I don’t know if it is just a sign of me getting older but when it comes to just the music, I truly don’t understand what passes for hip hop today. Unlike graffiti and breakdancing, it seems as if the musical side of hip hop has fallen and can’t get up. The recent controversy surrounding the whole Kendrick Lamar Control verse has left me shaking my head in disbelief. I honestly did not understand what the fuss was about. Brothers are stating that Lamar’s verse on Control is going to shake up the game. If that is the case then hip hop is in even more of a sad state than I originally believed.
I don’t think Lamar has shook up the game as much as he has taken a page from MCs over 20 years ago. Back when competition was the word of the day. Back when lyrical content was more important than the trash that passes for Hip Hop today. Back when you had to watch what you said or be verbally assaulted for dropping weak tracks. Lamar’s verse wasn’t even a dis track. He was just stating that in Hip Hop everyone is in competition to be the best. I give him respect for that, but this wasn’t anything like “Hit’em up” or “The Bridge is Over”. If anything it was like he was naming the “best” of the current crop of rappers. Hell, I thought Harry Belafonte went at Jay Z harder than Lamar went at the industry.
Only one thought was going through my head the whole time I have been listening to Lamar, the rappers he mentioned (notice I said rappers an not MCs), and their responses to his track. To paraphrase the illustrious Slick Rick…. Garbage, garbage, garbage. The whole army of them is straight garbage.
I miss real hip hop. Maybe if this whole professor/tenure thing doesn’t work out I might pick up the mic again.