Hip Hop - Nu Flav Media

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About a year ago, I began work
on a presentation to highlight
the basic differences between
Hip Hop & Rap. Somewhere in
the mist of my project, I turned
on the TV to find out Hip Hop
had been murdered and Rap
declared legally insane. And
while George Bush was held
responsible for the war in Iraq
and
a
weak
economy,
everything else wrong with
America was being linked to Hip
Hop. Drugs, teen pregnancy,
violence, the high school drop-
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out rate, the victimization of
women (including rape and
abuse), the reason racism
existed in American, cop
killings, pornography, did I
leave out global warming. Okay
maybe not global warming, but
there was a serious witch hunt
taking place. Later I saw David
Banner and Masta P in front of
a committee in Washington, DC
defending their music. It was all
surreal as I watched America’s
corporate media do what they
do best, sensationalize a story
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for ratings. Prime example, after
the Virginia Tech University
shooting, one media outlet went
so far as to place a picture of 50
Cent next to the shooter’s
picture, claiming that 50 Cent’s
music was responsible for
influencing
the killer to
commit
violence.
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Oprah’s “Town Meeting On Hip
Hop”, BET’s “Hip Hop vs.
America”, Paula Zahn’s “Hip
Hop: Art or Poison” allowed out
of touch black leaders, rightwinged whites, and angry
women groups to all scream
“Hip Hop”. They screamed “Hip
Hop negatively influences youth
to do this...”, “Hip Hop promotes
that...., “Hip Hop is the source of
all society’s ills”. To make
matters worse the people on
these panels who were invited
to speak for hip hop were mostly
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rappers and members of the rap
industry out to preserve their
moneymaker. The legitimate
members of the hip hop
community on these 3 panels
could be counted on one hand
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Common
(Oprah’s
Town
Meeting on Hip Hop), Chuck D
& Nelson George (Hip Hop vs.
America), and a couple of
others.
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Hip Hop wasn’t giving a fair
opportunity to articulate to
America, that what was actually
being pumped out on major
radio waves and on the Viacom
machine (MTV, BET, and VH1)
was not Hip Hop but a
commercialized version called
Rap. And as people continued
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to confuse rap for hip hop,
things got totally out of control
with the statement of the year
“Hip Hop Is Dead”. This
declaration was first made by
Nas when he released the selftitled single, for his 2007 album,
“Hip Hop Is Dead”. Did he really
believed the statement or was
he using it as a clever way to
create a buzz and draw
attention to his album release?
His response to the controversy
bother me even more, saying he
was referring to, not just hip
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hop, but the whole music scene
in general, as far as creativity
was concerned. Though I
agreed with him 100% about the
lack of creativity, I could not
believe that he perceived hip
hop as being a once active
member of the mainstream that,
after being exposed to a
disease called commercialism,
fell victim and died.
R.I.P.IP HOP
Luckily, hip hop had major
medias to represent and defend
it against the assault...it... wait...
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what am I talking about... once
the Source magazine started
trixin’ with Rap, the love affair
was over and hip hop got kicked
to the curb. And hip hop lived at
Hot 97 FM, in the beginning, but
after they attracted enough
listeners off that claim, they
raised the rent so high it
downgraded hip hop from the
penthouse apartment, to a one
room studio in the basement,
finally back to the streets.
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That’s when I decided to
expand my presentation to do
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more than just highlight the
differences between the culture
of Hip Hop & commercial
mainstream rap. I also had to
prove that Hip Hop was still
alive. I decided the best way to
do this was to present a clearer
and more detailed description of
what Hip Hop was. I had to go
deeper than just identifying the
5 elements, which is what my
original idea was, but to explain
why people love hip hop, what it
means to live hip hop, and what
other than the 5 elements
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separate hip hop from rap. As a
result not only did I create a 3
part presentation, I developed
what I feel is the most important
part to this presentation, what I
call the “Essence
of the Culture”. Hip Hop has a
soul, an essence that is made
up of 3 main factors: Creativity,
Originality,
and
Skill
Development. These are the
main factors that fuel hip hop
culture. It is the force that
governs it and the foundation for
which it’s built. It dictates the art,
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fashion, and media of hip hop.
When the music industry
attempted to bring the music
element of hip hop culture to the
mainstream, it failed to include
(or purposely excluded) the
essence, leaving them with
nothing more than a product
called Rap music. Once an
element (or person) of hip hop
culture is separated from its
essence,
it
becomes
disconnected and no longer
part of the culture.
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What Is
Hip Hop?
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I remember the first time I saw a
graffiti artist paint over his
previous work with white primer
paint. (The reason why they do
this is to prep the wall for new
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graffiti art.) I thought it was
crazy, wondering why someone
would destroy their own
masterpiece. Even as crazy as
Van Gogh was, he would never
purposely destroy any of his
artworks. Did the graffiti artist
not appreciate his work enough
to preserve it? How could he be
sure the new art would be as
good as the one he was
destroying? I remember asking
myself these questions. What I
didn’t understand was, this
thing called hip hop is an
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unstoppable creative force that
cannot be contained and that all
obstacles attempting to restrict
its creative nature must be
destroyed. In this case, the
artist had limited space to paint,
so he was forced to make a
choice, let his beautiful work
remain or continue to create. Of
course, if he could have created
a new work and preserved the
previous he would have. Since I
was failing to recognize the
nature of hip hop, I was unable
to see it from the artist’s
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perspective.
