As an adolescent living with my moms, it was very rare for me to follow the news. Like most kids it was seldom that I would turn on NBC, Fox or any of the other networks on television at 5pm to see what was going on in the world. As I got older, experienced many new things and eventually had a child my mind began to expand, my heart opened more and as an adult I watch what’s happening around the globe more closely.

One of the first things I do when I log onto my computer each day is open up a tab where I leave the Washington Post’s website up. I constantly browse through various stories on there while I am online.  I tend to read more about what’s going on locally than anything else. It’s painful on most days because there is a homicide story posted just about every day that I am on there, most of them involving young black males.

Every time I read one of these stories I think to myself, “When will IT change?” “When will WE change?” “What has to be done for US to improve?” “Whats wrong with US?” So with this said, it was heartwarming to purchase a book that touched on many of the emotions that I feel while I read about the senseless violence locally and around the world. It felt good to read the views of another person regarding the state of the black man and how we can grow and improve ourselves, without coming across judgmental.

One thing I noticed in some other books as well as lectures that I have attended is some of the authors or speakers presented themselves in an “I-am-perfect” manner instead of trying to really relate with their audience.  In “Hate My Face: The Struggle Between Young Black Men and Love,” my new friend Charles “Silent War” Crouch was able to get his concerns off his chest without having a God complex. It’s clear he knew who he wanted to reach and catered to those individuals.

What’s special about the book is he exposes what many men including myself find to be vulnerable areas that some would probably never share with anyone. He speaks on his upbringing, his relationship with his father, his shortcomings – tying all of it into how it relates to many other black men’s path in learning to love themselves, their mistakes, efforts and their futures.

He presents his theories from different angles, my favorite being hip-hop and how the culture is being used to purposely keep us as black men from reaching our full potential. In the section Only Entertainment? he states “Hip-hop is a type of God in a sense… a makeshift bible for many young black men.” I can relate to this, because when I was a kid, hip-hop was not only a God-like being to me, it was a girlfriend when I didn’t have one, a friend when I felt I had none, a mother when I couldn’t get along with mine and a father when I couldn’t reach him for whatever reason. He also speaks on spirituality, parenting and other key aspects of individual growth.

All in all, this is a great work that further exposes the inflictions that not only black men suffer from but people in general suffer from. There is something for everyone to gain in reading this book. I have only known Crouch for a few months so I learned a lot about him just in reading the first few sections. I feel like I really know him now, not something I can say about other writers work that I have read.

Get the book here.

While browsing the internet the other day I came across an article titled “5 Reasons Why Slaughterhouse “Failed.” For those who didn’t know, Slaughterhouse is the newly formed hip-hop group featuring normally solo artists Joelle Ortiz, Joe Budden, Crooked I and Royce 5’9.”

The foundation of this article centered on the Slaughterhouse album sales (or lack thereof) and the author’s reasons as to why and how it relates to hip-hop’s future. Most of the reasons were associated with the actions of the artists and some about the record label but only minimal information related to fans. Some of the points that were made were that artists are not touring enough; poor promotions and other reasons. Then the million dollar question was asked:

Is America so fucking stupid that good hip hop cannot survive?

I immediately experienced a bit of déjà vu after I read this question, thus the reason for this response. As broad as the question is, I understand where the author is coming from. For those who have followed my work, I’ve written a few essays related to this subject. The composition that really seems to answer this question is the one I wrote titled “Real Hip-Hop: Why Don’t The Majority of Blacks Support It?” Though my piece was more focused on why blacks don’t support real hip-hop, some of the information in this essay can answer this author’s question as well.

Here are some of my reasons why hip-hop is failing, with reasons not just limited to artists and record labels, but fans and some other factors as well (and in no particular order):

1. Lazy Artists

Though many artists now represent themselves due to the power and the resources of the internet, this same method to advancement is causing some artists to get lazy in other areas. You can easily record your album, design it, and put it online for sale but if there is no promotion, fan interaction, music videos, touring and basically trying new things to get the word out about your album, your sales will crumble before they even have the chance to take off. Unless you are an act signed to a major label (and even some of these artists have to self promote), you must do the footwork that the marketing and promotions team of these companies do yourself. That means coming up with your own promotions plan, calculating your moves, studying your competition and checking out the footprints of similar and relevant hot artists.

