State of Hip Hop Address

In a recent CNN article the rapper Common talked about the impact of an Obama presidency on Hip Hop. He believes that along with everything else, "Change is coming to Hip Hop."

"I think hip-hop artists will have no choice but to talk about different things and more positive things, and try to bring a brighter side to that because, even before Barack, I think people had been tired of hearing the same thing," he said.

Well I certainly agree that I'm tired of hearing the same old thing from mainstream hip hop. The last 10 years of radio play have been disappointing as playlists from radio stations across the country reflect cookie cutters rather than diversity. I feel a strange dichotomy has emerged between those who have embraced hip hop from a mainstream perspective as compared to those whose journey in hip hop is much more grassroots.

I recently attended the Illuminous 3 Album Release Show at 7th Street Entry. [Picture to the right taken from Greg Grease via Facebook] It was probably one of the best concerts I attended in 2008. A lot of it had to do with the fact that most of us there knew each other or at the very least, in the words of myspace, we were in each other's extended network. People were throwing pounds and hugs all around. The DJ was spinning nothing but classic tracks while occasionally cutting out the sound to gauge if the crowd was singing along. More often that not, we most certainly were. Ladies were dancing, the fellas were sippin on their 20 oz Red Stripes [at least I was] and after watching The Usual Suspects, Kanser and Ill 3 perform the night ended with a party on stage with people dancing to various funk and old school hip hop tracks. In my everyday life, that's how I interact with hip hop.

If you've ever wanted to put an image to mainstream hip hop today, go to Downtown Minneapolis and enter any number of the posh sounding bars. What you'll hear is one top 40 hip hop track after the next with a generic sound and uncomplicated lyrics and beats. Its the kind of music that the Downtown crowd wants to hear to feel "street" as they pound down on the Jagermeister.

To further expand on this image, visit multiple bars and you'll find that the atmosphere, the music, the suburban mid 20s white men are all the same. I feel that at the very least the last decade in hip hop has been one disappointing Downtown Minneapolis bar after another.

For hip hop to truly change, it must first change how it thinks about its audience. What made Obama popular was not just his ability as an orater, I believe it had more to do with how he spoke to the public. From his coming out in 2004 to his speech on race, Obama has chosen to speak to people as adults. To me it was similar to the feeling I had when I shared my first alcoholic drink with my mom after turning 21, I was no longer a child.

So ultimately the challenge is about audience, will you cater your music to the Downtown crowd, or the folks from the hood who crashed 7th street entry last week during the Ill 3 show. Hip hop contrary to Nas isn't dead. It may have died at the top, but in the streets you need only to hit up a local Twin Cities show to find out it's alive and changing.

A quick note on Illuminous 3 (pictured below; photo by B Fresh). Their new album is called "Room" and its non-stop madness. Franz Diego.com has been kind enough to let us post one of the tracks as an exclusive download for all you FunkMass heads. The track is called Move and you can download it below. Either way don't forget to support local hip hop and go out to your local shop and cop the new Ill 3 album. A full review of this album on Funk Mass will come your way soon.

Free Track for Download:
Illuminous 3 - Move
(Off their new album release "Room")