From
his
perspective, his new work was
going to be better because it
would be different from the last,
it would be new, it would be
FRESH!
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First let’s breakdown hip hop
and examine each of the
following.
ELEMENTS
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MUSIC
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ESSENCE
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COMMUNITY
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SPIRIT
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The 5 Elements of
Hip Hop Culture
EMCEEIN’
B-BOYIN’ / BREAKIN’
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GRAFFITI
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BEATBOXIN’
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DEEJAYIN’
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“From the break dancers to the
scratching / From the graff n’ to
the sampling / From the
beatboxin’ to the freestylin’ /
Their
all
expressions
/
Reflections of the inner spirit”
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Excerpt
from
the
song
“Expressions” by Mohammed
Yahya
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EMCEEIN’
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Performed
by
emcees
commonly spelled MC. MC is
short for Mic Controller or
Master of Ceremony.
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Examples of emceein’ would be
freestylin’, rhyming over a beat,
droppin’
lyrics
accapella,
instructing the crowd to yell out
a word or sayin’, to make noise,
clap hands to a beat, etc ...
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“Eric B. easy on the cut and no
mistakes allowed/ ‘Cuz to me,
‘MC’ means ‘move the crowd’ “
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Excerpt from the song “My
Melody” by Eric B & Rakim
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“Some MCs were naturally
talented, like some people are
born to sing. Other MCs
studied,
practiced
and
persevered.”
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Grandmaster Caz
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B-BOYIN’ / BREAKIN’
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Performed by B-Boys & B-Girls
aka break boys / break girls.
They are commonly referred to
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as break dancers. Breakin’
involves Poppin’ & Lockin’,
Different poses, and/or moves
performed on the floor like back
spins, head spins, power
moves, the spider, etc...
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“B-Boyin’ is like the ultimate
body manifestation of hip hop.
Not only do you have your feet
movin’ your hands movin’ your
using every single part of your
body, your head, your neck, and
also your character.”
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Quote from “Freshest Kids”
DVD
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GRAFFITI
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“Writing became a voice of
many of the youth in the inner
cities of New York.”
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True 222 (Formerly known as
Phase 2)
“Graffiti art has a function of not
only communicating to others,
but it also beautifies the
community by appearing on
areas that normally would be
eyesores, such as a wall in a
vacant lot or an abandoned
building.”
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Author George C. Stowers
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“There are some people out
there who believe these (graffiti
artworks) are actually eyesores
and nuisances. But there are so
many people who believe these
are creative works of art that
express emotion, tell a story,
and show the heart and soul of
the city. Just like Van Gogh and
Monet these people will never
be truly understood.”
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Reporter Ivy Prosper
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“It’s tricky to call graffiti `art’
because it was born to operate
outside the system, and art has
a system. So when you put
graffiti in a gallery, you are
taking an outsider inside. It’s
like putting an animal in a cage.”
Graffiti artist Haze
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“Graffiti Art’s free for all to come
and view, no one can own it, it
belongs to all of us.”
Graffiti artist Eskae
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“If Graffiti is a crime, may god
forgive me.”
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A common phrase seen on
inner city walls
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BEATBOXIN’
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“Beat boxing is a form of vocal
percussion which primarily
involves the art of producing
drum beats, rhythm, and
musical sounds using one’s
mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and
more. It may also involve
singing, vocal imitation of
turntablism, the simulation of
horns, strings, and other
musical instruments.”
Excerpt from Wikipedia
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“It’s a movement combination
with your lip tongue and throat /
Use your teeth and your nose
for a mysterious high note.”
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Excerpt from the song “Make
the Music with Your Mouth” by
Biz Markie
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“On the streets, beatboxers
serve
as
human
beatmachines, often providing the
rhythmic backbones on which
MCs lay their flows.”
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Excerpt from WordIQ.com
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“Beatbox is the 5th element of
hip hop and is known for its
creativity of a person making
sounds or beats with their
mouth.”
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EJL (Urban Dictionary.com)
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DEEJAYIN’
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Turntablism is the art of
manipulating
sounds
and
creating music using phonograh
turntables and a DJ mixer. The
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word ‘turntablist’ was coined in
1995 by DJ Badu to describe
the difference between a DJ
who just plays records, and one
who performs by touching and
moving the records, stylus and
mixer to manipulate sound.
(Excerpt from Wikipedia )
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“Somehow, after 400 years of
displacement out of Africa, the
true hip-hop DJ can still feel the
rhythm of the drums of Africa.”
DXT aka Grandmixer DST
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Hip Hop Is Not...
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Though I respect other people’s
viewpoints, I do not recognize
hip hop as any of the following.
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Movement
This is a cool way to describe it,
but I feel it’s inaccurate. I do,
however, recognize that there
are movements within hip hop,
such as, hip hop’s black
conscious movement in the late
80’s & early 90’s. But as a
is
not
a
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whole, hip
movement.
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Nation
Yes, it’s as large as a nation but
it’s not organized in such away.
We do not have a process to
elect leaders & officials. Even if
there
were
those
who
volunteered for the positions,
we presently do not have an
actual, agreed upon, agenda for
them to push. We also do not
have a flag, official anthem...I
could go onand on, but I think
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I’ve made my point that hip hop
does not fit into the frameworks
of a nation or have a system
that allows it to operate as one.
