quick thought... June 21st, 2006 - 12:51AM
ChicanoBlogs: …”The young people in the documentary–b-boys, rappers, beat-boxers, graff artists –- all spoke about hip hop and its political implications with such urgency, it made KRS-One look like a G-Unit wanker. So, I guess real hip hop isn’t dead… it just needs to be revived… especially in the United States. Where’s Chuck D when you need him?”
Tags: Chuck D, documentary, global, Hip hop, KRS One, music, politics.
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Oh, Chuck D’s there, man — too many people are just taking no notice.
ChicanoBlogs is right with his observations… the community within which HipHop’s still living is the new blood, not the adipose, non-imaginative ’superstar-rappers’ one can see on TV.
My view on this was only confirmed when I went to a Busta Rhymes concert here in London, UK. You could still see his creativity and roots shining through once in a while, but the main purpose, as far as I can assess this, was to promote his new album.
All three (DJ Scratch, Spliff Star and BR) wore the same T-Shirts, and not only that I spend 35 GBP on the concert, he was wasting time telling the audience to go out and buy 3 of his new albums (verbatim!).
Finally it was good that not only I had this impression but big parts of the audience were feeling the same… and hooting in between the tracks to show their anger. After his last track, everybody went straight out and the guys in front of the venue had a tough time promoting their merchandise…
Too sad to hear about those money hungry artists — it seems too an expensive ticket for a far too cheap performance.
Incidentally, the last hip-hop concert I went to was a few years ago here in the Netherlands: Ice-T, for under 20 EUR, and *that* was a real performance with an almost theatrical finale. It seems those old-school guys still know how to ‘move the crowd’.
Setting back an audience 35 GBP, and telling them you want more of their money is not the spirit of a real artist.
when i was 20 and a “tribe” head, busta was the shit. he brought energy, a mad, new school (leaders of the) flow and along with missy, changed hip-hop videos. but with all his cred, he’s mainstream when he *allows* his show to get hijacked like that.
scenes like a t-shirt coordinated stage reminds me of political consultants with their hands right up a politician’s ass… drop the studio marketers and be your fucking self.
btw, the clips to this documentary are hype. anyone know how to get a copy of the actual documentary? i tracked down the production company website, but they don’t have direct links to buy it…