This is Black Music Month and just like clockwork people will ask the age old question, what happened to Black music, especially Hip Hop? However, like previous Black Music Months, June 30th will find many scratching their heads, filled with more questions than answers. However, the real answer is quite simple.
Black music got hooked on crack.
Following the death of college B-ball superstar Len Bias, in 1986, a great fear struck America . There was a new drug on the street that was gonna turn the hood into a kingdom of the walking dead. As Public Enemy put it , an eternal “Night of the Living Baseheads. “Worst than that they would spawn a horde of crack babies who would be destined to become career chain snatchers and riders on the prison revolving door. And since mainstream America was just getting turned on to Hip Hop, the destinies became intertwined.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyR09SP9qdA
Well, a recent study has proven what many already knew. Don’t believe the hype.
In an article published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The idea of the “crack baby” has been exposed as myth. Although, the authors concede, that like with any drug, crack is not the best thing to put in your body, especially, while you’re pregnant., social factors such as poverty really play a greater role in determining the future of children.
But what about the music that was supposed to represent the mentality of the “crack babies”. If the crack baby syndrome was a myth, the music must be fictitious, as well.
Let’s be clear. There is no denying the devastating effect that the drug trade has had on the ‘hood, from the heroin explosion of the 70’s to the crack epidemic of the Hip Hop era. And the music of the periods served as soundtracks to the misery, from Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman” to Biggie Smalls’ “Ten Crack Commandments”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlvfYvgKL5Y
According to Seeka tha Teacha, captain of the Hip Hop Liberation Army ,” Crack cocaine was introduced to Hip Hop for the purpose of destroying families and the well being of urban communities. It made drug dealers look rich in the eyes of the youth who were exposed to poverty.”
DMX
However, in this case, we are not talking about the glorification of slangin’ rocks that has permeated rap music since the late 80’s. That issue has been the subject of too many articles , books and documentaries to mention. Nor are we talking about the real life drug issues that have destroyed the careers of artists from Billie Holiday to DMX. Thus, murdering the message and the music.
The point here is how the whole idea of “crack music” is based on the media perpetuation of the crack baby (prenatal cocaine exposure) myth and the pathological behaviors associated with it have effected Black culture. And more importantly, how the stereotypical images associated with crack have affected our youth.
Some believe that the media hype around selling and using crack was really a self fulfilling prophesy. And if you pump crack pipe dreams in the heads of children, they will gravitate towards that even if they ain’t bout that life.
According to a recent Time magazine article , Dr. Maureen Black , professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine says that “once you label a child that way…there’s no hope for the child. “
Durham NC substance abuse activist, Shareef Hameed, agrees saying that “crack baby became part of the American vernacular.. It was like labeling someone before they even got started.”
Hameed says that the signs of crack addiction are nervousness , paranoia and aggressiveness, which, ironically, are the same attributes reflected in today’s rap music. It was also rumored to cause ADHD (attention deficit disorder. ) Which explains why the music seems to be attractive to those with low IQ’s and short attention spans.
Crack rap can be distinguished from Hip Hop by its lack of subject matter and overly simplistic, pickaninny choruses And the music industry has sold the idea across the planet that this is the type of music to which kids are addicted.
Unfortunately, many Hip Hop fans have bought into this false reality, as well.
The idea of crack babies has its roots in the negative stereotypes of Black people stretching back hundreds of years with the “small brain theory” which claimed that Black people had small skulls which limited their capacity to absorb information. Not much different than the racist stereotypes connected with Hip Hop.
So, the crack baby myth is really a socio-political construct, a euphemism for the pathological behavior of some young Black males. The term is not really about a specific drug. In theory it’s about a cocaine derivative but in practice it includes weed, malt liquor, molly or any mind altering drug that is promoted in Hip Hop.
George Zimmerman
What should be of major concern is how the crack baby hoax has served to demonize Black men. This is especially important with the upcoming George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin murder trial as the media has already tried to portray Martin as a crack baby only hooked on weed, in preparation for what will become the “Trial of the Century.” Also, of note is the recent media fascination with Chief Keef and his recent exploits including accusing a security guard of racist mean muggin’ when he was allegedly busted in a hotel room smoking marijuana.
Like any addiction, the first step to overcoming crack music addiction is admitting that you have a problem. We must admit that it hasn’t been crack that has had the most far reaching effects on the Black community but “crack music” that has propagated a hoax.
Unfortunately, a whole generation has gotten high on the hype.
This Black Music Month Hip Hop needs a detox.
It’s gonna be a long hot summer, socially and politically for Black people and we need our minds sober and ready for action.
Like Pac said on Revolution:
“Can you imagine the damage we could do if we weren’t high?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2czWfoF9bv0
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista
Check out Militant Minded Radio every Tuesday at 9PM EST http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/page/militantmindedradio
Reblogged this on Opulent Living Off Top.