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Religion
There are aspects of hip hop
that can be compared to
religions such as looking at New
York as the Mecca or the
universal law that “thou shall not
bite” as some type of
commandment. But overall it’s
not a religion. People are not hip
hop because they follow
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teachings or because they
believe in particular lessons on
how to live, rather it’s the mind
state they possess.
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“Hip-Hop
It’s bigger than religion
Hip-Hop
It’s bigger than my niggas
Hip-Hop
It’s bigger than the government”
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Excerpt from the song
“The Healer” by Erykah Badu
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The Music
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Many people believe Rap music
is the music of Hip Hop culture.
Rap is not the music of Hip Hop
culture, the music of Hip Hop
culture is Hip Hop music. Rap is
the commercialized version of
hip hop music and culture. The
term rap was chosen by the
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music industry. At first, many
people in the hip hop
community accepted the term
“Rap” as alternative name for
hip hop music. But as rap music
became more popular, the hip
hop community gradually began
to distances itself from it, as not
to be confused with what rap
represented and it’s lack of
respect for the art of hip hop.
Slashes were added (Hip Hop /
Rap) to highlight the difference
and emcees ask not to be
referred to as rappers. And for
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hip hop artists who struggled to
remain on the rap scene, most
were shut out. Trying to
describe what hip hop sound
like is a little tricky? It’s usually
centered around beats and / or
rhymes. But there are no
boundaries when it comes to
creating the music or any
structure for how it should be
performed. This is why, unlike
rap music, hip hop music can’t
be put in a box. The various
ways that hip hop music can be
performed and the styles that
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can be created seems to be
unlimited.
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“For the suburbs and the rest of
the world, and the mainstream..
it’s just another song on the
radio. But for people who really
live in those situations, this
music is their stream of
information.”
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Talib Kweli (Flow TV)
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Mislabeling Hip Hop
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Conscious Hip Hop
Conscious Rap
Back Pack Rap
Old School Hip Hop
Alternative Hip Hop
Progressive Hip Hop
Underground Hip Hop
Positive Rap
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Alternative,
Progressive,
Underground in comparison to
what? I hear a lot of people
using these terms when
describing
hip
hop
in
comparison to what’s seen and
heard in the mainstream. These
terms would only be valid if Rap
were a true extension of Hip
Hop, but it is not. Instead of
giving hip hop a new name, like
the one’s listed above, just call
it hip hop music and identify the
commercialized version as rap.
The terms Conscious Hip Hop &
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Old School Hip Hop are just
categories that fall under the
banner of hip hop. The term
Positive Rap once again falls in
a category. Hip Hop artists are
not required to choose between
positive or negative, smooth or
raw, polite or rude, clean or
explicit,
when
expressing
themselves and creating new
material. There are hip hop
songs that are just as violent,
raunchy, and explicit as rap
songs. Like Q-Tip said in the
documentary “5 Sides of The
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Coin”, “Hip Hop doesn’t really
sugar coat a lot of things”. The
difference is, hip hop artists
present their songs in a more
creative, more original, and
more skillful way. And their
songs are true expressions /
observations and / or intended
as creative art.
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“What happens is that music is
put in a box and these A&R’s
and these labels have one way
and one train of thought when it
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comes to selling music. If your
music doesn’t fit within that box,
or within that train of thought
they are challenged as to how
to sell it and they are challenged
to be creative and um, you
know and it f**ks em’ up a little
bit. That’s the reason, that’s
part, ...that’s the big reason why
you don’t hear a lot of artists,
that make the type of music I
make,...don’t go mainstream is
because the record labels don’t
know how to promote it.”
Talib Kweli
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Hip Hop’s
Competitive
Spirit
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The
competitive
spirit that lives
within hip hop
is a healthy
one. You’re always pushed to
be your best and to try to
outperform the rest. The
ultimate way to measure your
skills and test your abilities, in
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hip hop, is by challenging
others. Whether it resulted from
a battle or from competing to
claim a spot on the stage of hip
hop, many of hip hop’s best
works are the direct results of its
spirit.
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“Hip-hop teaches you to be
yourself, be assertive, stand up
for yourself, believe in your
ability
to
overcome
any
obstacle.”
KRS ONE on Tavis Smiley
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“I’ll take seven emcees, put ‘em
in a line.
Add seven more brothers who
think they can rhyme.
It’ll take seven more before
I go for mine,
And that’s 21 emcees ate up at
the same time.”
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Excerpt from the song “My
Melody” by Eric B. & Rakim
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“The worst thing in the world is
when one can’t admit to losing
a battle. Truth is, in a battle one
person has to lose and if it’s
you, make the best of it. Go
home, get in the lab, and come
back stronger!”
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Bboy Alieness
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“I laugh cuz I mastered the craft
MC
In sound clash I’m the fi rst and
last MC
It’s sort of like Jim Carrey
throwin’ that Mask to me
I black out and wake up to
catastrophe”
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Excerpt from the song “The MC”
by KRS One
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“Attitude is how I get my point
across
You can’t call yourself an MC if
you know that you’re soft
Aggressive...is how the stage is
approached.
I burn MCs like toast cuz I’m the
host with the most.”
