Not saying that it wasn't once a culture...But the elements that made Hip Hop what it once was had been compromised from culture to entertainment a long time ago and collectively we all need to acknowledge that fact. Hip Hop is entertainment not a culture.
Culture is defined as: The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. A high level of taste and enlightenment as a result of extensive intellectual training and exposure to the arts. Synonyms include: Refinement and civilization. So by definition Hip Hop can't be a culture because its been compromised from its foundation.
The culture that is relative to Hip Hop is the "urban culture." With urban culture we acknowledge "issues" such as Black on Black violence, drug abuse and unhealthy sexual lifestyles. In Hip Hop, killing n*ggaz is normal, smoking weed and drinking is cool and passing around hoes is just the way things are. Issues aren't addressed in Hip Hop like they would be in a civilized society that is concerned with its culture. In the urban community you have groups who address said issues. In Hip Hop no one checks no one when they are being wreckless because anything goes. There is no moral base with Hip Hop.
I cant say what year Hip Hop stopped being a culture and was reduced to being entertainment but I do remember 2 big moments in 1996 that magnified Hip Hop as being reduced to "entertainment" while the "cultural" factor was reduced and compromised. The first was when Jeru the Damaja, a rapper who had hot songs and could actually spit made an attempt to call out figures in Hip Hop who he felt where setting bad examples to the "culture"...He even went as far as countering all the rappers such as Ice Cube, Rakim and Biggie who were promoting the non healthy St Ides Malt Liquor by promoting the Fruit Juice Squeez'r. And what did Jeru recieve for his actions? Ignored and made irrellevant within 1 year. The 2nd big moment in 1996 was when 2pac threatened to kill the childeren of Bad Boy records associates with a "fo fo" while creating a tirade against Biggie Smalls and his family structure all for the sake of album sales. And what did Pac recieve for his actions? Martyrdom and a following that looks at Pac as a man who could do no wrong. Now as a civilized culture that would be unaccptable and said person would have been checked by a committee. But in Hip Hop, all that negativity Pac directed towards Biggie was actually ok and acceptable and even til this day the song "Hit Em Up" is celebrated. Yet Within the urban community, the negative words Minister Farrakhan had towards Malcolm X, which included Malcolm deserving death, looms over Farrakhans head till this say as a shameful moment in Black history. So why is it that Farrakhans words of death towards Malcolm are looked at as shameful yet 2pacs words of wanting to see death towards Biggie ok? Because Hip Hop is entertainment...Not a culture. In a culture such actions gets checked. But on the flip side it was entertaining as fukk watching Pac go after Biggie the way he did.
In "urban culture" police brutality is a serious issue yet in Hip Hop the saying "F*ck the police" is a mantra but there is an irony where its acceptabe to tell the world in a bragging manner that one is a killer or drug dealer. So how can one argue police brutality if you are bragging about being a killer or drug dealer? Again, because Hip Hop is entertainment and the days where rappers promote being civilized are far gone. No on who is consious would accept being a drug dealer, killer and drug abuser as a "customary belief", a civilized society looks at such actions a "problems that need solutions." Just because the savages say those things are ok it doesn't mean I have to go along with it, so said actions aren't the beliefs of the whole, in other words, it doesnt fall in the category of "culture." Mind you, I haven't even touched on the compromised elements within Hip Hop such as how its now acceptable to be a mediocre emcee in contrast to the custom beliefs of yesteryear were being wack was looked down on. Hip Hop entertainment is a part of urban culture but Hip Hop is not a culture and as a whole we need to start labeling Hip Hop for what it really is.....Entertainment.
Culture is defined as: The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. A high level of taste and enlightenment as a result of extensive intellectual training and exposure to the arts. Synonyms include: Refinement and civilization. So by definition Hip Hop can't be a culture because its been compromised from its foundation.
The culture that is relative to Hip Hop is the "urban culture." With urban culture we acknowledge "issues" such as Black on Black violence, drug abuse and unhealthy sexual lifestyles. In Hip Hop, killing n*ggaz is normal, smoking weed and drinking is cool and passing around hoes is just the way things are. Issues aren't addressed in Hip Hop like they would be in a civilized society that is concerned with its culture. In the urban community you have groups who address said issues. In Hip Hop no one checks no one when they are being wreckless because anything goes. There is no moral base with Hip Hop.
I cant say what year Hip Hop stopped being a culture and was reduced to being entertainment but I do remember 2 big moments in 1996 that magnified Hip Hop as being reduced to "entertainment" while the "cultural" factor was reduced and compromised. The first was when Jeru the Damaja, a rapper who had hot songs and could actually spit made an attempt to call out figures in Hip Hop who he felt where setting bad examples to the "culture"...He even went as far as countering all the rappers such as Ice Cube, Rakim and Biggie who were promoting the non healthy St Ides Malt Liquor by promoting the Fruit Juice Squeez'r. And what did Jeru recieve for his actions? Ignored and made irrellevant within 1 year. The 2nd big moment in 1996 was when 2pac threatened to kill the childeren of Bad Boy records associates with a "fo fo" while creating a tirade against Biggie Smalls and his family structure all for the sake of album sales. And what did Pac recieve for his actions? Martyrdom and a following that looks at Pac as a man who could do no wrong. Now as a civilized culture that would be unaccptable and said person would have been checked by a committee. But in Hip Hop, all that negativity Pac directed towards Biggie was actually ok and acceptable and even til this day the song "Hit Em Up" is celebrated. Yet Within the urban community, the negative words Minister Farrakhan had towards Malcolm X, which included Malcolm deserving death, looms over Farrakhans head till this say as a shameful moment in Black history. So why is it that Farrakhans words of death towards Malcolm are looked at as shameful yet 2pacs words of wanting to see death towards Biggie ok? Because Hip Hop is entertainment...Not a culture. In a culture such actions gets checked. But on the flip side it was entertaining as fukk watching Pac go after Biggie the way he did.
In "urban culture" police brutality is a serious issue yet in Hip Hop the saying "F*ck the police" is a mantra but there is an irony where its acceptabe to tell the world in a bragging manner that one is a killer or drug dealer. So how can one argue police brutality if you are bragging about being a killer or drug dealer? Again, because Hip Hop is entertainment and the days where rappers promote being civilized are far gone. No on who is consious would accept being a drug dealer, killer and drug abuser as a "customary belief", a civilized society looks at such actions a "problems that need solutions." Just because the savages say those things are ok it doesn't mean I have to go along with it, so said actions aren't the beliefs of the whole, in other words, it doesnt fall in the category of "culture." Mind you, I haven't even touched on the compromised elements within Hip Hop such as how its now acceptable to be a mediocre emcee in contrast to the custom beliefs of yesteryear were being wack was looked down on. Hip Hop entertainment is a part of urban culture but Hip Hop is not a culture and as a whole we need to start labeling Hip Hop for what it really is.....Entertainment.
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