One good example: Blogs. Over the past 9-10 years blogs have given the voice to the voiceless and any John Doe can implement one. The majority of large publications such as Vibe, XXL, The Source and others have gone (or planning to) from print media to just a website, most of them based on blogs. For the independent artist, there is a massive amount of blogs that review and promote music.

2. Record Labels

I have read many horror stories about record labels over the years, from artists being signed to contracts where their newly recorded album was shelved for years, to other acts getting huge advance checks to record an album to only being poorly promoted when the album dropped. At this day and age, the power is in the hands of the artists and there are many resources available to create, control and distribute music without being a slave to a record label for the rest of your career. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good record labels and good contracts out there, but most artists don’t read the fine print to see if they are presented with a good contract or not. These are the artists that eventually get shafted in the end, turn their back on their career and that’s the last we hear of them. Some of these artists end up going back to a day job, changing religions and those artists with criminal backgrounds fall back into these lifestyles. I was told that the key to surviving a relationship with a record label is having good legal representation, understanding your contract(s) and having thick skin.

3. Corporate America Media

Corporate America media – simply put: radio, television, etc. Those with the power and the money are the ones who control what we see and hear. This is the reason why some songs are played several times in one day, and it’s the same for music videos. To corporate America, there is only one type of hip-hop that matters, and that’s the type that makes money, a lot of money. People are turning their backs on hip-hop because they only see what corporate America shows them. Let’s face it, the average listener is lazy. As stated in my other essay, most people listen to what’s on the radio, and buy their music based on what’s played on the radio (if they buy any music at all). So if you hear Lil Wayne all day and then just so happen to be in Best Buy that evening looking for a new album to buy, its safe to say there is a 50/50 chance you will buy a Lil Wayne album. I call it “The Art of Conditioning.”

4. Too Much Music – Lack of Filters

It’s evident that everyone is making music, on various levels; from the majors all the way to the dude who only performs for his friends at the local open-mic spot. What’s killing the industry is the fact that anyone can make music and everyone thinks they can have a career at it. On top of that there are some websites and blogs that do a poor job of filtering the bad music from the hot music. Some of these websites post everything they are sent. Most of the time the artist or music is not categorized. From a fan perspective, if my favorite rapper is Jay Z, I would love to be able to click on a link to see artists with similar styles. On the same token, if I hate Jay Z, I want the option to see those artists that don’t sound like him. CD Baby, an independent music distributor, is the best example of a website that filters the music they distribute using artist comparison. Back in the day, it was the A&R’s job to filter; filter what the record label hears, what the record label signs and what the record label invests in. Now the A&R isn’t seen as much as artists are self-represented. Blogs are the equivalent of A&R’s today and most internet savvy musicians use them to expand and promote their music.

5. Fans

Fans, some you can’t live with, others you can’t live without – if you don’t have any, well your SOL. Fans come as your friends, family, people you have never met and fellow musicians. Then you have those who claim to be fans. These are the people who download your entire album illegally to “preview it” but then they never buy it. These are the people who share their input on your artistry but never support it. These are the people who feel that because they bought one of your albums, you now owe them something in return. (Isn’t the music what’s owed?) Fans and the latter tend to raise the bar on their favorite artists so high that the artist can’t even top themselves when they create music. Those who set these expectations are the same individuals who refuse to grow with the artist they support. At times, fans can get comfortable, complacent – and condemn artists for stepping out of their comfort zone. True fans adapt to the changes their favorite artists’ experience. Dedicated fans financially support their favorite artist whether it is buying their new album, purchasing a ticket to their next show or something along those lines. Change and growth is the fuel to good music. You are not a fan if you simply listen to the music or if you buy one album – a fan is faithful and provides legitimate long term support.

