Hip-Hop is not dead its just forever changed.

Hip-Hop, Mass Media and 21st Century Colonization and “Hip-Hop and the Corporate Function of Colonization” are columns written by Jared A. Ball, Ph. D. The writer converses about how hip hop has lost its cultural meaning. When I think of Hip-Hop I think of rhythm which allows the individual to express their feelings and emotions freely and with ease. Ball states that “capitalism has caused hip hop to become fraudulent” because executives, directors and stockholders have inhibited musicians from utilizing their creativity in order to capitulate to the needs of mass media and popular culture.

Jared Ball claims, that artists are often times held in poverty so as to create conditions of desperation, he goes on to say that “black people must sell their labor cheaply and/or will be willing to conform themselves to the needs and of an elite in order to succeed”. What I wonder though is, is the sacrifice of relinquishing your values and beliefs really worth all the fame fortune? I believe that at time individuals get caught up in the lure of the rich and famous lifestyle that they lose themselves and their motivation for perusing a career in the music industry in the first place.

True Hip-Hop talks about real-life experiences, in the song Changes by Tupac Shakur, Tupac speaks about poverty, racism and political struggles. Today, we hear rappers and Mc’s rapping or singing not about real life experiences and the desire for a better world but instead their lyrics are filled with greed, dehumanizing and degrading women- talking about sex in their pursuit for money. In addition to the monotonous and non-sense lyrics, hip-hop has not only lost its roots but its rhythm as beats are now being replaced by voice altering devices. As artists get consumed by fortune and greed and producers compel musicians to conform to the pressures of popular culture we are moving further and further from the true meaning of hip-hop, sacrificing influential positive role models for negative influences who make their income off of degrading individual self-worth.

Old Hip-Hop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_JIHkIn87s

Current Hip-Hop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT_V_DO_kyc