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Excerpt from the song “Word
Play” by Phife
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“Thunder on your Dome with no
help from Mad Max
Lyrics like hype tattoos go over
the dope tracks
We booby-traps, all our
inventions
We know the intentions of MC
kleptomaniacs
Rap brainiacs have cardiacs
soon after the attack
When it comes to ryhmin I slam
harder than Shaq“
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Excerpt from the song “My Mind
Spray” by Jeru The Damaja
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The Community
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The Hip Hop community is a
worldwide community made up
of different nationalities and
backgrounds. The community
exists because of the mind state
of the individuals within it,
combined with the respect they
have for the culture. Hip Hop
group “The Roots” front man,
Black Thought , said that after
his first encounter with hip hop
“I (knew I) was going to be
dealing with hip hop whether I
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wanted to or not, it was like a
forced
marriage,
it
was
predetermined”. Better put, the
people and mindset were in
existence before the culture
was born. Once the culture
came into existence and began
to spread, a community
automatically grew around it.
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“(Hip Hop) has been able to
transcend ethnic and cultural
communities, in a way the Black
and Latino and Asians come
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together under a banner of hip
hop without shedding who I am
culturally. So I stepping to the
table as a black man or as a
Latino woman or Latino man,
but what brings us together is
the fact that we love Jay-Z, the
fact that I believe Biggie was
better then Tupac, the fact that
my graffiti is almost as ill and
sick as your, the fact that when
we’re dancing together we’re
creating something that didn’t
existed before. And what your
bringing to it is something
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special from your own individual
cultural experience that your
able to pull from something,
from your Asian culture that I
don’t have as an African
American, that adds the value
that ultimately becomes ours
collectively.”
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Jeffrey Johnson aka Cousin Jeff
(B.E.T.)
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“When your in a hip hop
environment you know it, it’s
has a
feel that’s tangible and cannot
be mistaken for anything else.”
Russell Simmons
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“Hip hop is more than just a
music form; it’s also a state of
being, a form of expression,
spoken words, a lifestyle, a
mind set.
It’s also a way to express
oneself by way of dress,
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language,
culture,
writing,
personality, and attitude.”
Leslie (writer at mysistahs.com)
The Essence of Hip Hop
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I have determined that there are
three main factors that fuel hip
hop culture. They are the forces
that governs it and the
foundation for which it’s built.
They dictates the art, fashion,
and media of hip hop.
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1. CREATIVITY
The ability to transcend
traditional ideas, rules, patterns,
relationships, or the like, and to
create meaningful new ideas,
forms, methods, interpretations,
etc..
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2. ORIGINALITY
The quality or condition of being
original
Preceding all others in time; fi
rst.
Not derived from something
else.
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3. SKILL DEVELOPMENT
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Skill= the ability, coming from
one’s knowledge, practice,
aptitude.
Development= act of improving
by expanding or enlarging or
refining.
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Skill Development= Improving
one abilities / talent through
practice and / or experience.
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“Hip Hop is the name of our
creative intelligent.”
KRS One
“Developing your own style is
key in making your mark in the
culture. “
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by DXT rockhall.com
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“I’m forever learning and that’s
why I’m always able to create
new styles and new dimensions
of hip-hop.”
Doug E. Fresh
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“(Hip hop heads are) people
who have extraordinary creative
energy within us”
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Rakaa Iriscience of Dilated
People
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“Rap Is ....”
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Hip Hop is that
home cook meal
that someone
took time to
prepare, so to
bring out the
flavor in each
item.
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Rap is the
pre-packaged
frozen meal
that you nuke
for 5 minutes
in a microwave.
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Hip Hop is that
custom, one of a
kind handcrafted
furniture made
with sturdy
materials that
going last
forever.
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Rap is the simple design that’s
easy to duplicate and made with
cheap material so to allow for a
higher profit margin.
Nu
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av
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ed
ia.
co
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Rap Is a Lucrative Business
At it’s peak, it out sells rock and
country music. Rappers who
ed
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co
m
have made the Forbes List of
Riches Entertainers
Jay-Z
50 Cent
Dr Dre
M
P Diddy
av
Kanye West
Fl
Will Smith
Nu
Not bad for a music genre that
people once labeled a fad that
wouldn’t last.
Nu
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av
M
ed
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co
m
The mere mention of a product
in the right song, by the right
artist can increase its sales.
From $5 white t-shirts to $100
bottle of Cristal. Even more
astounding is that rappers,
today, are able to use their fame
to create powerful brand
names. While rock music stars
usually seem limited to selling
small merchandise items like
band T-shirts, posters, and
buttons. Rappers, on the other
hand, are pushing their own
exclusive products lines, selling
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everything from sneakers to
energy drinks.
Nu
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av
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Sean John Cologne
Shawn Carter Sneakers
Nelly Pimp Juice
50 Cent Video Game
Emenim Shady Apparel
Todd Smith Clothing
Eve Fetish Clothing
Tupac Makaveli Aparrel
Romeo Rap Snacks
Russell Phat Farm
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P Diddy’s Cologne
“Sean John”
Nu
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av
M
Eminem’s
Clothing
Line
“Shady Clothing”
Nelly’s Beverage
“Pimp Juice”
m
Establishments
Nu
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M
ed
ia.
co
Some rapper are doing it real
big, becoming owners of their
own exclusive establishments.