6. Critics

Behold the high and mighty holders of the golden pen – the critics. Critics fall parallel to fans, you can’t live with them, cant live without them and you are damned if you don’t get some good reviews every now and then. Where critics pose a problem is when they become complacent as well; when their favorite artist has embraced a different direction and the critic doesn’t want the artist to follow their calling. As discussed in my other essay, critics are also fans and occasionally they can review an artist with an unspoken bias that causes a good record to get reviewed badly. Then it’s the showcase of words where critics are more concerned with how intellectual they sound in their review than simply giving a good, solid take on whether or not the reader should buy the album.  Good critics are those who can put aside their biasness and review albums based on the quality, innovation and creativity of the music presented. Some of the best albums I have heard recently received bad reviews.

7. The Internet

As great as the internet has been for artists and record labels, it’s also the same reason why the music industry, not just hip-hop, is failing. With file sharing, peer-to-peer and other ways to pirate music, it’s hard to move units. Most independent artists rely on the internet to reach their listeners and these are the same people who will more than likely find a way to download their music for free. This is the reason why independent artists’ tour more often than those considered mainstream, because more money can be made from touring. This is the same reason why some artists get burned out in the industry, because they must be consistently on the road to make their money with no time for a personal life. The internet is truly a double edged sword.

8. Elitists

We have them on every level in the industry: from the fans, artists, record labels, and critics – there are elitist in all of these categories. These are the individuals who stick together to only promote and help out the artists who they feel are worthy of the support, regardless if the artist is worth the listen or not. To these people, everyone else is considered peasants in the game. It’s like being in high school and watching all the girls flock to the basketball players at lunch, even though most of the team sucks and you beat them in pick-up game a week ago. This behavior is common, get used to it.

9. Coons

Yep…coons. No need for a long drawn out explanation for this one. These are the artists who have no soul and who do whatever it takes to gain fame and fortune. No need for a nationwide search to find these guys, you know them when you see them. “Yessah boss!”

10. Follow Thru

I played basketball for a handful of years when I was younger and the one thing I heard my coaches say more than anything else is “follow thru!” when shooting. I heard this so much that I have applied it to my personal life. Its not easy, often in life things will hit you so hard you find yourself saying “fuck it!” I think a lot of artists and some others in the industry have said “fuck hip-hop” and have given up on it. In order for hip-hop to continue to grow, we must follow thru, transcend and move forward. Improve our music, our messages, and our approach and strive to define and achieve our purpose. We must support artists who are not only making good music, but those making a difference as well. These are easy words to read, but hard actions to execute; you will get gray hairs doing it but the rewards are beautiful.

As we get closer to 2010, the Washington Post has been allowing its readers to pick what they feel have been the top local stories that took place within the past ten years. They have several items listed and you can choose what you feel the order should be as the most prominent event to the least that happened in the Washington, DC area. Only about five of them I can relate to personally. Here is my list in order from the most memorable to the least:

1. Boom & bust in local real estate

This is by far number one on my list as my family and I experienced the bust in the real estate market first hand. I was forced to give up an investment property due to the market changes and not being able to flip it before the bubble burst. Some others that I know personally went through similar issues. A combination of bad loans, greedy mortgage companies and buyers in-over-their heads are partial causes for the bust. The US government presented a bail out plan to help those who were hit hard by this issue, but positive results have been minimal. Most of this bail out money is going right back into the pockets of big banks who aren’t sharing or helping its borrowers. “It’s our money, no – you can’t have any!”

Side note: Hurricane Katrina victims are still waiting on their bail out? Where is their housing assistance? Oh yeah, Pakistan, Israel and the war effort has their money.

2. 9/11 and the transformation of security

I saw the aftermath of the crash at the Pentagon first hand. At the time, I worked not far from that area and could see the smoke from about 4-5 miles away. I remember hearing the fire alarm go off at the job and we were told to go home immediately. As soon as I stepped outside there were at least 50 or so folks standing looking up at the smoke. Another 50 were scrambling to their cars, the metro – trying to use their cell phones at the same time. No one had a signal; cell phones were either shut off to free up lines for emergency personnel or the lines were just jammed from so many people trying to make calls. I didn’t waste any time standing around. I hopped in my car and flew past traffic and was at home in time to watch the news live as the other planes hit the WTC – very sad day indeed, rest in peace to the victims.

