5/20/2023 0 Comments Morning wake up songIn a tragic turn of events, after a successful first season of Mogul, Ossé was diagnosed with cancer and passed away following months of fighting the disease. Having come up as an entertainment lawyer during the same era, Reggie Ossé aka Combat Jack, talks listeners through Lighty’s exciting life with the type of care and insight only an industry insider could provide. Season 1 of Mogul tells the story of Chris Lighty, a revered hip-hop executive whose tragic suicide shocked the music industry in 2012. Speaking of Hip Hop, I finally mustered the courage to continue listening to Mogul, Combat Jack’s last foray into podcasting (a medium that owes him a great deal for its current proliferation) before his passing. Nobody is killing hip-hop and nobody wins when the family feuds. Today, I would describe Hip Hop as being in a healthy state - there are a host of thriving subgenres, 49-year-old acts (shoutout to Nas) are actively competing in what was once considered a young man’s sport, and we’re witnessing more women rappers being taken seriously. Maybe it’s because the music is so dear to me and has served as the soundtrack to my life’s most significant moments, but I think it’s time we all started to treat the genre with more respect. Yet, despite all its achievements, Hip Hop is still looked upon with a level of condescension that baffles me. In its 50 years, Hip Hop has influenced every popular musical genre, entirely reshaped the English language, given thousands of jobs to young inner-city kids without degrees and even created billionaires yes, I know capitalism can’t save us. Truth be told, this is exciting! But I’d hate to see the celebration of one Black art form mean the death of another, especially one that has provided so much opportunity to the same community.Ģ023 marks the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. And listeners are not just discovering one song, they are uncovering a continent’s worth of genres, artists, and trends that stretch back decades. I don’t think Nigerian or South African artists make significantly better music, I just think the sound is completely new to their latest fans. But now that Nigeria’s popstars have arrived in America, their entry has come along with a fresh wave of excitement. As with most global trends, the US was a little late in recognizing the array of vibrant music blowing up across the continent. Hip Hop is experiencing “see finish” in its own home. To me, this is the argument that holds the most weight. Every couple of weeks, I seem to catch a new comment or remark expressing similar sentiments.Ĭ.) Hip Hop just isn’t interesting anymore I’ve also seen a few DJs take to social media to state they’re no longer interested in playing Hip Hop at parties. On a recent episode of Spotify’s Rap Caviar podcast, while discussing 2023’s most necessary Hip Hop artists, a respected music exec posited that Americans currently make the worst music. This pattern of commentary is by no means the dominant music topic of the day but I’ve seen it pop up enough to raise a slight eyebrow. As Nigerian stars like Tems and Rema begin to occupy space in mainstream American pop culture, these remarks unknowingly stoke the flames of the tried, tested, and lethal “us or them” conversation. Interestingly, these comments have mostly come from Americans, throwing a curveball in the usual “diaspora wars” format, which typically sees each side repping their set f or better or worse. Now, why are we still pitting two bad b*tches against each other? Over the past few months, I have noticed a rise in subtly disparaging remarks towards hip-hop seemingly at the behest of “ afrobeats ”.
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