Before the boom of the Internet and the chain of netcee-promoting websites, hip-hop was enjoyed and disliked because you just weren’t feeling the beat. You didn’t have access to underground hip-hop unless you were in the scene yourself, and most likely you had to be an emcee. In 2001, you do a search on Napster and you can download any of your favorite underground joints in a few minutes.
And that easy access has tuned more MTV-based hip-hop heads into real fans, appreciating the music when money doesn’t matter. We tuned into Jedi Mind Tricks, the Demigodz, Breez Evahflowin’, Eyedea, and many more. We appreciate each punchline flipped by any emcee, and we love the underground sound that producers like Celph Titled and The Alchemist bring us.
Now back to the boom of the web. Anyone now can go onto a website to express his or her ideas, and even drop a few rhymes of their own. For those who have been in the Internet scene, you know how harsh some cats are when it comes to criticizing music, which brings me to my discussion topic: Are we overstepping our boundaries as fans and criticizing music too harshly?
Let’s look at both sides. The most obvious is that we cannot accept and like everything we hear. We need some criticism to differentiate our tastes from everyone elses, and we all have personal preferences. However, I see much criticism stretched beyond just a decision on personal preference. I’ve seen emcees being called “wack as fuck” because he’s a so-called commercial emcee since his video aired on MTV, or because his producer used the wrong snare or hi-hat in the beat. Many fans, like myself, look at an emcee’s rhyme structure because we want some complex shit to get us open–and there’s nothing wrong with that. Knowing what you want out of hip-hop is great. Sometimes, especially when it comes to 50,000 heads on the Net, people are overcritical of emcees just having fun and doing their thing. It’s almost as if a song can’t be enjoyed unless it’s been disected to shit first.
Now let’s look at the other side. I feel that much of the junk on mainstream radio and television is the same music, just over a different beat with a different voice repeating the same message. Because of this, many retreat to the classic sounds of the underground. The truth is, the underground is more unoriginal than the mainstream. Almost everyone in the underground is making battle tracks and concentrating on their punchlines and wordplay. We all know the mass amounts of wackness being displayed right now, and especially in 2000. So with that said, I ask you AND myself this question: Isn’t it important we criticize music if so much of it sounds the same and/or it’s so wack?
Yes! It’s extremely important we strip a lot of this unoriginal shit down to its bare bones. As fans, we WANT sick hip-hop. We need to criticize music, to get down to what we really like. The entire process builds an understanding for us, helps us know more about an emcee so that we get out of that emcee only what we are looking for–and if he ain’t got it…f@!k him!
I’ve presented both sides to the issue, collected from my year of observation on the Internet. You decide for yourself if you just need to buy it and bump it, or if you should get the surgical mask on to tear that motherf@!cker apart.
By RhymeLife.Com for Hip Hop Hot Spot .Com