Prime example, Jay Z’s 40/40
Ultra Sport Bar & Lounge has
locations in New York, Atlantic
City, Las Vegas, Chicago,
Tokyo, and Macau.
ed
ia.
co
m
Jay-Z’s New York Nightclub
“40/40 Club”
P Diddy’s Atlanta Restaurant
“Justin’s”
T.I.’s Atlanta Nightclub “Club
Cruial “
M
Rick Ross’s Miami Restaurant
“Hip Hop Grub Spot”
Fl
av
Jermaine
Dupri’s
Nightclub “Studio 72”
Atlanta
Nu
Ludracris’s Atlanta Restaurant
“Straits Atlanta”
M
m
ed
ia.
co
Destination
Hollywood...hood
Nu
Fl
av
It seems the top prize of most
rappers is to land a T.V. or
movie deal. The big screen
equals big money and today
rappers are looking to cash in.
Welcome to Hollywood...or
should I say “Holly...hood”.
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
“My last check for Wild Wild
West came on a flat bed (truck)”
Excerpt from the song “Freak It”
by Will Smith
The list of names of rappers
who are making appearances in
movies today is long and
growing. Here’s a short list of
rappers who are having the
most success on the big screen.
Nu
Fl
Will Smith formerly the Fresh
Prince (I Am Legend, Seven
Pounds, Bad Boys)
Nu
Fl
av
M
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co
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Queen Latifah (Chicago, Set It
Off, Last Holiday)
50 Cent (Righteous Kill, Get
Rich or Die Tryin, Home of The
Brave)
LL Cool J (Any Given Sunday,
S.W.A.T., Deliver Us from Eva)
Ice Cube (Barbershop, Are We
There Yet, Boyz in The Hood,
Friday)
DMX (Romeo Must Die, Cradle
2 the Grave, Exit Wounds)
Eve (Barbershop, The Cookout)
Nu
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av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
Snoop Dog (Soul Plane, The
Wash, Training Day)
Andre 2000 (Idlewild, Be Cool,
Semi-Pro)
Ice T (New Jack City, Trespass,
Surviving the Game)
Ludacris (Fast & Furious,
Hustler Flow, Fred Claus)
The Game (Waist Deep, Street
Kings)
Q-Tip (She Hates Me, Prison
Song)
Method Man
(Meet the
Spartans, Belly, How High
TV Shows
m
ed
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co
The Small Screen
Nu
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av
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Flavor Flav (Under One Roof)
Queen Latifah (Living Single)
Eve (Eve)
Ice T (Law and Order)
Will Smith (Fresh Prince of
Beliare)
Coolio (Coolio - O Rules)
Lil Romeo (Romeo)
m
Reality TV
Fl
av
M
ed
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co
Flavor Of Love
Salt-n-Pepa
Gotti’s Way
Run’s House
The Dogg Father
HammerTime
TI & Tiny: The Family Hustle
Love & Hip Hop
Nu
And
list
on......
goes
m
Rap Is an Industry
Nu
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av
M
ed
ia.
co
When people think about the
Rap Industry generally they
only think of record labels, but
actually it’s more complexed
then that. The Rap Industry is
made up of Record Companies,
Radio
Stations,
Video
Channels,
Record
Stores,
Publicity
Companies,
Publications, Music Related
Websites, etc.., working in
conjunction with one another to
push rap products to the
Nu
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
mainstream. These entities
usually benefit and profit more
from the rappers works then the
rappers themselves. They’re
usually involved in every aspect
of the artist and his/her works.
They design their image, create
their name, determine the
release date of their album,
postpone release dates, have
influence on what their finish
product will sound like, the style
of the music, the lyrical content,
and play a major role in the
products success and rappers
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av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
popularity. In realizing this we
can see what little power
rappers really have within the
industry. Unless they’re a JayZ, Diddy, or Masta P, artists
usually have very little control
over their careers.
m
ed
ia.
co
“So if you
ain’t tryin’ to
let your hard
times
increase my
wealth,
Fl
av
M
Nigga keep
that
progressive
(hip hop) sh*t
to yourself”
Nu
Excerpt from the poem “Or Die”
by Black Ice
av
M
Al Sharpton
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ia.
co
m
“The self-esteem of our AfricanAmerican boys and girls is
being siphoned off by lyrics that
bleed
to
feed
insatiable
corporate greed; by sisters who
move and shake for a money
machine that takes and takes.”
Nu
Fl
“It’s run by corporate entities
and labels and they want things
to sell. And that’s what’s selling,
you know, is the rapper with
M
ed
ia.
co
m
the diamond earrings and the
car and the Bentley and the girls
in the bikini and the Cristal in the
videos. So people just keep
doing that, they keep copying it
because people want to make
money from it, and it’s like a
money-making venture now.”
Nu
Fl
av
Erica Kennedy (author of
“Bling”) interview with Tavis
Smiley
ed
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co
m
“It’s become such a business
that the love that it takes for you
to be creative is often tainted by
having to be successful.”
David Banner interview with
Flow TV
Fl
av
M
“Why sell in the stores what you
can sell in the streets
Why I say the hottest sh*t but
we sellin’ the least”
Nu
Excerpt from the song “Why” by
Jadakiss
Nu
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av
M
Al Sharpton
ed
ia.
