Yeah it's fukked up.
Haven't posted at length in this thread, but over the past two years I've been freelancing, writing about Hip-Hop, and it's a tough path. For me in particular I see how fukked up the game is, especially because I try to frame my articles in a larger social context. I'm not interested in writing about superficial topics, which most clickbait Hip-Hop journalism has become. The thing is, there's no market for a writer to actually make a living otherwise.
Like for instance I'm writing a piece about these dudes dancing on tables and how it beckons back to Minstrelsy, but I know most of these outlets would see the word Minstrelsy alone and ignore me off GP. That's a rabbithole most of these editors are unwilling to touch or are in denial about.
And the thing is, I don't want to be on those major sites for so many of the reasons listed in this thread, and I don't pitch to them, but then it's like, how do you get your shyt out there? It's like you have to be content with the moral victory of knowing you spoke the truth and maybe someone will read it. I read old Source magazines, and it's like night and day to today's content.
Luckily, the couple places I write at the most, the (white) owners/staff are "woke" enough to let me speak my piece on most issues (I wouldn't write for them otherwise) but there's always going to be a difference if it's not your own space. There's always gonna be certain lines you write or points you try to raise that will become a point of contention with an editor. There's always gonna be moments where editors don't understand why I reference a concept from a book just to get people to possibly pick it up.
I feel like Hip-Hop has all eyes on it, and a lot of the deepest issues in our community can be explained in the context of the Hip-Hop industry. That type of writing will go over better as far as reaching the youth IMO...but the thing is there is just such a small lane for it...never mind a lucrative one.
It's just another tenuous situation for Black people in America. I have my own Blog for artists of color, and I want to eventually find like-minded people to start a real outlet with (not just some "blog"), but it feels like a distant possibility for now.
Haven't posted at length in this thread, but over the past two years I've been freelancing, writing about Hip-Hop, and it's a tough path. For me in particular I see how fukked up the game is, especially because I try to frame my articles in a larger social context. I'm not interested in writing about superficial topics, which most clickbait Hip-Hop journalism has become. The thing is, there's no market for a writer to actually make a living otherwise.
Like for instance I'm writing a piece about these dudes dancing on tables and how it beckons back to Minstrelsy, but I know most of these outlets would see the word Minstrelsy alone and ignore me off GP. That's a rabbithole most of these editors are unwilling to touch or are in denial about.
And the thing is, I don't want to be on those major sites for so many of the reasons listed in this thread, and I don't pitch to them, but then it's like, how do you get your shyt out there? It's like you have to be content with the moral victory of knowing you spoke the truth and maybe someone will read it. I read old Source magazines, and it's like night and day to today's content.
Luckily, the couple places I write at the most, the (white) owners/staff are "woke" enough to let me speak my piece on most issues (I wouldn't write for them otherwise) but there's always going to be a difference if it's not your own space. There's always gonna be certain lines you write or points you try to raise that will become a point of contention with an editor. There's always gonna be moments where editors don't understand why I reference a concept from a book just to get people to possibly pick it up.
I feel like Hip-Hop has all eyes on it, and a lot of the deepest issues in our community can be explained in the context of the Hip-Hop industry. That type of writing will go over better as far as reaching the youth IMO...but the thing is there is just such a small lane for it...never mind a lucrative one.
It's just another tenuous situation for Black people in America. I have my own Blog for artists of color, and I want to eventually find like-minded people to start a real outlet with (not just some "blog"), but it feels like a distant possibility for now.
