Style > Substance

Great article from the T.R.O.Y. blog: droppin knowledge on the subject of conscious Hip Hop:

Pacewon and Contemporary Rap Consciousness 

"The social and political consciousness that is evident in rap songs during the late ’80s and early ’90s is invoked by nostalgic admirers as a defining characteristic of rap’s earlier years. Its gradual decline in visibility and relative absence in popular contemporary rap is lamented and occasionally cited as a symptom of the genre’s degeneration, and spuriously linked to a related growth of apathy and ignorance among listeners. The “conscious rap” of the past is incorrectly assumed to be  a sub-genre that is diametrically opposed to the values and aesthetics of “gangsta” or “commercial rap;” the running story is that it faded from popularity because neither the music industry nor a critical mass of fans respected its cerebral content or capacity for exposing the truth." Thun

As one of those 'nostalgic admirers' I find myself caught between a roc (marci) and a hard place. On the one hand I lament the relative decline of conscious styles in contemporary Hip Hop, and on the other I find, so long as spectacular vernaculars are sprayed over gravelly drums, I'm happy, regardless of the topic. It seems to me that, although i want people to view Hip Hop as more than just coke rap and gold chains, the reality is that it is more than conscious or positive values too. It has its own set of criteria which validate it and make it positive, and this allows it to encompass both messages on civil rights and narratives about selling drugs. These criteria rest in the specificities of style and delivery; its own characteristic aesthetic. A garbage emcee is a garbage emcee: whether they imitate Dr. Martin Luther King or John Gotti is in some ways irrelevant. But does this mean Hip Hop is about Style over substance? Maybe...

Wild originality, flamboyant creativity, humour, resistance, positive and negative narratives, honesty, boasting, identity, and head nodding rhythms characterise Hip Hop. These are the higher values it appeals to. Its religiosity lies in the extent to which these things are manifested in and through the 4 elements (DJing, MCing, Graffiti, Breakdancing) not in its ability to communicate moral or spiritual messages. When it does, this is simply an added bonus.

I don't want to over-romanticise or over-spiritualise Hip Hop (as KRS ONE does, and i have been guilty of at times) because I feel this presents an image that simply doesn't exist. Hip Hop is negative, even destructive at times. Instead, one has to recognise the idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies of Hip Hop and appreciate that it is both despite these things and because of them that people are drawn to it.