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m
“The right to freely express
ideas is a fundamental value in
our nation, but corporate rap
that uses violence to hype
record sales is polluting young
American minds with the idea
that this is the key to success.”
m
Rap Is Formula
Nu
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
From a business standpoint, the
formula for rap is ingenious. It
is why rap has had its success.
While the birth of hip hop was
more of a natural process, the
rap formula is something
created by the minds of
business people (who many in
the hip hop community refer to
as the “Vultures of the Culture”)
who engineered and tested it to
make a better product to market
to a mass audience. The
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problem is that in duplicating the
music element of hip hop, they
neglected to include the
essence. Without the essences
of hip hop, the element
becomes disconnected from
the culture.
Nu
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av
M
Examples of Rap Formulas
Using popular R&B artists to
sing the song’s hook....Formula
Use a catchy hook.... Formula
Sampling music from an early
top 40 hit song...Formula
m
Rap Is Format
Nu
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av
M
ed
ia.
co
Rap follows formats that fit into
specific categories. This is why
most rap music that’s released
sounds a like and their videos
look alike. It is formatted to
appeal to the rap audience.
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m
“This music, usually called pure
pop or power pop, typically
consists of relatively brief (not
over 3 1/2 minutes) songs .....
with a very strong catchy
chorus, or hook. Art is not a
concern.”
av
M
Bill Lamb excerpt from ”What Is
Pop Music? A Definition”
Nu
Fl
“Middle America has gotten a
watered-down
version
of
everything
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m
and that seems to be what they
gravitate toward, and
that’s what sells records.”
Pete Nice of 3rd Bass
Fl
av
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“How are the kids going to be
inspired to create something
innovative when they’re being
infl uenced by some of the s**t
that’s happening now, which is
about just copying and turning
it into a business? “
Nu
Nas
interview
Pitchfork.com
with
ed
ia.
co
m
“Rap
is
communication,
expression,
modern
conversation. A rapper who
copies others is a copy for
whom I will never have respect.”
German hip hop artist MC René
Nu
Fl
av
M
“These record companies are
like “We want you to sound like
Fabulous...No we want you to
be 50 Cent...you got to get shot
8 times...Yeah! Shoot yourself 8
times and you can get a (record)
deal.”
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ia.
co
m
Excerpt from U-God’s “Rise of a
Fallen Soldier” DVD
Fl
av
M
“In the old days it was easy to
defend rap music...you could
break it down intellectually why
Grandmaster Flash was art,
why Run DMC was art, why
Whodini was art and music... I
love all the rappers today but it’s
hard to defend this sh*t.”
Nu
Excerpt from Chris Rock’s
“Never Scared” (HBO Comedy)
m
ed
ia.
co
Rap Is Image
M
“(The rap industry) became a
vehicle to carbon copy images
within urban America and sell
urban imagery to the rest of the
world.”
av
Jeffrey Johnson aka Cousin Jeff
(B.E.T.)
Nu
Fl
Image is very important in rap
and plays a big role in a rappers
record sales and longevity in the
game. In the 2nd season of
M
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co
m
”Makin’ The Band”, Diddy said
that talent “is just the cherry on
the cake”. In the show, instead
of looking for the most talented
artists, Diddy was looking to
create an image that was
marketable, revealing the key to
success in the rap industry.
Nu
Fl
av
Today’s popular images in rap
are the one’s that are Thug,
Gangsta, Baller, or Sexy. It
seem as if today’s rap industry
has
transformed
the
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co
m
blaxploitation movies of the 70’s
into the present Rap format.
Fl
av
M
“I rather have the one kid who
brought the one album... the
album that only one copy (sold)
to the one kid who chose not
to be the gangsta, the hustler
and the drug dealer and chose
to be the professor, the
philosopher, and the lawyer.”
Nu
Lupe Fiasco (Black in America
CNN)
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
“And Yeah!
I know it’s part of they plans
To make us think it’s all about
party and dancin’
And Yo!
It might sound good when you
spittin’ your rap
But in reality, don’t nobody live
like that”
Nu
Fl
Dead Prez’s [M-1] lyric excerpt
from “Radio Freq“
ed
ia.
co
m
“Well it’s the same tainted love
in the music business
Fl
av
M
People they lose they brain just
to get up in this
Let’s be a star for day,
everything in life is just ok
People say things they don’t
really wanna say
Hey but it’s ok cause you’re a
star for the day”
Nu
Slum Village lyric excerpt from
“Tainted Love”
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
“Due to their lack of knowledge
about the whole of Hip Hop
culture, many of our world’s
youth are mistaken in thinking
that activities such as: smoking
blunts, drinking 40’s, wearing
a designer label plastered
across their chest, carrying a
gun, or going to strip clubs, are
“Hip Hop”.
Nu
Statement from “Universal Zulu
Nation” organization
m
Rap Is Gimmicks
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
In an attempt to boost record
sells or reinforce their image
rappers will go to some crazy
length. Doing everything from
altering their criminal records,
announcing their retirement
from the rap game, two rappers
releasing their albums on the
same day and predicting their
album will outsell the others.
Nu
Remember the scene from the
movie “Brown Sugar” where
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co
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the two white rappers were
dressed in dog costumes and
pitching the idea to market
themselves as the “Hip Hop
Puppies”.
av
M
”Rap is a gimmick, but I’m for
the hip-hop, the culture. “
Method Man
Nu
Fl
“Sometime I’m listen to the radio
and I’m like is this comedy
rap, is this serious...I’m like this
is crazy.”
