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Ten Hip Hop Myths
by Eric Nord
Now, a fact is a fact. And a fact can be backed up with unrefutable evidence. But what I have collected here are a bunch of rumors, hearsay, and subjective opinions which are often presented as facts. In light of this, I want to make a slight disclaimer: THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS ON THESE POPULAR BELIEFS. I have collected, what I think are the most blatantly false "myths", and given my perspective on them. The purpose is to reexamine commonly accepted beliefs within the hip hop community. If you've got something to say about one of these myths, post a message in our forums section. |
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"There is a difference between hip hop and rap music." |
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In the mid-1990s, as mainstream hip hop began to stray from so-called "underground" hip hop, many people felt the need to make a distinction between "hip hop" and "rap". According to this view, many artists make rap music, not hip hop, because their relationship with the core "elements" of hip hop (e.g. battling, DJing, etc.) is not mentioned in the music. In other words, if you rap about money and hoes, then you make rap music. Whereas if you rap about "Sucka MCs" and tearing up the mic, then you make hip hop music.
The reality is that "hip hop" IS "rap music", but not all "rap music" is "hip hop". Sorry about all these damn quotes. Anyway, the term hip hop definitely has a broader, more inclusive, meaning other than just being a genre of music. But the only distinction between hip hop and rap music is that rap is the broader category within which hip hop should be classified. Rap music is simply any music where the lyrics are delivered in a rhythmic, non-singing manner. For example, Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock all border on rap music because they don't really sing. On the other end of the spectrum... spoken word artists such as Saul Williams and Mike Ladd generally don't adhere to the strict rhythmic meter of rap music, and thus fall into the category of "Spoken Word". Therefore, we find that any music which falls between spoken word and singing is rap music. By this classification, we could actually say that jungle MCs are also rappers, even though the music they rap over is definitely not hip hop. Are we all clear now?
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"Hip Hop is Black music." |
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Hip Hop is not Black music for the same reason that Classical music is not White music: music does not have a skin color! It is true that almost every significant hip hop artist is African-American, and that hip hop got its start in Black communities. But take a look around hip hop in 2001 and it is plain to see that there are more whites, asians, and latinos involved with hip hop than Black people. In fact, one of the greatest disillusionments of many Black MCs these days is the fact that Black people seem more interested in corporate "rap" than "underground" hip hop. This schism between artists and fans in the Black community has several causes. Maybe we can get around to discussing this later.
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"Rakim is the greatest MC of all time." |
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"No mistakes allowed."
Rakim is widely regarded as the greatest MC because of one song: "Eric B. Is President". A truly incredible song that served as a blueprint for the styles of countless MCs. But is Rakim really the greatest of all time? Here's the story behind his exalted status...
Many of the most popular MCs of the 1990s were heavily influenced by Rakim, and when asked who the greatest MC is... guess who came out on top? Word gets around, and soon Rakim IS the Greatest MC Ever. Even though he doesn't quite deserves the title.
To say that Rakim is ONE of the greatest ever, and to put his name up there with such MCs as -- just to name a few -- Kool Keith, Slick Rick, Aceyalone, P.E.A.C.E., Supernatural, and Pharoahe Monch... would be perfectly reasonable. But to say, unequivocally, that he is the greatest ever shows a lack of originality when it comes to opinions.
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"Biggie Smalls was assasinated by the FBI." |
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"Who shot Biggie Smalls? If we don't get them, they gonna get us all."
This quote from Dead Prez only hints at one of the most irrational myths in hip hop. Mind you, this is not a widespread belief. But nontheless, the origin of this myth has its roots in the systematic persecution of Black leaders by COINTELPRO in the 1960s and 1970s. COINTELPRO was no myth. Evidence also suggests that forces within the government may have had a hand in the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Malcolm and Dr. King were leading a broad social movement that touched all sectors of American society. They posed a serious threat to the stability of race relations in the 1960s. And it is easy to see why people in power felt threatened by them.
But why in hell would the FBI want to kill Biggie? Was it because he was an eloquent social leader? Not even close! If anything, Biggie helped reinforce the perception that the police war against Black communities is justified? He rapped endlessly about sex, drugs, and violence, which is precisely the image that "the powers that be" want splashed across media headlines.
Far from a threat to the government, Biggie's shameless nihilism fit perfectly into the government and national media's PR scheme of demonizing and scapegoating Black men. At a time when African-Americans were increasingly going to prison for drug offenses, Biggie served himself up as a convenient example of the archetypal offender. Fat chance the government would want to kill someone who does such good PR work at no extra charge. |
"Rap music started in the Bronx."
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While it is true that Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambataa, and Kool Herc laid the foundation for hip hop music and culture... the art of rapping over instrumental records was well established in Kingston, Jamaica by the early 1970s. Though the first Jamaican "deejay" (rapper) was King Stitt, it was U-Roy who became the first trendsetter and he significantly influenced every major deejay to come after him. For a detailed examination of hip hop's Jamaican roots, click here.
This is not to suggest that hip hop music and culture started in Jamaica. What I am saying is that rap music wasn't invented in New York, and people should give more credit to Jamaica for its influence on hip hop.
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"There are no gay hip hop artists." |
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Queer-hop? Homocore? Bati B-Boys? ...unlikely that you will see any of these on a hip hop flyer in the near future. And though not one single prominent hip hop artist has ever come out of the closet... you would be a fool to think that there are no gay MCs, DJs, producers, etc. And famous ones, at that. The fact of the matter is that hip hop heads are a really homophobic bunch. I mean, there's hardly any female representation in hip hop (half the population, mind you), let alone that the estimated 10% of gays and lesbians out there would be able to find a place in the hip hop community under such circumstances.