Sidenote: Since this tragic event, you must go through thorough security inspections for certain jobs as well as before boarding planes..you must arrive the airport at least two hours before your flight. You must remove your shoes and more.. especially if you look “suspicious.”

3. DC Sniper

When these dudes came to my town it was crazy, people were scared to get gas, go to the bank, grocery store, etc. People were told to walk in a zig-zag formation to avoid being shot.. and people actually did it. It was almost as if John Allen Muhammed and accomplice Lee Malvo were the only two killing people and we didn’t live in one of the top 5 areas for crime [anyway]. Though they didn’t slow up my normal routine, just witnessing the horror, fear and death they caused was puzzling and sad. How could anyone do this – and randomly at that – rest in peace to the victims.

4. Anthrax scare

The anthrax situation killed about 5 people and infected close to 70 according to sources. Intially, Al Queda was blamed for the anthrax distribution. Later it was reported that a man from my state, who lived only about an hour away, was behind it. When this happened, nobody wanted to touch their mail. Almost everyone was paranoid. I recall going to the post office and all of the workers had on blue cleaning-style gloves and masks to cover their noses and mouths. I remember thinking to myself “Damn we can’t even buy stamps anymore without a fear of dying?” Sheesh

5. Metro Red Line crash

This past summer a horrific crash took place on our subway system. From what I can remember, one of the trains transferred to the wrong track and hit another train head on. This caused a massive crash, causing one of the trains to lift up and partially go over the other. This created a huge hole in the bottom of the car that was elevated – some of the passengers fell through and others were thrown around inside of the car. Several died, others suffered many injuries. I used to ride the train, but never the Red line, regardless the news was saddening and scary. This could have happened on the line that used to ride. Since then, the metro company has faced much scrutiny and interrogation about its safety systems. To add more insult to injury, some workers have been caught texting and talking on the phone while operating various subway equipment, these individuals were said to have been suspended. It has been reported that more minor issues have taken place. Hopefully Metro will get their systems back on track (no pun intended) so we can ride safely with only minimal concerns.

Vote and check out the results of this Washington Post poll [ here ]

I came across an essay the other day that fell parallel with one of my recent conversations. The piece is called “Hip-Hop: The Contrast Principle” written by Quentin Huff which can be found at Popmatters.com. After reading it, I must say I cosign with a few of the points Huff made in this essay.

In October, while talking about our own projects, Lagbara and I began to talk about some of the recent albums we both had heard and both Mos Def and Common were mentioned. We talked about Mos first as we both agreed that The Ecstatic was a dope project, and like Huff stated I felt Mos went back to the essence of Black on Both Sides in its creation. I told Lagbara that I was puzzled on the creative direction on True Magic (some say that this album by Mos was his “fuck you, let me out of my deal” release directed at his label Geffen at the time) and The New Danger in my opinion was okay.

Lagbara then made comparisons of Mos’ recent projects to Common’s recent releases. We both agreed that Universal Mind Control was too Hollywood and that it didn’t tickle our fancy, on Finding Forever he was trying to hold on to the Common sound that had previously brought him fame while exploring acting as well – reciting lines such as “baby I got my SAG card” to make his new career as an actor official on wax, on BE he felt he had to reintroduce himself because of how fans had received Electric Circus, this album in which Com decided (as Mos on The New Danger) to go a different direction with his sound. EC was apparently the final album of a deal Com had with his record label at the time MCA. (See the similarities?)

The difference between Com and Mos in the experimentation, as Lagbara puts it; Com abandoned his efforts that he put forward on EC. Lagbara’s sentiments are, since that album’s release, Com has not tried to revisit the sound he was looking for and instead he joined with Kanye West and the Neptunes to execute a more popish approach with his music with hopes to expand his audience. Lagbara stated that sonically EC was a great album, better than most hip-hop albums released that year, and that Com should have kept that movement of sound alive.