B.O.B (Flow TV)
m
ed
ia.
co
The
Industry
Present
“R.A.P.”
Nu
Fl
av
M
The action
pack motion
picture with
more ass
then you can handle. It’s got
shooting and killing, looting and
dealing, lots of flexin’ and plenty
Nu
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
of sexin’. Watch the gangs
bang, the niggas pull gats,
and pimps in fancy clothes
slappin’ they b*tches…WHY?
Cause they don’t love them
hoes. It’s the
land where
crime pays
and p*ssy is
power. And
when it
comes to
respect, it’s
all about the
ed
ia.
co
m
Benjamin’s. Yeah!!! The Pimps,
The Hustlers, The Hoes, and
The Dealers are back Baby!!!
More ignorant, more ghetto and
more sex crazed then ever.
M
In the Industry’s new
“R.A.P.”. RIGHT ON!!!
film
Nu
Fl
av
“R.A.P.” playing on a T.V.
screens everywhere. Check out
the
“R.A.P.”
soundtrack,
playing 24/7, on commercial
radio.
ed
ia.
co
m
Parent Advisory: Even though
this film has an “X” Rating,
“R.A.P.” will be made available
to children of all ages.
Rap Is Props
Nu
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av
M
If your talent and image need
reinforcement, don’t worry the
industry has tools for that. I call
these tools “Props”. Now there
are two meanings for the term
Props in both hip hop and rap.
One is short for giving someone
“proper respect”. Example:
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ia.
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m
“Some people don’t give
Eminem his props as an emcee
cause his white, but he
deserves props”. The other
term refers to the tools the rap
industry uses to help sell their
products.
Nu
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av
M
Attention: Major recording
label looking for people to add
to their roster. No talent needed,
we have the tools to make you
a star. We’ve been doing this for
decades. Our track record
speaks for itself. Check out
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ia.
co
m
some of our commonly used
props.
Fl
av
M
CRIBS: Don’t own a home
we’ll supply you with one.
Nu
(To be used only for MTV Cribs
and music videos)
m
ed
ia.
co
CARS: Don’t
have
an
expensive
car? We got
you covered.
Nu
Fl
av
M
SPECIAL
EFFECTS: Whether on stage or
in music videos. The industry
spend big money on flashing
lights, explosions, flying strings,
etc...
EXPENSIVE
VIDEOS:
Featuring big name celebrities,
yachts helicopters, and all the
ed
ia.
co
m
special effects you need. (JayZ’s
“Big
Pimpin”
video
reportedly costed $1 millions.)
Nu
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av
M
Sexy Women: Lacking sex
appeal. We’ll hire the most
beautiful models
to surround you
in your music
videos and
maybe even on
your album cover
to make you look
like the man.
ed
ia.
co
m
Some of our other tools include:
Ghostwriters
Pro Tools
AutoTune
What are you waiting for?
GET SIGNED TODAY!!!
Fl
av
M
“It’s not about the videos. It’s not
about the records. And it’s not
about the celebrities, they are
just byproducts of the hip hop
culture.”
Nu
DMC from the group “Run
DMC” (Associated Press)
m
Rap Is Beef
Nu
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
Do not confuse rap beefs with
hip hop battles. Battling is two
parties pitting their skills against
one another. Beefs, on the
other hand, are two parties in
conflict with each another for
personal reasons unrelated to
hip hop.
M
DJ Premier
ed
ia.
co
m
“Street life is very close to the
hip hop culture, but you can’t
mix them together in regards to
why these guys are getting
killed and getting shot and going
to jail.”
Nu
Fl
av
The most well-known rap beef
was between Tupac Shakur
and the Notorious B.I.G... The
widespread media coverage of
the beef only intensified
matters, leading to what
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ia.
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m
became known as the “West
Coast VS East Coast Beef”.
Fl
av
M
“First off, f**k your b*tch and the
clique you claim
West Side when we ride, come
equipped with game
You claim to be a playa but I
f**ked your wife
We bust on Bad Boys niggas
f**ked for life”
Nu
Tupac lyric excerpt from “Hit Em
Up” (dissing Notorious B.I.G.)
M
ed
ia.
co
m
“The rat came out dancing like a
pro man,
Punch him in the face the crowd
was like oh man,
Four months ago I was yellin’ GUnit,
Till I found out the nigga 5-0 is a
snitch”
Nu
Fl
av
Game freestyle (G-Unit diss)
M
ed
ia.
co
m
“Touch one of mine, I’ll touch
one of yours
Send us to the hospital, I’ll send
yours to the morgue
I’m like Jesus to the hood, and
God to the industry
All 50’s enemies are all of my
enemies”
Nu
Fl
av
Tony Yayo lyric excerpt from
“I’m leavin” (dissing Fat Joe)
M
ed
ia.
co
m
“And I’m stuntin on a disco beat
And you’se a fag, ya next rhyme
should be on a Sisquo beat
And I hate Beans but f**k it, Kiss
gon eat
It’s me and you, f**k the labels,
let’s go streets”
Nu
Fl
av
Jadakisss lyric excerpt from
“Fuck Beanie” (dissing Beanie
Segal)
ed
ia.
co
m
Rap Is For the Rap Audience
Nu
Fl
av
M
Unlike hip hop, rap does not
have a community. Instead it
has an audience. A large
portion of today’s rap audience
is made up of young whites and
young females, basically the
pop and R&B audience. They
Nu
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
are the two easiest audiences to
market to. They both like catchy
hooks. The pop audience
generally prefers formatted
songs centered on sex, drugs,
or violence. While the R&B
audience generally prefers
formatted songs with an R&B
sound or that speaks on topics
of love and relationships.