It’s gonna be a long hot summer
Oh My..exactly what I wanted to say but you said it better….Not forgetting the time before Crack…the elite “Freebased” #RichardPryor but they figured out how to get this very addictive drug “cocaine” into the hood, into the lives of a people who were already hopeless and hence “crack” is born. Destruction follows….in a massively damaging way to the point now of no return!!! Kool Mo Dee said it looong time ago…”weheadingformassdestruction…I’m done….Peace & Love
oops…correction: #weheadingforselfdestruction…..poop!
cool
When Hip hop first came out ; it was calling attention to the problems and realitites everyday NYC life. It gave a voice to the voiceless.
Now it has become a crass glorification ; where its cool to drop f bombs all over ; reference hoes and bitches ; and give a graphic description of how you doin your babes plural.
Newbies go check the old school – the real- cuz tricks you ain’t cool ; we could care less if you bangin paid studio hoes or strung out strippers. It hard to do a movie shoot with stripper junkies.
Save your “Well this old school beat said this and that.” Come up with some original stuff with whats goin with your own environment in 2013 – otherwise who is really the HOE here. Junkie strippers are playin you fools.
Min. Scott good dialogue.
Peace, Nick
P.S. I think on this website Dave has made a conscious effort to introduce original contemporary hip hop.
correction its NOT hard to do a video shoot with the stripper junkies.
It’s crazy!! Hip Hop is DEAD!!!
It evolved and transformed just like every other element in life…
Hip Hop today is a watered down version of what it used to be. It’s quantity versus quality. TOO MANY WACK RAPPERS and not enough good music. All these tight pants wearing, face piercing having, fake skateboard riding wannabe rappers are destroying hip hop. Someone needs to put an end to crack rap.
Hip hop is dead
Don’t you know we all wanna be ganstah’s with ice, chain, saggin pants, adn tattoes.. I am goingto get a RUBIX CUBE Tattoed on my head now…HOT!!
Let us keep focus on THE CULTURE!
HipHop is NOT dead. HipHop is very much ALIVE and WELL. I know we may get frustrated and upset at times, but let us not give wack rappers so much power to the extent that we allow them to dictate to us the pulse of HipHop. After all, many of these rappers are not in tune with HipHop and do what they do just for quick fame and money.
Remember, HipHop is NOT just rapping. There are other elements that make up HipHop that are still very much alive and vibrant.
If HipHop is TRULY dead, we would not be at this website in the first place.
Why come to “Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner” to say that HipHop is dead?
I say this with PEACE and LOVE, not to disrespect or make anyone angry.
With all that said, let me mention that this is a really good, informative and insightful article. TRUTH Minista Paul Scott always write great articles. I really admire his work.
Many of these rappers that choose to rap only about crack are not qualified to be true representations of HipHop. Let us not be so quick to judge the lifeline of HipHop because of rappers we may not like, or if someone is on the mic with no skills. Besides, many of these “rappers” are not emcees. To be an emcee is what it takes to REALLY be for and about HipHop.
These days, it is very easy to make music, and so many people are doing it. Therefore, we see so many people choosing to rap about the street/hood/ghetto because it is easy to do. Anybody can make up a story about selling and using drugs and how hard life is in the streets. However, it takes skills, creativity, and intelligence to craft a song into something really meaningful, which is what so many of these rappers are lacking.
Thanks for posting, Bro. Davey D.!
money and prison
interesting story
Hip Hop changed with the era and it’s become the victim of circumstances and until we step up and be the men and women we were called to be and unite hip hop will slowly wither away
Hip hop is just ain’t what it used to be
How we went from real life gansta to shiny suits in 1 year… It´s sad to see the so called rappers nowadays taking it all for granted when brothaz and sistaz died in the struggle while shoutin KEEP IT REAL. RIP – 2 PAC, BIG STRETCH, BIG L, MAGNOLIA SHORTY, LLOYD AVERY II, DEDRICK D GOBERT, LEXIE BIGHAM, MAC DRE, G SLIMM, HITMAN AND MR CEE, SEAGRAM MILLER, SOULJA SLIM. I gotta do that once in a while for these great artists who in my mind are NEVA FORGOTTEN and would frown upon the state of the artform nowadays. FK THA SELLOUTS IN 2013. In the wordz of the great teacher KRS 1 – HIP HOP LIVES but the question is do you know you HIP HOP history? If not then YOU MUST LEARN…
Great article; don’t know if I agree completely with the analysis, however. I have given this subject much thought over the years as someone who came of age in the “golden era” of Hip Hop and has made a living in and around the music industry all of my adult life.
