"I killed it, you killed it, we all killed it." - Nas
Every time I hear the phrase, "hip hop is dead", what I really hear is, "i killed hip hop". It's the kind of dazed wording a psycopath would use after killing a room full of people. He wouldn't stumble out of the room with blood on his hands and say "i did it". Instead, he'd be dazed, confused, mumbling, "they're all dead". And that's exactly what our beloved lyricist from Queens Bridge is doing by naming his latest album "Hip Hop Is Dead...The N". It's not just an analysis of the culture, it's a confessional of sorts. No, Nas alone didn't kill hip hop, he had plenty of help. Consider the likes of Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Suge Knight, 50 Cent, Jimmy Iovine, Hype Williams, beef, r&b samples, clothing lines, ghost writers, video vixens, and Madison Avenue--there are plenty of others equally as guilty who won't be professing their guilt any time soon. The truth is, for years hip hop culture has been compromised. The artistry has taken a back seat to marketing the sensational--east coast/west coast feuds and despicable displays of capitalism. Meanwhile women and the preservation of life have continued to be devalued on a street level. Hip hop isn't even rebellious youth culture anymore. It's what grown ass millionaires use as an excuse to be gaudy. Welcome to the hustle n' no flow era of the culture. Today's hip hoppers still rep where they're from, but they are far more divided by age beefs than geography. (30 plus vs. under 30, or those old enough to remember hip hop before the blinging started, and those who aren't) Staring at it all is the 33 year old rap phenomenon Nas. Now that he's parted his lips to mumble hip hop is dead, will those same parted lips give us another classic album to stimulate the rebirth of the culture?
"Yeah, Hip-Hop. The sh*t was exciting. But it ain't the ghetto secret no more. Kids everywhere know it. And that's what we want - we want it to be heard. But now it's really corny. And I still love hip-hop, but it's like, the way the game is now, it's like, f*ck rap, get money. I don't think nobody cares about respect as an artist, because at the end of the day, everybody is just chasing the paper. So f*ck it." - Nas (xxl magazine interview)
If Illmatic was a climactic moment in hip hop, then It Was Written was the beginning of the end. Don't get me wrong, the growth of Nas's pen on his second album was crazy. The flow style was more complex, the lyricism was elevated, and the concepts were definitely a notch above Illmatic. The problem is, hip hop had changed. Illmatic was dope and didn't do numbers. By '96, doing numbers meant r&b samples, a famous r&b singer on your hook, a street alias name, and rampant materialism in the lyrics. Nas, like Big and Pac during the same era, went there whole heartedly and found fame and success. Nasty Nas quickly became Esco or Escobar, miming the ruthless Colombian drug czar Pablo Escobar. But the problem is not so much what this new turn in hip hop did to Nas, because Nas was able to go to that place while maintaining a high level of creativity in his art. The problem is what it did to an entire generation of future rappers. The advent of rappers as these big street millionaires involved in illegal dealings killed the notion of the street poet from around the way. Personas were now primary, and skills were secondary. Backpackers did their part to fight this notion, but lost. With magazines, videos, and television projecting these images to the masses, it's really easy to see how the Frank White's and Esco's of '96, gave birth to the crack rap of today. No wonder Esco is feeling guilty.
"I feel like a black militant taking over the government / can't turn my back on the hood too much love for 'em" - Nas (taken from from the song "Black Republicans" off the "Hip Hop Is Dead...The N" album)
When Tupac was alive, he was the most polarizing person in hip hop. You either loved him or hated him, no in between. Today, I think Nas occupies that space. Ever since he claimed hip hop is dead, a new pissed off Southern rapper has been sounding off each week. Many are taking Nas's declaration as an East Coast diss to the South for rising to the top of the rap game. While other Nas haters include young rappers who consider the QB emcee too old and in need of a retirement. Then there are the choruses of "Nas lost" that echo across the internet because of Nas's decision to work with the man who once slept with his baby's mother. How does Nas bark back-- by continuing to repent his sins. The way Nas says he's sorry for the commercial sound and drug selling lyrics in the Esco era is by releasing a very personal underground sounding double album like "Street's Disciple", which much like Illmatic, was critically praised, despite limited record sales. The way Nas says he's sorry for posing for hip hop fashion ads in the mid 90's is by his refusal to do any advertising what so ever today. And the way Nas says he's sorry for all the wack beef records that "Ether" influenced, is by deading his personal beef with Jay-Z and signing at Def Jam in the name of unity. But for all of Nas's nobleness, and attempts to rectify his wrongs, there's only one way he'll ever be able to forgive himself for his part in hip hop's death--by delivering another classic album.
On December 19th, "Hip Hop Is Dead...The N" will provide us with a ton of answers. We'll learn whether over 30 emcees will be relevant in 2006 and beyond. We'll learn if this album feels like a hip hop version of Revelations, or Genesis. And we'll learn if Nas is still lyrically capable of carrying an album that presumably features the top producers in the game. The countdown has begun. Nas may have had his part in killing hip hop, but he's also been one of the few bright spots to rest our hopes for the culture on. So Esco, there's no need to feel guilty anymore kid, it's okay. We forgive you.
60 Things That Killed Hip Hop:
A&R's
mic ratings
beef
black on black crime
mtv cribs
big name video directors
cristal
rolls royce
size 4XL white tee shirts
guns
the "i don't write my rhymes down" myth
video vixens
tell all books
r&b samples & hooks
car detailing
platinum plaques
weed
scarface the movie
corn rows
keeping it real
hot 97 FM
drug dealers
napster
madison avenue
moguls
the ipod
ghost writers
name dropping
studio gangstas
alias names
representing record labels
radio singles
release dates
rapper endorsed clothing lines
the forbes money list
the 40 o.z.
ring tones
double albums
super head
wendy williams
the red carpet
gang banging
the n-word
high school drop outs
the hood
suburban america
radio
dj's
superstar producers
diamonds
guest appearances
sagging
throw back jerseys
tatoos
egos
pro tools
myspace.com
mp3's
wack concerts
the sound man
sell outs
biting
seven album record contracts
no publishing
breakups
album leaks
playa haters
stans
BET uncut
and finally
money
