Bored huh…

You ain’t the only one. There comes a time when every “blogger” seems to hang it up for a while, call it a right of passage. And while most hang it up on average after 30 to 70 posts, I took a temporary hiatus after less than 10 (What Can I Say? I’m quick on the uptake).

This break time wasn’t spent in vain however. I’ve done some research, watched my fair share of porn, downloaded and uploaded my fair share of files, watched videos and saved favorites, edited and reedited my buddy list, checked all my myspace bulletins, watched anime, read sports blogs that give me hope for The Jets season, seen Greenbay, Dallas and the 49′ers start their season 2 and 0 like it’s 1995. Listened to music that reminded me it aint 95′, and even saw Saigon snuff prodigy. Some would think I’ve seen the end of the internet, however my thesis is slightly different. Walk with me.

Me and all my online social cohorts are for the most part stemmed in Hip Hop. While our eccentricities in taste vary from subject to subject, the foundation of our interest is primarily built on the 4 pillars of Hip Hop. And even though there are 4 pillars, The most influential is of course the music.

Yet my boredom doesn’t stem from the culture itself, but the driving force behind the culture. The music is stagnant. You know it if you listen to music and don’t just skim through it. From tired radio shows, to wacktastic non concept singles, the music is contrived, uninspired and boring. Sure I want to superman that ho on occasion, but that latest offering from the RIAA cookie cutter music factory is the last in whats been a 5 year long line of what can be defined as a clear decline in the “art” of this music.

I mean lets call a spade a spade, calling Hip Hop in any sense “art” needs to be done with a grain of salt. Even during the last golden era I can recall, songs ranging from Gin and Juice, All about The Benjamins, Big Pimpin, I’m not a player (I just fuck a lot), Oochie Wally (however the fuck you spell it) and stand outs like that, remind us that the visual part of the music was far from magnificent. Sure it may have captured a bravado and a time frame, but it labels the culture to those who don’t understand it. Now there are also songs that are truly masterworks of lyricism, wordplay and sentiment that capture the feel of angst, joy, struggle and the will to succeed in as many as 48 bars. Such as Things Done Changed, Black Girl Lost and I Gave You Power, You Must Love Me, So Ghetto, Soon You’ll Understand, Heart of The City and so on. (Yea no links, Go do some research if you don’t know these songs. Also this isn’t a definitive list, but this speaks to my experience) So while the songs I mentioned before get mentioned by the racist media whore mongers such as Bill O’ Reilly, songs like the latter get glossed over.

The reason I say calling Hip Hop music an art must be done with a grain of salt is simple. In no other Genre are fans more concerned with an artists status, business moves and personal wealth than Hip Hop. We’ve all done it. Shit look at the recent industry manufactured drama that was the Kanye West, 50 Cent fiasco. What they packaged it as was Good vs. Evil. New vs. Old. Gangsta vs. Backpack. When it was really Them (the recording industry) Vs. Us. The hype was played up on the blogs, websites and yes even magazines (the magazines that didn’t shut down anyway) and everyone was happy. Consumers felt significant again because “their vote mattered”. The reality I saw however was a wool and it was being pulled over the eyes of the sheep. Talk about dramatic irony.

In no other genre of music do average joes care so much about the business side of it than Hip Hop. And while some artists like 9th wonder can complain about it and random bloggers can agree with what he is saying vehemently. It’s the mentality of Hip Hop. The struggle out of the hustle and grind to affluence and shine. By no means am I saying 9th is part of the whole pissing contest when it comes to status, but he’s part of the culture and he should understand that comes with the territory. On the flipside though, do I wanna hear my local barber talkin about why Nas is wacker than Jay because he doesn’t have a clothing line or 500 million in the bank. Fuck No. Just cut my goddamn hair.

When it comes down to it the climate of music, or rather the stagnant nature of music, has driven the overall conscious of Hip Hop down. From shows like Hot Ghetto Mess to radio morning shows that are a hot ghetto mess, to programing like VH1’s I Love NY, it all comes back to the music that made these ideologies popular and acceptable on a mainstream scale. Few are the voices that ring out with true sentiment.

Here is one of the few thats Kept it 100.

Star and Buc.. Ask about em.

My lil break was cool in more ways than one. It gave me a hot minute to think about shit and really wonder why I would even take time out to “blog”. While there are several answers, the one that applies is “Why the fuck not”.

Tags: , Music, Random Stuff, Tom Foolery