It is simultaneously sad and amazing that in a span of roughly 20 years, rap music went from an environment where “selling out” was the absolute worst sin you could commit as an MC, to a world where cross-platform brand building, mainstream saturation, and exploiting multiple revenue streams are the name of the game.
Now, don’t get it twisted; this is hardly a new thing. Both Jazz and R&B (both birthed from the American black experience) suffered through a similar American capitalist metamorphosis.
Remember that rap music was a backlash to the gaudy, luxurious culture that surrounded Disco music in the late ’70s. Initially, Hip Hop was the raw, playful, and infectious music of New York City black youth. This was the “art imitating life phase” of Hip Hop.
Rap grew both stylistically and geographically until the mid to late ’80s, when at some point, it became CORPORATIZED and MONETIZED. The corporate music machine had figured out the formula to success and Hip Hop became the new DOPE GAME (a.k.a. crack rap). Make no mistake: this bitch was out on the ave, and makin’ lots of folks a TON of money.
Now, rap music was accessible to all. Anyone could aspire to that “golden grail” of a record deal. Scores of both inner city youth of color and the newly created white, suburban or trailer park gangstaz clamored to emulate the criminal element
that glamorized senseless violence and the never-ending pursuit of the “bling-bling”. It is also interesting to note that at around this time, the “gangsta” aesthetic of Hip Hop merged and intertwined with the world of professional sports and to a large degree, American culture at large. This is what I call the “life imitating art phase” of Hip Hop.
Which brings us to the present–Rap music is in a very ambiguous state. A strange, everything-and-anything goes universe of ghetto, pop, quirky, techno, skater, and left-over gangsta imagery dominates the current Hip Hop landscape.
Hopefully, this signals the beginnings of exactly what we need: another BACKLASH. Just like the late ’70s rebellion against the slick, glossy over-produced Funk and R&B of the day gave rise to early Hip Hop, so too might the current post-pop freshman class of MC’s bring Rap music full circle.
For what its worth, Hip Hop NEVER DIED. It got rich, got pimped, lost its way, forgot its roots, and now may want to return home–humbled, wiser, and mature. Time will tell…and we can only hope, but lets not turn our backs. LONG LIVE REAL MUTHAPHUKKN HIP HOP.
1 Love,
J.Fresh–South Sac
Some good posts in here. Damn, what happened to Hip Hop…it is a lot different now than the first time I heard Whodini – Freaks Come Out At Night back in 1984, the very first hip hop track I ever remember hearing. It did not go foul during the crack era of the late 80s. The golden age went into full swing in 1987 and you can count that there was not 1 wack record released in that era. At least I can’t recall one.
The torch had been passed by the architects to the next generation who looked up to and added on to the legacy of Hip Hops forefathers. As did the second golden age in the 90s. I believe Hip Hop started going downhill after the death of Tupac and 1997 was the year I started hearing record after record that sounded wack. P Diddy and Bad Boy Records sent it downhill in a major way.
The Source Magazine changed and became blinged out with every issue having some rapper with tats and a piece around they necks. Monotony, leading to a lack of creativity with many MC’s putting out wack records that would sound ”hot” for a minute. And too many crossover R&B records comin out watered down the street sound of Hip Hop music. I could never believe how an album like Scarface – The Fix got 5 mics in the Source. As a longtime Rap A Lot listener I was extremely disappointed with that album. I can’t keep talkin this is takin too much time. You get the drift…
Hip Hop is not what it use to be
Makes valid points there
Honestly this was a good post and I like this website. What happened to Hip Hop? Now it is just MAINSTREAM trashy Hip POP with garbage like Shitty Minaj, 2 Chainz, Chief Keef etc representing it and they are killing Hip Hop music as a genre of music.
I really miss Hip Hop in the days of Grandmaster Flash, Whodini, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Tupac and even Nas. I can’t stand today’s Hip Hop at all.
Yeah so, Scarface to me is a legend aside from his collobos with Jay Z. Theres no way The Fix was on the level of Mr Scarface Is Back or The Diary, That is just 1 example how f–ked up the Source magazines reviews got. I thought that was his worst album. No wonda why I aint like it, half of it was produced by Kimye West the sucka. People get a little money and they start slippin. Try Dr Dre, The Chronic vs 2001. Comparing those 2 it becomes evident that 2001 was an abomination. And that album influenced a whole nu era throughout the 2000´s. Gone was the catchy G Funk George Clintonesque sound and in came this empty slick production. I know Dre had the classics early on in his career but IMO, dude fell off. Aftermath Records will never be as legendary as Death Row Records circa 94 – 95. Then came the 2 Pac wannabees who became accepted in Hip Hop. Unoriginality and biting would become commonplace, oh and we ain´t even in 2005 yet. These are just a few things that contributed to Hip Hop in the mainstreams decline. The undaground was and is always puttin out those new bangers. Maybe more later, ill see how I feel…good this topic was raised because I got a lotta shit to get of my chest. Good work Dub D and P Scott, peace to yall brothas.
