| The Landscape of Hip
Hop is gradually changing. It's identity as child of Black working class and at present, as adopted member of bourgeois White Americana, gives way to both praise and concern as to its eventual placement within sociopolitical contexts. Like so many other forms of popular music - i.e. Jazz, Blues, Rock, etc - the story of Hip Hop as extension of the grand Afrodiasporic tradition of oral narratives, call & response, village soothsayers, etc., is nothing new to academics. In Black Noise, NYU Professor Tricia Rose states, "Hip Hop is propelled by Afrodiasporic traditions. Stylistic continuities in dance, vocal articulations, and instrumentation between rap, breakdancing, urban blues, be bop, and rock'n'roll move within and between these historical junctions and larger social forces, creating Afrodiasporic narratives that manage and stabilize these transitions." (Rose p. 25) Sprung from the walls of inner-city government housing projects, Hip Hop's formation within the urban context can be traced back to the early 1970s. Private contractors sought the need to fulfill the White middle class baby-boomer demographic as construction of suburbs began; overarching freeways demarcating cities of industries where its residents were left to scavenge on their own. Unemployed and recompensed with feeble welfare checks from the federal government, postindustrial conditions were met with much struggle as communities of Black and Hispanic distinction were relocated to areas which the government saw fit in accordance with its "economic restructuring." It was in this environment that "provided the context for creative development among Hip Hop's earliest innovators, [shaping] their cultural terrain, access to space, materials, and education" (Rose p. 34). Few today realize the cultural richness from which Hip Hop has emerged. Many tout to live Hip Hop and understand its culture yet lack in truly taking into account what Hip Hop is and how powerful of a medium it can be in stimulating change. Twenty years has since passed. Today Hip Hop is recognized as the most profitable genre ever to make its mark within the annals of music industry; rivaling sales of Blues, Jazz, Country, and Rock combined. In the present world of Hip Hop Glam, audio output of "bling-bling, booby & booty, bass-thumping" hits is the norm whereas Hip Hop with social conscious message are muddled. Of course while there's bound to be extremes in any genre, it seems that Ambassadors of Message are rare. Enter Mos Def. In 1999, he astounded us with his debut album, "Black on Both Sides" easily melding rap with rock, paying proper tribute to both genre's origins; and furthering endeavors in re-appropriating rock back to its African traditions, as his recent "Black Jack Johnson Project" is testimony to that. While touring in San Diego, EM was offered an invite to converse with Mighty Mos. These are his words. ------------------------------------ EM: Some revere your last album, the debut LP ‘Black on Both Sides’ to be one of the best Hip Hop albums ever. When will we be expecting another release? Mos Def: Well this Spring, I’m gonna be putting out another record and me and Kweli are gonna be putting out a record in the fall…and that’s a pretty high compliment…I was only gonna make one album…I know I sound like Jay-Z but I was really gonna make one album and I’m actually not gonna make many more albums…I got a couple more albums on me… EM: In ‘Black on Both Sides,’ you make references to Rock and Hip Hop in that Hip Hop being the grandchild of Rock. Many people don’t realize the connection that two genres share. Rock to many is something that came from Whites whereas in reality Rock very much is an off branch of the African Diaspora. Why do you think this overarching view exists? Mos Def: I have no idea why it’s like that…it’s one of those curious revisions in history…it’s like why do people think Egypt is in the Middle East…I face the issue head on because it’s still an issue. It should be addressed by somebody from the modern generation as opposed to older generations because it doesn’t get dealt with in current event…and when it’s not dealt with as a current event, it’s dealt like a fossil…like a museum piece…a lot of rock’n’roll is like that, a lot of Jazz is dealt with like that…it’s nostalgia…and when rock stays like that…it never evolves, and if it doesn’t evolve, it doesn’t grow…and if it doesn’t grow…it’ll eventually just die. Blues, jazz, rock’n’roll, all of those forms of music started out being popular forms of music among old ghetto people…it wasn’t like some super academic thing…twelve bar, structures…it was poor black people singing about their lives, their experiences, their aspirations… EM: Your thoughts on Hip Hop as being a social platform to address issues… Mos Def: I think popular culture is a platform to address issues but people just don’t. I think it depends on an artist what’s important to them and what they want to do…some people have a truck and they use it to carry shit around…some people put speakers in them…two people may use the same thing differently…some people may use their platform as an artist to speak about political issues, some people may use it get ‘jiggy’…but it’s theirs to use it with. Especially with Hip Hop, people be like, “These artists need to be making songs about…” they’re not obliged to do anything really…that’s on them. What is Nsync supposed to do really? Are they supposed to make songs about…? No…they’re Nsync…they’re supposed to make songs that they like, if they want to do that on their own that’s their own thing. It’s a platform for being able to address issues but that has to be important to you as a person before anything else…to some people it’s something that’s just not important to…they’re good artists but it’s not what they’re into…I mean I love Red Man and Method Man but they’re not very social conscious at all…neither is Cheech and Chong… EM: Do you think there’s a need for more of that? Mos Def: You know what I really think there’s a need for? It’s need for more of a balance…it’s need for there to be more than one dimension in popular culture in general. It’s like there’s only one style of everything…one style of rappers…one style of R&B singers…one style of everybody…there’s no diversity at all…there needs to be a Common next to a Snoop Dog…there needs to be more dynamism… NEXT PAGE >>  |