>I agree that many white people
>look to MTV/BET for what
>to listen to to make
>them seem "down". However
>there are masses of black
>folks that do the same.

The fact black people do it too doesn't make it okay.

> Most of the people,
>regardless of race, listening to
>and buying into the hip-hop
>culture are doing so because
>it is what's in at
>the moment.

That's human nature.

>However, the
>color of the people listening
>to hip-hop or trying to
>represent it are not the
>problem with hip-hop. The
>real problem is the people
>who are using hip-hop culture
>to make huge amounts of
>money. The problem is
>the artists that make music
>hoping to be the next
>fad.

I'm not labelling you or anything, but this is such a typical backpacker rebuttal. First, let me define backpacker for you. I define a backpacker as the person with the superiority complex about hip hop. His or her mindstate is "my hiphop is better than yours"...and for the record, there are backpackers in all types of rap. The backpacker is the person at a show who screams out in the middle of a set "yo, put me on the mic! I love this hip hop shit! I'm real hip hop! fuck that commercial bullshit!", and also the guys who are trying to cipher in front of the stage speaking a bunch of nonsense language that would only win them a scrabble game and not a freestyle battle. A backpacker can be anyone who doesn't acknowledge the entire culture, and tries to separate one from another. Backpackers are the reason Biggie and Pac were killed. Now...why did I come with such a bold statement? Because it's true. Don't blame their murders on eachother, or whoever pulled the trigger....blame it on the fact that in EVERY type of rap there are those who fight for separation...and think that hip hop is this or that, and this is good and not that. If nobody was a part of hip-hop, then there wouldn't be hip-hop...even if the music remained...because just like Mos Def said..."we are hip-hop". It's about the people, we are the culture.

I'll slap the next person that tells me hip-hop was never about making money, or having fame. What's wrong with making money? Now, if they choose to misrepresent themselves....then that's their problem. My opinion is that pop rap is modern day slavery. I've noticed how Cash Money reps their "label" to the fullest...even though it's an imprint of Universal and they're basically OWNED by white people who tell them what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.

No matter what, it's still all hip-hop. I'm also sick of hearing about how hip-hop is in such a bad state because of pop rap artists. That is 100% bullshit. I live in Atlanta, and I have NEVER been to a "hip-hop" show in Atlanta that hasn't been sold out. Now they might perform in different size venues, but that's only because there's different amounts of people who appreciate it. Triple Six can sellout the Lakewood Amphitheater...which seats thousands and thousands....and Common can sell out the Tabernacle...which seats a few thousand....and so on and so on...some artists may be making loyal fans, but they're also suffering in the fact that they're not making any new fans. What good is it if they're not trying to change to reach a wider audience? Or are they happy only reaching these many people? Are there ways in which they can improve, NOT decline in talent?

I assume that most people in this board like Talib Kweli...though I'm not sure if they got the message of the hook in his song "Too Late". "Nowadays rap artists, comin half on it, commercial like pop or underground like black markets....where were you the day hip-hop died?" He is being critical of both "types" of rap...artists from each type are trying to maintain the separation because they want to remain a certain way...underground artists don't wanna be commercial....and commercial artists (most of them) were once underground, and don't want to return to that. The day hip-hop died was when people started separating one type from the other. Not when jiggy artists took over.

People need to stop complaining about the so-called good old days of hiphop. Because these people are the reason hiphop is going nowhere (at least in their eyes).

>I know someone
>has already said this but
>the color of the person
>is not what matters.
>What really matters is their
>"true" motives.

Dressing a certain way isn't a motive...usually it's just an adaptation to what you see around you. And no, the color doesn't matter. It's the culture that matters. Are they really participating in it, either as a fan or an artist, or are they just trying to fit in? Do they dress like that all the time, or only when they go to a hip-hop show? Do they care what people think when they go places dressed certain ways to reflect that area? Or do they just dress to fit into whatever area they're in? Are they really representing themselves as individuals?

