Written by Tone Cash of Change In Advance

To RAP or not too RAP (that is the question)

So, as a self proclaimed lyricist I have to say I'm quite sick of rap. We went from being the moving force to being a marketing one. And its ugly. I grew up with Live at the Barbecue, 36 Chambers, The Infamous, and a few others that were game changers. As a poet first and lyricist later rap exploded larger than life in my mind and my ears. As a teen I went through so many Walkmans I should probably send a check to my dad. I stole his headphones, broke even more Walkmans and then had the audacity to play that jungle music as loud as I could get away with.

Its funny looking back but I remember when words were lined with provoking thoughts and slick soliloquies- and to me I couldn't live without the words or the girls. Now as a full fledged adult I find it disheartening that marketing is all that's left of hip hop in the mainstream. Let's unpack this.
Anyone know of the Jungle Brothers? Or GURU? How about Poor righteous Teachers and Wise Intelligent?  Heard the tracks Hurricane Sturang or Wordsmith? These are songs by artists who are amazing. Their style, intelligence, and delivery is obvious to even the most benign poser. However I'd bet you don't know Sturang of OGC or Chino XL who penned Wordsmith which is the most amazing homonym I've heard. Know what a homonym is? Words that sound the same but have different meanings. I'm weak this week- get it? Cool.

Kool G Rap, Rakim and Canibus are a few word wizards I won't even discuss because they are epic and half of the rap fans won't listen or aint heard of em. Suffice it to say their greatness is unparalleled. These men twisted words at a whim. To create whole worlds on wax was nothing.

Now I'm jumbling names and eras and I'm sure I'll piss off a few fans and hip hop heads.  Honestly I don't care.  My beef is with the marketing devils that have raped hip hop in pursuit of a fiscal agenda that is to rap what stage four cancer is to a child. Ouch!- I know. However let's backtrack a bit more.
Everyone remembers Tupac as a leader, poet rapper, and activist. I purposely didn't include him. Yes he was larger than life. And yes his themes were sick, and needed. Brenda's got a baby- ridiculous. Dear mama, of course. But on a whole his work was uninspiring and not legendary or classic. Before you label me a heretic let me expound  on it. The guy did like 3000 tracks and most are wack! That's not good rap.  Good work ethic yes but that's it.

However even he was speaking his mind and I salute that. Nowadays we don't even have a Pac. Hell Big L is gone too!  Anyone who could speak truth about their world and transcend it while droppin' science and true skills are gone. Nas and Jay-z are still here too but I got bones to pick with them.

-Nas not so much. I always know where Nas stands. He does the music he wants and I always get great music and themes. Concepts that evolve as I listen and some that even Rewind (great track).  I just want more.

-As for Jay-z, I'm disgusted.  To me he is an amazing rapper, but no lyricist. And as he transforms himself from man to mogul deeper and deeper he takes rap with him. All marketing and cliches. Cheap pauses filled with marketing. Okay I'm being a jerk but I'm not pleased. All I hear about is Sean Carter and his creations. No more originality. No more truth. Just success stories and chest pounding. Ugh. And a man in his position could be giving true lyricists a chance all day. But he won't. As not more that a rapper he may not know how. We may relate to his stories, and as such we love them- but that isn't what a lyricist makes.

And as for Cam, Diddy, Birdman, Wayne and all the other clever little peacocks- take a hiatus please. Enough bragging and whores.  Enough rented whips and cribs.
Enough pretending.
You are all selling out just for a dollar.
How about doing what you love?
How about not objectifying women and schooling the youth in drugs clothes and hoes?
Guess it isn't worth it to lead when you can follow...

And so I stand at the precipice, a man with a career and a dream as well. And yet I abhor the idea that I'd become the very fools who parade and preen in gaudy rented jewels and womens clothes. I loathe the idea of being that guy signed to live nation for the cheddar- and my real fans can't afford the tickets. As it stands I rarely record. I have, no question. And its awesome. The pen is mightier than any sword and creates a bond between me and intelligent people, readers, my friends and even my blackberry lol. I copped my first smartphone just to get a full size qwerty keyboard. That Nokia 9300 damn near built my career as a lyricist. At the least it made me happy. And I penned marvelous stories, poems, soliloquies, and so on late into the night. My love for words demands satisfaction. It demands retribution for the death of real Hip Hop. However I prefer the shadows. I write for me. I rhyme for my friends. I share my prose with the few who know what hip hop is. I write for the sake of writing. To expand my knowledge and the truth of rap.
However the game don't love me. It only wants me to give what it wants, to sell its products. I won't endorse fools. I won't sellout. And so as I write this I find myself still in a quandary.

To RAP or not too RAP,that is the question.
For now I think ill J Edgar it and keep my secrets.


Peace,
T3