Let Hip Hop Ring
After days of consideration, I decided that my blog’s name would be ‘Let Hip Hop Ring’. This is an obvious play on the phrase ‘Let freedom ring.’ Freedom is essential to America and with my blog I hope to show that hip hop is essential to America (well not as essential as freedom) and that America is also essential to hip hop.
Before writing a blog about hip hop, I thought it would be good to get a solid definition of what hip hop really is, so of course my first stop was the dictionary (well actually dictionary.com). And this is what I got:
So, my first question when reading this definition was “What the heck is a ‘big-city teenager’?” Personally, I really disliked this definition so I kept on looking. After hours of searching, I found out what I already knew – there are so many misconceptions of hip hop. Is it music or is it a culture? Is it the same as rap, or different than rap? Where was it founded? Are there still only four elements of hip hop? Is hip hop dead due to the commercialization of many major hip hop artists? The list could go on and on, so I don’t think there is one simplified definition of hip hop. It has evolved over the years, and means different things to different people.
But what do people who are not invested in the hip hop culture, such as our moms, dads, grandparents, and to be stereotypical, most white people, think about hip hop? My parents think it’s ghetto and my white friends generally like the ‘hip hop’ played on the radio, but usually don’t know about the other elements of hip hop or the underground artists that make hip hop so great.
Hip hop gets a lot of shade from older people and more conservative people about it’s womanizing aspects, violence, drug references, and use of words like n*gga, b*tch, h*e, etc. But what about the outstanding lyricism of Tupac Shakur?
“The war on drugs is a war on you and me. And yet they say this is the Home of the Free But if you ask me its all about hypocrisy The constitution, yo, it don’t apply to me, Lady Liberty still the b*tch lied to me”
This lyric has violence, drugs, profanity, but it is so profound. It gives a voice to those who don’t have a voice. It shows the anger Tupac and the people in his community have towards the government. And there are so many other examples from artists that show that they care about much more than “f*cking b*tches and getting money”
Hip hop artists are always incorporating what’s current in their music. Gay rights, Women’s rights, Civil rights, presidential elections and much more have all been explored hip hop artists. Hip Hop is more than just violence, swearing, and womanizing. So many artists are not only influenced by the streets, but also politics, culture, art, fashion and current events and many other aspects of life that people often forget.
I’m not your typical hip hop blogger. Most of my friends and family call me “white girl,” I try to be a lil Gangster, but everyone tells me itdoesn’t work for me, and I use slang in the most awkward ways possible. But my goal is to use my ‘hip hop flaws’ to my advantage and create a blog like none other. The combination of my passions for hip hop, politics, American culture, and writing will hopefully help my readers get a better understanding of Hip Hop and how it relates to the world outside of the hood. I want my blog to be a hybrid of a Urban gossip blog such as necolebitchie.com, a political blog such as huffingtonpost.com/howard-fineman and a hip hop music blog such as 2dopeboyz.com. My goal for my blog is for it to be entertaining, educational, and inspiring. I want to break down walls, barriers, and stereotypes, to build a greater appreciation of the hip hop culture. Let hip hop ring!