Along the far-flung flaming fringes of hip hop, there has emerged at least one out-of-the-closet group which goes by the name of Ghetto Rainbow. Click here to see for yourself that there is at least one openly gay hip hop group. Even if they do seem like an updated version of the Village People.
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"Hip Hop is threatened by corporations." |
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"Make rap music 'cause I never dug disco."
By far, the biggest and most important issue in hip hop. Cooptation by corporations has long been a major concern by hip hop artists. But do corporations actually pose a serious threat to pristine hip hop culture? Did disco really kill funk music? Is hip hop next?
Going against this popular sentiment, my belief is that the more major labels push crappy hip hop... the more space is provided for independent hip hop labels who support so-called "real" hip hop. Witness Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw label. Stones Throw is about the size of a major label subsidiary, yet it is independently finananced and puts out music that most major labels don't have the understanding of hip hop necessary to appreciate. And far from struggling, Stones Throw is a very successful label that has even reissued some lost funk classics like the Highlighters, as well as putting out new school funk records by Breakastra (do yourself the favor of checking out the Live Remix Vol 2 album!). And Stones Throw is just the tip of the iceberg. Celestial, Ground Control, ABB, Fondle Em, and 45 Ark are but a tiny fraction of the dozens of independent labels which serve as the backbone of hip hop music.
But let us not measure the health of hip hop music by the amount of records sold by so-called "real" hip hop artists (i.e. good hip hop artists). Rather, let us judge its health by the music itself. Ultimately, hip hop's health will be judged by its influence and its ability to evolve with the times. The evolution of jazz can serve as a somewhat ambitious example of what could be hip hop history. By this comparison, it might be said that it was the boldest innovators of jazz -- such as Monk, Mingus, Miles, Sun Ra -- were the ones who did the most to reinvent jazz and keep it fresh with the times. Today, there are plenty of examples of bold innovators in hip hop: Naptron, DV Alias Khryce, P.E.A.C.E., Bus Driver, and many producers who consistently push the creative envelope. None of these artists are signed to a major label... and there you go!
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"The best hip hop music was made in the 1980s." |
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"Can it be that it was all so simple?"
My response to Wu-Tang's question is... of course it can be so simple! Over-simplification is a key ingredient of nostalgia. The late 1980s were very special because that was when hip hop took center stage in the national media spotlight. Whether it was Yo! MTV Raps, local news, or the cover of Time magazine... hip hop artists such as Public Enemy, Too Live Crew, and N.W.A boldly went where no African-American artists had ever gone before. These artists posed major challenges to the values entrenched in the public media. Mind you, it was only a few years before, in 1984, that Michael Jackson went down in history as the first black artist to have a video shown on MTV.
Of course, it wasn't just hip hop's increased visibility that made the late 1980s a so-called "Golden Era" for hip hop. MCs such as Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G. Rap, Biz Markie, Slick Rick and many, many others ascended to their place as part artists, part social commentators, and part national trend setters. Unlike most MCs from the early 1980s, this new crop of MCs dealt head-on with issues such as upward mobility, national politics, and race relations. Early hip hop wasn't too concerned with broader social issues. But with the broadening scope of hip hop and its ascendance to the height of the national media, hip hop MCs became national role models.
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"No one in hip hop has a sense of humor." |
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This is one of the hardest myths to refute. Popular music, in general, doesn't have a whole lot of humor. But there are some notable exceptions in hip hop. First and foremost is Biz Markie. The key to Biz's sense of humor is that he is a nice guy who doesn't take himself too seriously. Another funny man, who is not very well known is Willus Drummond. Rumored to have sent ziploc bags full of pee to various people as a publicity stunt, Willus is like the Andy Warhol of hip hop... recently he jacked Biz Markie's "Make The Music" and sang the same chorus, adding "bitch" at the end. Another funny man is Esau, who finds that taking a self-deprecating approach can really set you apart from all the self-conscious clods. Wow, only three MCs and I've already run out of names. Well, at least I came up with three funny MCs... thus disproving hip hop's most depressing myth.
Help add to this meager list of funny MCs, by adding your own favorite hip hop comedian to the Stink Zone forums.
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"Hip Hop is dead." |
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"Is it too early to mourn? Is it too late to ride?"
Possibly the most insidious myth of all. The crass nature of commercial radio these days has many fans wondering if hip hop's best days are truly in the past. (refer back: "The best hip hop music was made in the 1980s.") Those who hold this view most firmly are quite often some of the biggest names in hip hop. Ask any hip hop veteran how they feel about the state of affairs in 2001 and they will likely tell you that, as Chuck D. said back in the day, "Ignorance is at an all-time high." So high is the ignorance level here in 2001, that even the hip hop veterans are apparently unaware of just how much incredibly DOPE shit is coming out these days. C'mon people... hip hop isn't better or worse than it was... it is simply DIFFERENT. Stop being so nostalgic and get with the times!
Can we write this myth off as a simple matter of nostalgia? Well not entirely. I'll admit, when it comes to MCs... things have definitely changed. But how can you argue that the beats are getting worse?! That is simply not true. Granted, when it comes to the attitudes and values expressed by MCs... it does appear that there is less personality, less humor, less storytelling, less playfulness, and also less of the seeming innocence and tameness that characterized much of 1980s hip hop. It's all trade offs folks. Times change and we've got to make the best of it.
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ARE THERE OTHER MYTHS THAT SHOULD BE ADDED TO THIS LIST?
DO YOU THINK ONE OF THESE MYTHS DOESN'T BELONG UP HERE?
SOUND OFF IN THE STINK ZONE FORUMS SECTION
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