The Current State of Hip Hop (Hip Hop's Environment)

To replace my service learning requirement I chose to speak on Hip Hop, mainly because I have such an immense passion for the musical genre. First off, this particular blog post is NOT discussing the environment that of which Hip Hop stems from, but instead how Hip Hop is staying relevant on the topic of environment. This environment includes political environment, social environment, and living environment. Now, I won't necessarily cover all of these in one blog post, so how about I speak on the social environment of Hip Hop.

Two of my favorite current rappers whose topics match that of social environment include Lupe Fiasco and Macklemore. Lupe Fiasco's first two albums Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liqour and Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, are essential for not only hip-hop-heads, but also anyone who enjoys the analysis of the corruption of our youth. Fiasco's first album is a concept album pinpointing many of the negatives of society and the human race. The song "The Cool" tells the story of a dead gangster brought back to life, only to continue similar actions that led to his demise. The song "Hurt Me Soul" is a very personal look into Fiasco's life, as well as his original hatred for hip hop due to the commercialized degradation of women in the genre's lyrics. Fiasco's second album, entitled Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is another concept album that focuses on three characters representative of three evils in society. Michael Young History (My Cool Young History), AKA The Cool, is the same gangster that was brought back to life in the first album. The Cool represents the unhealthy and negative trends in society (i.e. buying a 9mm because your favorite rap artist talks about having one). The Game symbolizes the evils that accompany a life of crime, as heard on "Put You On Game," in which Fiasco plays the part of The Game. Speaking as The Game, Fiasco states that he is "the American Dream," as well as the "rape of Africa" and "the murderous regime." The last character is a beautiful cut-throat woman named The Streets. The Streets is symbolic of the greed for quick money and the backstabbing actions which criminals enact on one another. This universe created by Fiasco, stemming from his first two albums, exemplifies Hip Hop's role socially in the world today, as well as its effects on my generation.

Macklemore, the second rapper that I mentioned, also focuses his rapping towards social issues-- like his song "Otherside," which speaks on the illegal and lethal street drink known as "Lean" or "Purple Drink." Encompassing much more than cough syrup addiction, Macklemore also speaks on the dangers of cocaine and oxycontin. He tells the listener how he's seen "oxycontin take three lives," those being the lives of some of his dearest friends. He brings the point home by saying that "rappers underestimate the power and the effects that [they] have on [kids]." Hearing Macklemore state this allows the listener to grasp that rappers, as well as other musicians, have the responsibility of being positive role-models. Whether artists want said responsibility is irrelevant-- they automatically inherit that responsibility once they become famous, or even once the general public are able to gain access to their music.

Here's the video for "Otherside," By Macklemore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDQy53eldY