>I am
>a white person who listens
>to hip-hop for the
>sole reason that in my
>opinion, hip-hop at it's best
>is the most creative and
>expressive form of music, hands
>down. By "at it's
>best" I mean when an
>artist makes the music because
>THEY like it and if
>it sells great, but if
>not they keep putting out
>music for themselves and the
>people who enjoy it.

You have to acknowledge how expensive it is to put out music...in order to keep putting music out, they have to sell...most sell enough to keep making music. Most artists like that remain that way because they fall into the backpacker syndrome. If they're doing it for the love, then that's fine. But if they truly love their craft...then they'd take a look at how they can improve it to get more fans. That's how you make it. Obviously they're not having a huge impact if they haven't blown up yet...maybe they're too generic, too weak, too anything. They perform at small venues, yet that's all they do...if they were really putting love into making great music...I'm sure their audience would grow...but sadly it just remains stagnant. That's their fault and no one else's.

Anyone can make music that is only appreciated by oneself. Keep it mind that it can also suck horribly.

>Good example of this is
>the whole Living Legends camp.
> Their music is incredible,
>it is not even close
>to gold or platinum.
>Yet they continue to release
>material that follows their same
>formula and avoid changing their
>music to attain commercial success.

By what you have typed, I'm thinking that they're not going to amount to anything. If they're not changing their music...then
1) their virtually impossible climb to the top will be slow as fuck
2) they will just fade out as a distant memory
Are they afraid of changing up their routine in order to get a wider audience? Or are they content with making what they make now? Hopefully they can be Gold one day, maybe even Platinum. And hopefully they can actually do something to get themselves to that point, otherwise they'll always be underground.

>I will continue to
>support hip-hop as long as
>there are artists like this
>putting it out.

I used to have the mindstate where I only bought underground stuff, and it got to the point where I was convincing myself that I liked it...when in actuality, I was listening to a bunch of bullshit. People need to work on just making good music. What's wrong with changing if it means improvement in yourself? Where would Common be if he kept his "can I borrow a dollar?" style? Probably nowhere...but he came back and literally did resurrect his career...he improved himself and now he is blowing up.

===============

Did I get off the subject or what?

To sum it all up, there's nothing wrong with dressing or acting a certain way if that's really you. Most people do act stereotypical, and there are those who emulate being stereotypical. If they're dressing baggy and talking slang, hopefully it's for the right reasons. Hopefully it reflects who they really are as a person. If they're doing it to follow the crowd or be a part of a culture...then they need to take a look in the mirror and ask themself "who", not "what" they're looking at.

On that note, fuck a backpacker. I listen to everything, and do not discriminate. Good music is still good music...it doesn't matter what genre it's coming from. Backpackers are essentially just taking after the artists they listen to, who are most likely spreading the backpacker philosophy of 'my hip hop is better than yours'.

If you make good music, someone's going to hear it. Don't blame misfortunes on other people. Because then you will have a superiority complex. Backpackers tend to think they're better than everyone else. They're always complaining about the state of hiphop.

If an artists is bitching about how he or she can't make it for so and so reason. Then he or she is basically putting themselves above the people around them. He or she is thinking that they're too good to be in the state that they're in. The bad part is that the person will then explain and lay blame on other things that are out of their control. What's in their control is themselves.

Backpacker: I can't understand how I've worked my ass off and haven't gotten anywhere!
Rational Person: You seem to think that you're better than everyone, like you don't belong here. If that's the case, why are you still here?
Backpacker: Because man, I'm not getting the chance I need, all I need is this and that.
Rational Person: Why don't you have those things?
Backpacker: .........::dumbfounded::

If you're in a position you don't wish to be in (artists or non-artists), ask yourself why you're not in a better position. If any of those reasons involves doing something about it, then why won't you do it? Quit complaining, or else you'll be getting what you deserve.

Peace to everyone that took the time to read this...I've been wanting to vent about hip-hop for a while now...sorry I got off the subject.

........

"If you want to change the world, be that change." - Gandhi

"An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind." - Gandhi