“It Was All A Dream"

I used to read word up magazine. Salt & Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine, hangin pictures on my wall every Saturday rap attack Mr. Magic Marley marl”….. Oh boy!!!! Sound familiar? Circa 1994…. Pure, passion driven, story telling rap!! Well for the self proclaimed REAL rap/hip hop heads, this verse should more than “sound familiar”, it SHOULD give you chills, or mentally take you back to where and what you were EXACTLY doing when you first heard this historic song by this historic artist. Come on now, EVERYBODY who classifies themselves as “lovers” or “connoisseurs” of rap/hip hop should have no problem identifying with the previous statement and the song/verse being quoted.. We ain’t even taking it THAT far back on ya’ll!!!! But in our estimation, this is where a major part of the problem begins (especially with the younger cats). Lack of identification of history!!!!!!

Pardon the obvious aggressive and accusatory tone you may decipher, and we haven’t even been properly introduced. Individually we are two disgruntled, 30 something New York natives, who are slowly losing our (3 decades worth of) lust and yearn for the “rap game”.

With formalities out of the way, let us get started. We are sure you as consumers, and fans, have read many articles on your music of choice. Ranging from who is presently the best MC, to who is the King this week, to which clique is spending the most money(or RENTING the finest of material items). Now we are here to attempt to set the record straight on a few subjects. It is necessary to get to the root of certain issues in this culture called hip hop. Ok, maybe not all in one day, but it is a necessity all the same. You are probably saying, “these dudes are gonna start hating on rappers and throwing salt in the game”. That is the furthest from the truth. A little respect on the issues is all we want to shed light to. The lack of education, awareness, and/or concern that this younger generation has of what took place decades before their inception into this game breeds the lack of respect shown towards the art form of the culture. Speaking on art form(since we brought it up)- When did the term make an exit from the hip hop language? Rap is by ALL ACCOUNTS an art form. Hip hop is by ALL ACCOUNTS a culture(NOT just a music description), with its birth coming our way from the streets of the Bronx, NY in the late 70’s. From the music, fashion, style on down the line to how you spoke to a female. We lived the culture with a passion back in the day. Walking the streets with HUGE boom boxes blaring the latest beats, rocking the latest Lee’s (with the crease) and Adidas!! We had pride and a respect for the beautiful art form that was founded and than represented in OUR hoods from Cali to NY.

Ok, apologies for maybe getting a bit side tracked or preachy-for lack of a better term- but like we stated, certain issues need to be spoken on. In the last eight years, we have watched hip hop/rap go through a tremendous transformation. It has slowly deteriorated from a culture to a get rich quick scheme. Rappers are compromising their integrity, and style for the almighty dollar.. More so in these past few years than ever before. The artist are not necessarily to blame because it is being accepted and selling tremendously. Indeed, everyone has to eat, but at what cost to your integrity? We remember a time when Big Daddy Kane(one of the greatest of all time) posed on his album cover in purple suit, or ya boy LL was walking a panther on his cover. These albums also brought us changes in their rap style to go along with the wack album covers. These acts of blatant changes from what we already grew to love from these artists was NOT accepted, and did NOT sell!!!! They were considered sell outs... Period… Now, how can this be put to not offend any artists-you know what, F it- the majority of the music dropping now…. It SUCKS, in plain English. It is understood that rap helps our urban and/ or less fortunate youth get out of bad situations and get out of the Hood. The fact still remains that the culture is just not being respected. The words thug and gangsta are getting thrown around like your daily newspaper. Going to jail is not thug or gangsta, especially when you have a vehicle to stay out of trouble. Using your God given talent, or just the lucky break that came your way, to help take care of your family is gangsta. Rappers are getting big time jail sentences at a rapid pace. Society and the media are LOVING every minute of it. Bad publicity these days are selling records also, and it is sad. Corporate America has definitely taken control(to a certain degree) of our culture. It has been molded to how they want our Black and Hispanic youth to be portrayed. There are people who have no knowledge or understanding of our culture making major decisions at record labels. From deciding on image, to what single should be dropped next… SICKENING!!! But of course, we as the consumer are feeding right into it. That being said, we are on a mission to attempt to bring hip hop back to the essence, or its purity, if you will. Not to throw stones at the so called game. Rather to educate individuals on what was before them, or just speak the truth about the watered down garbage we are being presented with these days.

Before we go, ride with us on a name-dropping path down memory lane. Artists who truly were artists and in real life did not bust shots, rape, or any other unscrupulous acts to sell records or be “thug and gangsta”. Their passion, desire, LOVE, and respect for their art form and the vehicle to speak to us through it, was what these REAL cats thrived on!!!!!!!! Africa Baambata, Melle Mel, Kurtis Blow, Kool Moe Dee, MC Shan, Boogie Down Productions, Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Public Enemy, EPMD, Nice & Smooth, and Brand Nubian to name a few!!! AHH that was soothing, at least for us. If you painted a mental picture of these cats and found yourself reminiscing, getting chills or reciting some old lyrics along the way than you can feel our pain on what is missing today.. Enough said!!!!