Trends and name brands
influence they’re purchase
decisions when buying products
like clothing, footwear, jewelry,
etc... Mainstream radio, T.V.,
ed
ia.
co
m
and print are their sources for
discovering new music, fashion,
dances, and the latest celebrity
news.
They
also
use
mainstream media as a
barometer to determine what’s
hot and what’s not.
Nu
Fl
av
M
“Suburban teenagers (love rap)
because rap is saturated with
sex, violence, drugs and other
aspects of crime, all of which
are exotic to suburban whites..”
David Samuels “The Rap on
Rap”
ed
ia.
co
m
“Entire generations of white kids
grow up listening to black music
as their default pop music.”
Tom Breihan “Wiggerstock”
Fl
av
M
“How you going to make a club
song and your marketing
campaign is aimed at a 14-yearold? Why? A 14-year-old can’t
get into the goddamn club; and
not only is it a club, it’s a strip
club.”
Nu
Chuck D from the group “Public
Enemy”
m
Rap Is Product
ed
ia.
co
Rap was designed for the
purpose of making money. And
no idea is off limits.
Nu
Fl
av
M
Check Out These Rap Products
The “Flavor Flav” Doll
m
ed
ia.
co
Nu
Fl
av
M
Dub City “Cadillac Escalade”
“Rap Grillz” Toy
m
Rap Is Game
av
M
ed
ia.
co
“The Game” is a popular term
used by rappers to describe the
way that the music industry
operates. In this game, artists
and the members of their team
function more like politicians
than athletes. And those who
play the game the best rise to
the top.
Nu
Fl
Common ways to play the
game are
Know the right people,
ed
ia.
co
m
collaborate and become friends
with the hottest artists, become
bi-coastal, seduce the press
with things like free tickets and
V.I.P. privilege to events, pay
for play or position (better
known as Payola), etc…
Nu
Fl
av
M
What’s Payola?
Payola, in the American music
industry, is the illegal practice
of payment or other inducement
by record companies for the
broadcast of recordings on
music radio, in which the song
Nu
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
is presented as being part of the
normal day’s broadcast. Under
US law, 47 U.S.C. 317, a radio
station can play a specific song
in exchange for money, but this
must be disclosed on the air as
being sponsored airtime, and
that play of the song should not
be counted as a “regular airplay
.” The term has come to refer
to any secret payment made to
cast a product in a positive light
(such as obtaining positive
reviews).
(Excerpt from Wikipedia.)
m
Overview
ed
ia.
co
The term Hip Hop Vs Rap can
be used to summaries the
following:
Culture vs. Industry
M
Emcee vs. Rapper
av
Creativity vs. Formula
Fl
Originality vs. Format
Nu
Skills vs. Props
Respect vs. Money
m
Rap Gets a Bad Rap
ed
ia.
co
Here, I am neither defending
nor condemning rap; I’m just
making some points that I feel
need to be made.
Nu
Fl
av
M
I agree with those who say
that youth are infl uenced by
rap. And rap music does have
an impact on society. But the
truth is all popular culture, not
just rap music, has an influence
on youth. This includes video
games, movies, rock music,
Nu
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
etc...? We must also include
one’s
environment
and
surroundings,
images
of
corporate corruption (such as
Erron), police brutality, political
corruption etc... all these things
have just as much negative
impact, when it comes to
molding the minds of the youth.
And let’s also not forget
advertisements, most notably,
the disproportionate amount of
liquor and cigarette billboards
that exist in lower income
communities.
Nu
Fl
av
M
ed
ia.
co
m
I agree that a lot of rap songs
and videos seem to glamorize
negative lifestyles. It’s true,
there are many rappers saying
whatever they think will sell
records. But I also believe there
are some rappers who are really
attempting to represent a
certain segment of society.
They speak for and to those
dealing with poverty, ignorant,
and violence on a daily basis.
It’s usually their life story. And to
many of them, their perception
is that some people only have
ed
ia.
co
m
two choices in life, which are,
remain in a negative situation /
environment or get out of that
negative situation / environment
by taking a negative pathway to
a more positive situation /
environment.
Nu
Fl
av
M
I agree rappers have a
responsibility. Though, I do feel
rappers should share some of
the responsibility for how their
music affects society, I feel the
majority of the responsibility
belongs to the rap industry. As
well as the consumers who
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ia.
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m
create the demand. And for
parents who teach their kids
that money and material items
is how you measure success...
realize that it is that type of
teachings that’s causing so
many of today’s youth to idolize
popular entertainers.
Nu
Fl
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I agree that lyrics of most rap
songs are explicit. But I
strongly disagree with those
who believe in censoring
rappers. I feel even artists as
raunchy as the 2 Live Crew
should be able to express
Nu
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ed
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themselves. The problem is not
the lyrics. The problem is an
unregulated music industry
serving adult content through
popular medias that reach
a
young,
impressionable
audience. I feel the industry
should be more regulated on
how and who they distribute
their music to.