Rakim released LPs with Eric B. in 87, 88, 1990, and 92. By 97, nobodyd heard from him for five years… Until this single dropped. You might think 5 years is a relatively short time-span, but it was enough for a new group of listeners to acquaint themselves with the originator of free-rhythm & slow-flow rhyme. The target market for the music industry was in the midst of The Notorious B.I.G.s death, and the hip-hop dominating the airwaves was party-oriented rap laced with shiny suits & invidious imagery. (see Mo Money Mo Problems - youtu.be/gUhRKVIjJtw) In a time where positive black messages were finally being seen again in the mainstream, the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Chris Wallace opened a vacuum of power that filled quickly with the germinating messages of the bling-bling era. Whereas the rap of the early 90s spoke of overcoming oppression through community education & liberated thinking, the message of late 90s rap was It aint about east, west, black or white—the only color that matters is green, so get your paper by any means necessary. (see All About The Benjamins - youtu.be/vu31aKUsIII) Of course, that message was underscored by the same profit-based philosophy that divided those communities in the first place; slang like hate, hater, and hating exploded, and taking a stand against hypocrisy was replaced with mottoes like Do your thing, and Ill do mine. (see Hate Me Now - youtu.be/dKSJN3WWR3E) In fact, all forms of cultural criticism were shut out in favor of (what can only be described as) universal ego-stroking, or the blind congratulation of financial success. (see Pass the Courvoisier - youtu.be/JAYXRtNxsGA) Artists, entertainers, and even listeners became afraid to criticize such rappers for fear of being called a hater. The unspoken premise being that if you were critical, it was because you were jealous (or not as successful). And since nobody wanted to seem poor, unhappy, or insecure, looking the other way became the mode. (see Been There, Done That - youtu.be/c80dWbiONqM) By contrast, 2Pac & Biggie never appeared affluent to the exaggerated levels of the bling era (NOBODY ever had!), and while they appeared with nice clothes and expensive things in THEIR heyday, they at least projected positive imagery through their lyrics. The only thing their contradictory audio/visuals expressed was—as with all real art—tragedy, irony, or comedy. But not the blingers. While at first it seemed like bold comedy for them to appear with private jets, diamonds, expensive drinks and clothes ranging in the tens of thousands, the joke got old and their opulence never subsided. (see Bling Bling - youtu.be/2FnRnKHS5ds) UNLIKE comedy, whose central motif is triumph over adverse circumstance, there werent any adverse circumstances to overcome anymore (!)—according to the mainstream, black people had made it… for better or for worse. And to MAKE matters worse, people outside of the hip-hop community who saw this façade (while never having paid attention to its lyrics in the first place) saw only a continuation of black people squandering their new money; perpetuating prejudices and confirming their sociohistorical biases. So with the exception of the loyalists whod already prized the culture, hip-hops underlying shift from gold to bling went by virtually unnoticed. What it became, rather, was an orgy of indulgence from which no real voices could be heard. (see Make Em Say Uhh! - youtu.be/d5ZvzIOO6aU) Rakims return in 1997 was one of the unsuccessful efforts to abate that change. The videos of Bad Boy, Murder Inc., Cash Money and No Limit were louder, shinier, had more hoes, and way less messages for the listener to think about. (see Been Around The World - youtu.be/xt7-t_EmZT4) Little by little, the airwaves were being reserved for such music, and the golden ages mainstream began to crawl back into the underground. The war had been won before it even begun, and on it went from the early 2000s to today. Rap may have changed from the simple rhyme parables of the early 80s into the more aggressive line-drawing style of the 90s (see 80s vs. 90s Black Guys - youtu.be/rVuoiEfmM2I), and the bling age may have borne from a universal call to end the violence that killed hip-hops greatest heroes. But by depicting it as a party life that everyone (privileged or underprivileged) could aspire to, hip-hops principal players grew away from the cultures central purpose: to reflect the social, economic and political realities of a disenfranchised youth. Instead, it became an illusion. Questions like why Biggie & 2Pac became heroes in the first place got bedazzled by riches no one could even afford (see Chris Rock - youtu.be/WWERzwbobOk#t=0m31s). Could this have had an effect on our nation in the aftermath of 9/11? Certainly loyalists were rendered powerless as our country accepted two wars, a half-baked explanation of the attack, and the growing civil liberty restrictions laid in its wake. Might it have had an impact on spending during the events that led to the sub-prime mortgage crisis… framing people of color as prey to predatory lending schemes? Is it having residual effects today? Or are people of color genetically predisposed to squandering their earnings and ignoring the world around them? Are we really just gullible idiots? (see Aziz Ansari - youtu.be/3oLuxhYO5cw) Other examples of Bling era music videos: (youtu.be/Cgoqrgc_0cM - Big Pimpin) (youtu.be/wL0u90WCm0k - I Got the Hook Up) (youtu.be/zdtxoTjqNf0 - Holla Holla) (artistdirect/video/will-smith-gettin-jiggy-wit-it/27747 - Gettin Jiggy Wit It) (artistdirect/video/mase-feels-so-good/46607 - Feel So Good) In the end, Ill say this: At least golden age hip-hop retained its identity as a popular movement separate from the mainstream. Maybe the reason it morphed is because it couldnt POSSIBLY be embraced by the mainstream (If I recall correctly, while everyone claims Biggie & 2Pac as heroes, many white folks CELEBRATED their killings!). And though some loyalists wish for mainstream rap to return to its conscious roots, perhaps its time we ask whether hip-hop ever belonged in the mainstream to begin with. Maybe the distinctions between black, white, hip, awkward, privileged and disenfranchised HAD to be re-drawn: just because its black doesnt make it counterculture, and just because its well-financed doesnt make it good. Neither Kanye, Lil Wayne, Drake, or Jayden Smith were necessarily disenfranchised because of the color of their skin, and each of them act as privileged and awkward as any rich kids. In fact, the only image THEY project is celebrate ME (see Chris DElia - youtu.be/GAL_HP1yE_c#t=2m20s). Ironically, the majority of Rakims rhymes “concern his own skills and his Islamic faith”—though publicly conscientious, his songs werent as political as those of his contemporaries (Public Enemy, KRS-One, N.W.A., etc.). But his style & image reflected everything respectable about the golden age: capability, complexity, and the will to take a stand. I guess the message behind this video is Though I have the power to move the masses, at what cost do I control the crowd? Consider me inspired. 1997
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 21:19:39 +0000
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