HipHop at one point had a technically creative aspect with an innovative use of turntables, samplers and drum machines not to mention a socially savvy aspect that maneuvered the media. HipHop is now the antithesis of all of that and it’s never going to change. HipHop is a time vampire and a mindless pile of mentally retarded gunk-mulch. Run away from it !
its dead i just post to post it im into rnb but that ant the same either
HIP HOP AINT DEAD SON…just been hijacked by these frauds who perpetuate to be Hip Hop. Cmon man, millions of $ aint Hip Hop. Bombin, breakin/parkour, beatboxin, MCin, DJin, REVOLUTION and KNOWLEDGE is Hip Hop. I encourage all the b-boyz and b-girls on Davey D.com to stay away from mainstream ”Hip Hop” at all costs and keep it undaground. It’s good to break out those old classics to remind us of our glorious past. I do it daily. I’m talkin Redman – Whut Thee Album, Eric B and Rakim – Follow The Leader, Biz Markie – The Diabolical Biz Markie, MC Lyte- Lyte As A Rock, Ultramagnetic MC’s – Funk Your Head Up, Gangstarr – Moment Of Truth, Yo Yo- Make Way For The Motherlode, Masta Ace INC – Sittin On Chrome, King T – Act A Fool etc etc etc… the list goes on and on. Keep bangin that AOTP, Canibus, Sunz Of Man, Nas, Immortal Technique, EL P, DJ Muggs, K Rino, SPC. There’s a neverending amount of artists to listen to just keep away from garbage like these mainstream losers who have forgotten the ART OF RAP.
Maybach Music Group, aggin please…the only muthafkin MMG I know is 2 Black 2 Strong MMG…BURN BABY BURN.
on the money chris
Yo Davey,..long waitin for to remind the pre_1980s chore on Northern Amerikans gossips on drug addiction mechanics..but let me haze tha szereotypes used by to prepare the romantic tac on sexual hetero_philistic prepare of so called sex workers on frontline the scale how these type of short track drug hailed the way of the communities back in the days. How I have aknowledge ‘Crak’ in postfascist Hamburg was the preparation by so called Otto_men fascistas to retaliate the Latin ‘Trans’ talks into such ‘Farzi’ spirited healin on a laboratory way for using tiny mess into such a blow…is still goin on pipe,..but the self respecting work on antifascist lyrics as timeless neck on such ‘coded’ filth will be each day better…so bless to all dead children and steady ready susers on womb prepare,…same old rule of three in the mirror …still sideguided by porn clinics and snuff errors…what a wonderful world thruu media…bless….got ya…
So what are we going to do about it?
Thank you for creating excellent information and facts, this Post features good informative information for everyone, which can be hard to find
these days !!
What was the point of this?
Okay, while I 100% agree with this article, I am not sure I agree with all of the comments. Hip Hop is no more watered down then it was in the past, and if you believe otherwise, you should probably study your music.I mean really -Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s Delight Lyrics” are you trying to tell me that this was some deep social economical ground breaking earth shattering piece of music. NO! it was a feel good track to get people to listen. Just like now most people only know the chorus of the track and couldn’t tell you most of the words, and that’s one of the most iconic songs in hip hop. If you want some black conscious rap, then listen to Talib Kweli, Common, KRS1, Nas, Mos Def, etc. There are numerous artist that have the skill to take hip hop back. The problem isn’t the people who listen, it’s the people who promote the crack music. The “SLAVERS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY” that push crap, excuse me crack music to the top so they can make a quick buck of the top. Think about it, if those who blogged about music, promoted music, and in any way associated with music actually said you know what “MC Crack Baby” you don’t have enough substance to be promoted by me, or you aren’t deep enough to be featured on my blog. Then, and only then would things turn around. When it comes down to it we live in a world where people are waiting to be lead, but those in influential positions aren’t leading, their following themselves, they just don’t realise it.Just like you can still find Jazz purist fresh out of high school who have an appreciation for their art, hip hop is no different. Sorry guys, Hip Hop is as bas as it has always been, and at the same time it’s as good as it’s always been. It just depends on what your listening too.
The cultire of hip hop vs the new generation is a seed to me that was planted a long time ago as for back as the spirit of the william lynch ideologistics meaning the seperate and destroy mentalities of a moral fiber that is unity of a nation the afro-american’s famlies along interwoven into any minority.So we as a dying culture must expose then explode back by continuing with social networking,community expo’s,and media deliberations. long live hip hop and let’s recapture the decaying youths by promoting concerts old family vaules reinstill hope and last but not least exert healthy pride one nation one love under the god of you understanding.
where is the old Hip hop ? anyway good article though
great site and well written post thanks from man and van London