I’m sad cuz my generation’s got the blindest eyes/
N*ggas rappin bout drugs like it’s saving lives/
Investing time into these h*es like potential wives/
If that’s the mother of your son boy don’t be surprised.
Head-boppin, and deep in thought those were the lines that were cemented in my memory as the 9th Wonder produced track “Super Genius” bass-kicked and snared it’s way to close. As I hopped out the whip, it was something about those 4 bars that my mind just couldn’t let go of.
The first line of the verse struck a chord with me especially. As a 25-year-old, I would tend to agree that my generation indeed has blind eyes, with the blind seemingly leading one another. However it doesn’t take a genius to pinpoint the culprit shielding their vision—money. I know the pursuit of the dollar bill can be identified as the antagonist in many generations storyline, but it’s painfully evident in mine. Money seems to motivate and predicate people’s ability to want to do things, turning awful situations with low moral value into tolerable and sometimes respectable endeavors.
Case in point, my generation’s obsession with fame, in specific– reality television. Aside from a few, reality shows have become the carbon monoxide of entertainment. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for entrepreneurialism, but there must be a way that you can salvage your decency and respect while doing so. However, we’re not talking about decency nor respect, we’re talking about money, and when cash comes into the picture those things jet out in Usain Bolt-like fashion.
I remember watching a Katt Williams comedy special as he recanted a story about rapper turned reality television star Flavor Flav. In the story Katt recalls a “Celebrity Roast” that he hosted for Flavor Flav. The comedian stated that the day of the dress rehearsal all the black comedians were present while none of the white comics were there. Katt said he questioned the producers and they told him that they (being the white comedians) were professionals and “didn’t need to rehearse”.
Angered and annoyed, Williams demanded a copy of the script. Upon receiving the script he was appalled to find that, in his own words, “The script was as racist as a 1946 newspaper”. Katt stated that the first scene of the roast had Flav flying out of the sky in a purple suit while Williams yelled out “Look! It’s a flying monkey!”
Upon reading all this, Williams said he was enraged and began to cut ties with the show, however, once he saw how much they were going to pay him for hosting– he quickly changed his mind. Katt explained his awkward disposition of hosting the racist show, and having to watch Flav’s kids walk out of the show crying because their father was being called all types of “crispy, crunchy, coons”
After the show he explained how mad and disappointed he was with himself for ushering in the charade, but was surprised to see how happy and nonchalant Flav seemed to be. Baffled by Flav’s relaxed, careless demeanor Williams asked Flav how he could be so calm at a moment like this and Flav responded ” I don’t give a f*ck about what they think…. They got to pay me booooooyyyyyy!”
I don’t want to take food off of anybody’s table, however this trade of “money over moral” and “cash over character” has seem to find a permanent home in my age group, and is continually rewarded with our dollars and attention. The current tag word for some of the fickle things my generation is involved in is “movement” which is absolutely comical.
Although it may fit the common man definition, it is grotesquely being used out of context. History illustrated to me whenever masses rally around a certain issue or issues for change ie: civil rights, gays rights, women’s rights– that constituted a movement.
Additionally, movements aren’t solely based upon numbers, rather importance and significance. To the self proclaimed “movement makers” What exactly are you changing? And what is your message? These clowns are killing me. Seeing what the education model is looking like in this country, I could only pray that what Jon Legend is doing will become a movement.
Enough about the world though, let’s make this personal. I am a subscriber to the “change starts from the inside-out” magazine, and the feelings on my generation naturally beckons me to self-reflect and analyze my contributions to some of the things that I claim I don’t like. While my pockets tell me I’m cool on the whole “money over moral” thing, I find myself very conflicted over others.
Recently, I watched a video made by a pair of nine and ten year old girls entitled “Letter to Lil Wayne”. In the video the young girls remixed one of the star rappers songs; questioning his content, challenging his perspective on women, and claiming their young womanhood. The letter affectionately and appropriately ends with ” I hope that we can work together/to help our people/that’s what we need/one love/ forget the greed.
This song affirmed and disrupted all types of emotions inside of me. First allow me to applaud the courage and integrity of these young girls who did something that many adults don’t have the courage to do. The message was well received and gave many people including myself something to think about.
Through the many years of my love-hate relationship with Hip-Hop, I have come to a few conclusions. One being, no matter how much we want it to be; Hip-Hop should not be looked at to uplift, encourage, or be responsible for it’s actions. It has proven that as a whole, it doesn’t want that responsibility, and therefore we should carry them as any other irresponsible entity in the world and accordingly strip them of their creditability. It takes a responsible, mature, and aware ear to listen to much of it, and most kids simply don’t have that.
Although I am in no defense, Lil Wayne is an adult, and therefore can produce whatever type of music he wants. Responsible people need to make up for his lack of responsibility and adjust properly. I would be a fool to say that Hip-Hop has an inconsequential impact on people and society, but I realize that the problems we face are way larger then just “because Hip-Hop said so”.
Admittedly, the contravening nature of my before-mentioned statements are clear. Most of the people who buy, listen, and mimic Hip-Hop culture are–you guessed it– kids/teenagers. The popularizing of drugs, the deadly tone towards women, and the promoting of violence have all proven to be bad things. In the song to Wayne, the girls show their keen attention to detail stating “They play it with the radio version and make it sound like “eh eh eh eh eh eh ehhhhhh” picking up on the way that artists and mainstream media make their product sound kid friendly because much like anything else poisonous, you mix it with something sweet to hide it’s dangerous elements.
As for my generation and Hip-Hop, I view it much like I view the world– I love them both, but don’t love everything about them. And as for myself, I think the great Poet and Orator Maya Angelou said it best “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain”– I think it’s time I stopped complaining.
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