This Is Hip Hop... And We're Okay With You Not Approving

I'm going to try to be as short and as to the point as possible with this one, but I felt some things needed addressing. Maybe I feel like the appreciation for hip hop isn't as high as I'd like it to be (though it never really is), maybe I feel like people still think hip hop can't invoke positivity, or maybe I'm just tired of people saying hip hop is "ignorant garbage that has no message". Though it is certainly a mix of all three of the aforementioned details above, I can honestly tell you I see at least one thing every day that reminds me why hip hop is so different and special, and here's what reminded me today.

                                              (*I do not own this video or the rights to it*)

That's right, Kendrick Lamar freestyled over Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" beat. I'm not entirely sure of what to think of this particular freestyle, or event, or whatever you choose to call it. No, that was actually a lie, I certainly know what to think of it, I believe its FUCKING BONKERS AND I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT. This freestyle comes with an interview from K104 Hip Hop & RnB with Dee Dee In The Morning, and while the freestyle is as dope as Kendrick Lamar gets, it's the interview I was more focused on. At about the 3:50 mark he explains the meaning behind his lead single "i", and it is impossible not to respect it.

Which leads me to my next question:  are there still people out there that are stuck in the caveman age?  Are there really still people that think hip hop can't be positive and bring people together?  I certainly hope not, but it would be pretty funny to have these people be proved wrong by a song that Kendrick specifically says "represents a whole community of people that feel like they have nothing to live for, for the people inside the walls of the penitentiary, and for the people on the outside that come to my shows, these kids that feel like they have no self worth." If you can't listen to Kendrick's "i", and be moved, or even just listen and respect the message, then "i" have nothing to say to you. Your opinion can't be changed and you shall be ignorant forever.

Kendrick's "i" isn't the only thing I wanted to touch on in this post though. His freestyle over a Taylor Swift song opened my eyes a little more wide than normal, and I couldn't help but think to myself "damn, this is hip hop." To say I had a small epiphany would be accurate (though some wouldn't call it that, have it your way though). In case you don't know how hip hop has originated, well... THIS IS IT. Flipping something into your own and making it that much more dope IS HIP HOP. That's pretty much like, the DEFINITION of hip hop. Didn't anyone see the Art Of Rap?!  This is how rap originated!  And I bring up this point because this isn't the only thing I've heard as of late that flipped the script on how people hear music.

Wu Tang's own, the legendary Raekwon just put out a mix tape titled We Wanna Thank You, and it is just as dope as you could have possibly wished. Why do I bring this up now?  Well, I'll tell you. In case you haven't given it a listen yet, Raekwon doesn't go over any original beats or production from his own camp, but rather he takes old songs and puts verses on them. I have never heard anything like this. If you listen to hip hop, you hear samples taken from past music in songs every day, but The Chef takes these old songs and just raps over them, instrumental and all!  He even includes vocals from the actual songs and includes them in his versions. Some of the remixes on the tape include "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" by the Spinners, "The Girl Is Mine" from Michael Jackson, "You Used To Love Me" by Faith Evans, and he even goes over another hip hop classic, Ice Cube's "Today Was A Good Day" briefly. This is definitely a worthy mix tape to check out if you're a fan of Raekwon, or even if you just want a good listen from something a little different.

So I have one point to make here, one request that might sound like a demand, and it certainly is a demand to those who don't give it the chance it deserves:  stop sleeping on hip hop. If you don't approve, it is not what you think it is, and it's because you haven't given it the chance it deserves. That's precisely why!  It's not rocket science. You don't start to like new music by listening to the same stuff you always listen to. If you don't listen to it because you have given it a chance and simply don't like it, that's certainly more respectable than "I've heard it on the radio and don't like any of it." You couldn't get it any more twisted by setting the bar at radio rap. If you say rap doesn't invoke thought and positivity, I'd stop you right there and show you Kendrick's "i", hell, I might even show you a Logic interview. The thought process of hip hop is changing, and it's for the better. If you say you don't listen because rappers are ignorant and don't pay homage to the oldies and the greats, I'd show you Raekwon's newest mix tape. Stop making excuses. But, people will do what they choose, and people will listen to what they choose, which is entirely okay with me, and if you're a hip hop fan, it should be okay with you too, and I'll tell you why. It's because this is how it started originally: do you think hip hop was always approved of?  Go back and do some history research, hip hop practically lived (and STLL does) going against the grain. You can be okay with people hating for no reason, and it's because this is hip hop, and we're okay with you not approving, that's nothing new.