Article I wrote on Hip Hop

[Big Ben]

This is the only place I lurk that really talks Hip-Hop and since I never got around to submitting this article for publication and by now some of the references are a bit dated. So I figure I'll post it here and see what you guy's think. Always interested in feedback, and it can be fun to have an actual conversation. This is the only site I've come a cross that people have actual mature opinions on Hip-Hop. So just let me know what you guy's think.



Goldilocks and the Hip-Hop Elders

You’ll often hear ten-year-old kids begging the powers that be to make them older, and at the same time you’ll find any number of citizens whispering to the same powers to make them younger. Age is something that’s often looked at under the lens of the Goldilocks Doctrine: for every activity there is an age that is deemed desirable for the task at hand - too young, too old, or just right. Nowhere is this more prominent than in hip-hop, where aging MCs find themselves under fire simply for taking their passion beyond the threshold of “just right.”
It doesn’t take much - often just a few mouse clicks - to find disparaging comments, usually misspelled and disorganized, at attacking the age of an artist. “He’s fell off,” “His voice is gone,” “Just retire already,” and the ever original “Wack,” are just a few of the comments you’ll find on the internet when the likes of Chuck D and Ice Cube release new music. These two artists have released new music this past summer, and at the respective ages of 50 and 41 they fall far out of the “just right” sector of the Goldilocks Doctrine. It’s often been said that hip-hop is a young man’s game, but I ask you to show me the evidence to support that claim. Hip-Hop as an art form is relatively young, and it’s just now that we’re seeing artists move beyond the “hill” and we should really see what’s on the other side.
I once had a professor who said something along the lines of: The great thing about blues is that a Blues singer can lose their voice, but that’s ok, because they can just find another one. Blues has always been closely related to hip-hop. They parallel well in their origins, rise to popular culture, and lyrical content, so it would be wise to look at the older art form of blues and see how well it’s aged. Perhaps it can shed some light on where hip-hop will be in years to come. Though blues is no longer ruling in popular culture, its influence and the enjoyment many people get from it has not diminished. There are many artists in blues who have continued long into the age that many people consider too old for hip-hop, and they have often continued their success. Blues is ripe with talented individuals whose albums still do well on the charts even after they crest the “hill”. B.B. King, at the age of 82, reached number 37 on the Billboard 200 and had the #1 blues album with One Kind Favor. Following a similar trend, Buddy Guy reached number 68 on the Billboard 200 with his album Skin Deep, and it too reached #1 on the blues chart, all at the age of 72. Many of these artists reach these positions following a period where they fail to chart: so why quit after a sales slump? Louis Armstrong defied the odds, and at the age of 62, reached the number one spot.
Recently, the hip-hop group Public Enemy, which includes member Chuck D, released a new song, “Say it Like it Really is,” that responds to many of the criticisms one can find plaguing internet blogs and message boards. In regards to age, Chuck D has a number of things to say. One such response includes, “Who dat? Gonna tell ya’ll we too old, but we still bold, plus I got soul.” In regards to record sales, he goes on to say, “I know this record’s too hot for the radio.” The group has long given up on radio play and record sales, believing what is important is the lyrical content. The song, often an anthem for those tired of being counted out for their age, is not deprived of substance delving deeper than age: “Who shoulders the burden of all that murdering… the People.” This should remind the audience that just because the artist is old does not mean we shouldn’t listen.
Ice Cube addresses the idea that he is too old in a different fashion. His response is much more direct and in his famously rough style. One can picture Ice Cube wearing his trademark scowl when he addresses the young rap community about counting him out in the song “No Country for Young Men,” saying, “Ima kill one of you young punks, with a old school flow.” He starts out rather abruptly letting you know exactly what you’re in for. He continues angrily letting you know that retirement is far from his mind: “I see you cruising for a bruising, F*@kin with a principal that don't like students, don’t you know detention is a lynchin', And if I fail to mention I'm spendin’ up my pension.” One can see there is still a lot of fight left in Ice Cube, so forcing him into retirement may be unwise for anyone to attempt. He goes on to mix social commentary into the song and takes shots at pop culture figures.
In one of the earliest versions of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” the bears try to kill the invading woman, so perhaps it would be unwise to judge an artist in this way. The likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Louis Armstrong have shown us musical artists can have success long into their golden years, and Ice Cube and Chuck D show us that many hip-hop artists still have a lot of fight in them, so maybe we shouldn’t give them a gold watch and send them packing. There are many things that can be looked at through the Goldilocks Doctrine, like pants for example, but Age is not one of them. Artists need to be allowed to experiment and grow, or else the world could miss so much great music. And if you’re a fan of any form of music, you know just how tragic that would be.

[Big Ben]

Sorry it appears the formatting didn't quite Copy and Paste right.

[VIsqo]

Good article man, I was really happy to see Ice Cube still releasing new music. U know, maybe just a revelation on what Id like JJFP to do, I dont know. But to see the hip hop heads still doing their thing, in this year and age, and with all the other business ventures they have, its exactly what music needs right now. Ur article was right on point Big Ben.

[bigted]

great article, it's nothing but real talk, a lot of these young punks like Drake and Lil' Wayne will never get to the respect level that Chuck D and Ice Cube are at, thank god for forums like this that appreciate, i've been working a lot lately but i want to commit more time to make more posts here again, i know it's sad how all these kids who pose as gangsta wannabes make up such a large audience that buys music these days, what they post on hip hop blogs is disgusting, i really believe in my heart that if all the real heads out there support all the good music again that there will be more balance to the game than there is right now but until then like Nas says "Hip Hop is dead", at least on a mainstream level...

Edited July 14, 2011 by bigted

[Big Ben]

Thanks for the comments guys, I've had a lot of things going on lately so it took a bit to get back to this. I've never been a fan of the artist you mentioned, Drake and Lil'Wayne, but at the same time I can't get mad if someone likes them. I'll only get upset when that's all a person can talk about if you engage them in a conversation in hip-hop. My co-worker was a lot like that, he'd always say lil'wayne is the greatest, but after a while of showing him different artists and hooking him up with some music he's grown and moved to the likes of Talib. I think the key is that people need to have an interest in growing. When I was younger I grew up on oldies, 50's and 60's, and would denounce anything else, but then I grew. I still feel weird when I have to educate people on behalf of Hip-Hop since I'm still no expert. But thanks for the comments guys.