddenly hip-hop is the best that it's ever been. Do you get it now?
As long as hip-hop is based on opinion and not fact, it will struggle onward. As long as the wrong people are behind the wheel, sleep, hip-hop will suffer under those that cry wolf. Ok, so your favorite era of Hip-Hop isn't on the radio anymore. Why are you still listening to the radio anyway? Buy yourself an MP3 player and load up your favorite songs! Stop getting on these young'ns nerves. Because you know when you were their age, you were just as stubborn about your music. So stop crying dead! Who knows, one day hip-hop could die, and nobody will believe you. Wait, they don't believe you now!

[Tags] Hip Hop, Rap

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