Me on the other hand, I felt that though Com’s lyrics were good, many of the tracks on EC were just okay. I felt that throwing in one crossover track, Come Close (a Neptune produced track), in the middle of a bunch of experimental tracks was like a life jacket for the album, or a disclaimer – “if you don’t like this album, here is one track you will hopefully like; when all else fails this song will carry the album.” Critiques loved it, a lot of fans didn’t. Others felt the experimentation on Com’s behalf was due to the love he found with Erykah Badu and her influence. Could it be that when they split, he turned his back on his new found musical path?

But Mos on the other hand was un-apologetic with his experimentation. As Huff stated, The New Danger seemed to be more about instrumentation than lyrics whether Mos meant it to be or not. Some fans and critiques frowned upon it, others loved it. I sort of sat on the fence at first on whether or not I thought it was good but eventually I enjoyed it for what it was, a unique album. The difference is Mos kept some of this same sound on his works that followed; he embraced the haters, the lovers and the in-betweens (while pushing an acting career as well) within his fan base. Com on the other hand, said fuck you, leave me BE (pun intended) to do me with lines on BE that sticks jabs to fans who weren’t able to meet with him on his level at the time of EC. After talking with others about this album some still have mixed feelings about it. Was Com ahead of his time? Was he trying to create an album that would take Like Water For Chocolate to a new level? Or could it be that fans simply refused to grow with him at his musical peak?

Which brings me to my point, should fans grow with the artists they support? This is one question I didn’t see Huff address in his essay as fans play a big part in hip-hop’s evolution. When you look at it, a talented artist has the opportunity to see the world, see different people, experience different things somewhat regularly. So this means artists have the option to either grow with their craft or get comfortable and fail. Most successful and relevant artists reached this level of achievement because when faced with the choice of growing creatively or becoming complacent, they chose to grow – but what if their fans choose the latter?

Let’s face it; some fans have no problem in getting comfortable with the music they listen to. This is why they harshly critique something new or blatantly disregard it. They want that consistent “first listen” feeling; that feeling of when they first heard their favorite artist and fell in love with their music. At that very moment is when they set the bar so high that even their favorite artist can’t top their own music. Then you have the fans where no matter how horrible the new single may be from their favorite artist, it’s still the best thing since slice bread – just because they are a fan.

At the end of the day, hip-hop must and will evolve. Sometimes records might not hit home on first listen; those who dig deeper into the music to truly see the creative direction for an album are true fans who really appreciate the music. We put a lot of pressure on the artists we listen to, but some of what we ask of these artists we have to provide ourselves as fans. We must continue (begin for some) to listen objectively. Enjoy the music, support the artist and if you are a fan, be a fan through thick and thin. Don’t call yourself a fan if you jump off the wagon when the road gets bumpy.

Often times we weigh too heavily on trends and whether or not the artist we are listening to meets the requirements of being hot, which is based on if they accept and promote the latest trends. Truthfully, the artists outside of the trends are the ones who are pushing something fresh and unique. The bottom line is we can’t talk about the progress and future of hip-hop and leave out the responsibilities of fans. In order for hip-hop to evolve, we must ALL evolve.

The other day while I was updating my account on Twitter, I noticed a “re-tweet” from an associate of mine. For those new to Twitter lingo, a re-tweet is when you re-post something someone already posted, including the original author to give them credit for their post. For the sake of non-name dropping I will leave their account names out. 

The re-tweet was this: 

“i HATE to say it but truly think hip hop had an adverse effect on a lotta brotha’s character development [folks gon b mad i said it]

2:07 PM Sep 15^th” 

After reading this I was positive that a debate would spawn as yes, many folks would have an opinion on this – I being one of them. My associate noted that he “didn’t agree” with the user’s statement when he posted the re-tweet. After reading it myself, I replied to both my associate and the other user with this: 

“not the culture, some of the the people maybe” 

My associate responded that he agreed with my sentiments. The user who wrote the tweet saw my response and here is where the discussion went at this point: 

User @ScholarMan “the people are a part of the culture.” 

