And The Band Stopped Playing

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I am going for a change of pace. There have been a lot of uplifting stories from us this week for women and they have been very well stated. I applaud my fellow merchants. Awesome job gentlemen…

And the cake is on aisle six.

Nope, I am not going to write a piece about uplifting women or men who can’t face their fears (I apologize to that person if they are reading). This one is about our entire generation. It’s about our music. The stuff we listen to or used to bump back in the day. It was good, right? Now we all complain about how bad music has gotten and I agree. You can tell by my Reality TV post that I am not for all of this newfangled entertainment.

My first argument is music changed but we didn’t.

How dare Hook make such an accusation???

I am not saying what’s out there is good. I am saying we are adults with a feel for our tastes. Some of this stuff sounds good and you can snap your fingers occasionally. In general, it’s basura to me. Here is the basis for this belief. Do you remember how your parents said “where has music gone?” Well, that’s us now. The music that raised us is what we generally identify with as good music. You use songs to remind you of moments from your life. You remember the song from your first kiss, first dance, first get down and so on. R&B was better because you were discovering love and the songs made you feel it. If you were militant Public Enemy gave you a rallying cry. “Diary of a Mad Band” and “12 Play” are still two of my favorite albums because that’s what was love music then. If you were into rap when I was in high school,” you had

Enter the 36 Chambers
Ready to Die
Illmatic
Reasonable Doubt
Enta Da Stage
Southernplayalistic

Heaven forbid I forget Raekwon’s purple cassette tape. This music was good to me just like Sam Cooke was my pop’s favorite. While some won’t say it was good, southern rap was huge at UNCG in the late 1990s. We went straight from No Limit to Cash Money.

But we grew up and got jobs…we still listened to the people we liked but gradually grew away from the radio. Why? Because we changed but our tastes didn’t evolve. Part of the beef true hip hoppers feel is the young cats aren’t staying true to the art. Well, that’s subjective and who are we to tell kids what they should like? We didn’t listen. No one has ever liked the next level. Kool Moe Dee dissed LL over that. Maybe LL was destroying what KMD helped build with the Treacherous 3, but you know what? I owned “Bigger, Badder, Deffer,” and it was awesome.

I’d also argue that Hip Hop is seen as a young man’s game. Other genre’s allow their stars to get old and still be good. The moment a rapper hits 30 we’re trying to crucify them because their tastes and life viewpoint changed. That’s an argument for another day. I’ll still get the next Jay Z album.

It’s all taste. We grew up with baggy jeans and Tims. These kids wear skinny jeans. My “Dear You” to the fat chick in  skinny jeans was yet another sign that I wasn’t part of the mainstream of pop culture. Music is going to be different because the bulk of the people buying it are different. I will say that I have to keep an open mind. I can’t jam today’s music into my definition of good. But I have to allow myself to be open to it.

My second argument is that Capitalism is killing music. There have always been copycats in music but the music started dying to me when people made music for money and not conviction or emotion. Performers (notice I did not say artists or musicians) mock a sound instead of evolving the sound. It’s more about how I can turn the dollar the fastest rather than how can I get my voice heard. There was a moment of clarity here too. I remember rolling down the 52 West here in San Diego and this guy talked about shooting somebody. In the next line he talked about how much ice he had. In no way can I relate to this now. Sure it can sound good and I can appreciate the word play.

I’m just not icy guy.

Point being, all of these guys are not thugs but they think that is what makes them hot and can make them money. There is no heart, no conviction or talent really. There is a lot of thugnificence in the world today.

Heaven forbid I talk about Autotune or everyone trying to put out a new dance. That’s what’s hot right now I guess. I bought the Maxwell CD and I just want to thank him for making something good. He did his own thing and it’s good. That’s all I’m asking. Make your music because it’s an artistic expression. If I made a rap CD today, it would be titled “How Did You Get a Deal?”

This is part one. I want to delve a little deeper but it’s late.

Hook

Tagged as: Hip Hop, Music, old school, Rap

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Whassup people – my name is J.R. I’m a Jersey boy (born and raised), writer, people watcher and sports fan. I’m a black man with a degree, a job, no kids and no “priors”. It depresses me that those facts make me “rare”. I’m a guy’s guy. I’ve been in few committed relationships and a lot of…well…whatever you would call everything short of a committed relationship. I also have indisputable theories on life and love that you need to hear. Theories can be indisputable, right??

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