ScholarMan @User  “Indeed, so if anything, blame the people, not the culture.” 

User @ScholarMan “the culture is the people!” 

ScholarMan @User “a couple bad apples doesn’t mean the tree is bad.. but I hear you” 

Nothing more was said. Can you really say hip-hop is the cause of the lack of growth of the young men who listen to it? I don’t agree. My argument was that yes people are the culture, in the culture but you can only blame the leaders within the movement for the negative effects the movement might have had on those within it. My analogy was “a couple bad apples doesn’t mean the tree is bad.” 

Hip-hop is huge with many layers and areas and a statement like “hip hop had an adverse effect on a lotta brotha’s character development” is too broad. If the user had said “gangster rap has had an adverse effect on a lot of brothers character development” then I would agree. I know plenty of people who have been listening to hip-hop since their days of wearing diapers (including myself) and the certain type of hip-hop they listen to has helped them much or not at all with their character development. 

This is no different than a company who has had bad management causing the quality of work from its employees to go down. The company is great, been around for years, but because of bad management the employees are disgruntle, tired, etc. What happens then? Complaints are made about the management and then eventually (hopefully) those ineffectively managing the company are removed and new personnel is brought in. So who is truly to blame, the company or the management? 

In hip-hop there are many sub-genres and styles of music, and perceptions of them. Just because a dude who listens to gangster rap 90% of the time can’t separate the music from his reality doesn’t mean hip-hop as a whole is to blame. Looking at it deeper, I blame lack of parenting and sound guidance as the REAL issue. 

Some folks were stabbed or shot after both a Jay Z and Fabolous concert recently – did hip-hop do this? No, the people did. You can’t blame hip-hop.

Tough Bloggers

My man Travis over at WYDU asked his associates to participate in a 5X5 deal – what this means is for 5 days (that started this past Monday) he will post various lists that contains the top 5 of something related to hip-hop. I decided to do my top 5 storytellers and their best stories in my list. Check it out below:

Top 5 Hip-Hop Storytellers/Stories

Storytelling makes up a large portion of the lyrical foundation of the emcee. Whether its stories of collective struggle or of one person, to present a plot, characters and dialogue in a song and make it memorable not many can do. On my last three albums I have dedicated at least one track to a story. Those mentioned on my list were and are my inspiration in constructing my stories.

1. Slick Rick (Children’s Story)

Slick Rick has thus far been deemed the best story teller in the rap game, and after 20 plus years doing it and still holding the title, he is number one on my list. His song Children’s Story is immediately recognized by the masses as soon as the needle drops.

2. Nas (Rewind)

This song from Nas’ Stillmatic is by far the most unique story on the list. To tell a song backwards and still manage to keep your listener’s attention is dope. What more can I say.

3. 2pac (Brenda’s Gotta Baby)

2pac’s (Tupac) Brenda’s Gotta Baby was probably the first song I heard at the time that actually made me wake up a bit about what was going on around me. This song was about a young female who gave birth to a child but because she couldn’t handle the responsibility she left the child to die. It’s crazy how you hear about things like this on the news sometimes and really don’t pay it any mind, but when one of your favorite hip-hop artists reports the same type of story, you are in full attention.

4. Ghetto Boys (Mind Playing Tricks on Me)

If you listen to this song closely, beyond the hypnotic Issac Hayes sample you will hear three stories of three men battling an internal demon. Simply put, we all have a demon or two that we battle daily, and the Ghetto Boys put their struggles on full display on this classic song from my middle school years. I remember riding on the bus to school and literally everyone on the bus was singing the tune of the sample: “dun-dunna-dun-dun-DUN-dun-dun…dun-dunna-dun-DUN-dun-dun-dun”

5. Biggie Smalls (Warning)

When Biggie came on the scene, everyone that I knew was walking around talking “baby, baby!” Many were crazed over his hit singles Juicy and One More Chance but one gem I don’t hear about as often is Warning. This was a simple but effective story about how he was a target by those who wanted his stacks, and how he handled it. Dope.

http://www.wydublog.com/2009/04/5×5-day-three-scholarmans-top-5.html