Is the Hip Hop movement on par with The Renaissance?
Silly question, huh?
So for the past few days I'd been thinking about my next blog entry and had settled on talking about the magnitude of Hip-Hop's influence. Is it the greatest cultural contribution ever by the Black Community in America?
Well, in actuality I'd say yes. Hip-Hop, in some way, shape or form had reached into just about every place on the globe. Hip-Hop, in this day and age, has come to embody more than just music. It is a lifestyle. Its a culture.
Hip-Hop has hit Japan, Switzerland, and other areas across Europe, Asia, and down into Latin America. Its impressive, even in this fast media day and age, how quickly an artform has spread long across the planet. But probably most impressive is its reaching of American suburbs. Ironically, just fifteen years ago, it was these suburban areas that tried like hell to suppress Hip-Hop, claiming it to be a danger to society overall.
The music and the art is not without controversy, but controversy has always been the strength of the movement. It says what nobody else wants to say, its expresses those things that nobody wants to, but exist nonetheless. Its thrived in the face of those who sought to stamp it out, and is now weaving its way, through the young at heart, into our culture. It isn't just urban culture, not even American culture, but now, global culture. But as wide ranging as it may become in the generations to come, this now global iconic expression of life is still a part of the tree that grows from the root of Black culture in the hoods of America.
Is Hip-Hop the New Renaissance?
A culture can eventually die off, but forever leaves a remnant that becomes a fabric of human custom. So upon thinking further, this question came to mind. Is Hip-Hop on pace to become the greatest overall modern day cultural contribuition to our world since the Renaissance? First of all, if anybody thinks of Hip-Hop as simply a genre of music, they just haven't done their homework in understanding all of the ins and outs of the movement. Keep in mind, when you talk about Hip-Hop, you're not just talking about the music. Its an artform, originating with major components such as: The Dancing (Breakin'), Rappin', DJing, and its form of graffiti Art. Much like the Renaissance of over 500 years ago which shaped Western Civilization, Hip-Hop has become the revolutionization of music, art, fashion, and an overall lifestyle. It itself had become a lifestyle, with art going beyond imitating life; its also dictating life.
And so I think its a legitimate question. It maybe a few years, decades, or even centuries ahead of its time, as Hip-Hop is still young, still evolving, and still smoking. But could this indeed be a global cultural movement that is comparable to the Renaisannce, or the Hellenistic?
Anytime you talk in such historic terms, you gotta take a second and say "Hold up, now." Its like asking if the Internet was the greatest invention ever (fire was pretty important), or whether 22 year old Lionel Messi is the greatest footballer or soccer player ever (there are those guys Pele and Maradona) but to ask the question is to recognize that what has been done before can be equalled or even bested. Make no mistake: any culture not named Egyptian or Greek has to run a lot of miles before it can be counted alongside a culture as rich as the Renaissance; and that includes Hip Hop. But I do think that potentially, Hip-Hop's effect can be comparable to Renaissance culture as it continues to evolve and spread. Though the known world prior to Hip Hop wasn't the Dark Ages like the pre-Renaissance days, in forty years Hip hop's appeal and influence is already felt from Brussels to Buenos Aires, from Connecticut to Calcutta; whether by way of rap music, B-Boy break dancing, beat-boxin', turntable DJing or the revolutionizing of graffiti art. By comparison, without the obvious media advances, it took the Renaissance movement over a century to spread from Italy throughout the whole of Europe and from there, the whole of the West.
Its amazing how when Hip Hop first began to take flight how even other facets of Black culture wanted no part of it. As a music, R&B wanted no part of it. And it was always considered a fad. We kids thought it was cool, but it was surely just a phase. But a funny thing happened. These kids got older, but we never left it. Or it never left us. Instead, we became it, and it became us. This we now pass down to our children and voila! That's how a culture and a tradition gets going.
But while its always been more than just music, now its beyond what it ever was. Hip Hop has always been a political force, it has its own philosophical principles, is profound, edgy, intellectual, brash, spiritual, marterialistic, lucrative, controversal, complex, contradictory, corporate, enterprising, expressive and always entertaining.
It can easily fizzle out too, you know. I mean, its not like we haven't been down that road before. I would just be surprised. I personally think it has more staying power than a lot of its comtempory cultures because Hip Hop at its core has and always has seen itself as a community and furthermore, as synonimous with the people. And its identification with the poor, with people of color, and with those generally living outside of the box of the establishment all chasing their dream, whatever that dream may be, is something that massive, massive amounts of people around the world have and will continue to grab ahold to. For that reason, I believe it will always be reborn before it ever truly dies.
Time will tell just how much more Hip-Hop will evolve, and how many generations and people it will influence, or whether it fizzles out. But this much I know: Hip-Hop ain't dead. And its certainly not dead just because there's some weak mainstream rappers out there. The fact is that its outgrown its origin, outgrown the South Bronx, NY, LA, the streets, East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South, Black America, and all of America. It needs different clothes to fit it now. And though Hip-Hop will always be our (Black America's) baby, its no longer a baby. Take comfort in this though, that the baby Black America gave birth to may just as well grow up to become the biggest cultural movement since the Renaissance.
So for the past few days I'd been thinking about my next blog entry and had settled on talking about the magnitude of Hip-Hop's influence. Is it the greatest cultural contribution ever by the Black Community in America?
Well, in actuality I'd say yes. Hip-Hop, in some way, shape or form had reached into just about every place on the globe. Hip-Hop, in this day and age, has come to embody more than just music. It is a lifestyle. Its a culture.
Hip-Hop has hit Japan, Switzerland, and other areas across Europe, Asia, and down into Latin America. Its impressive, even in this fast media day and age, how quickly an artform has spread long across the planet. But probably most impressive is its reaching of American suburbs. Ironically, just fifteen years ago, it was these suburban areas that tried like hell to suppress Hip-Hop, claiming it to be a danger to society overall.
The music and the art is not without controversy, but controversy has always been the strength of the movement. It says what nobody else wants to say, its expresses those things that nobody wants to, but exist nonetheless. Its thrived in the face of those who sought to stamp it out, and is now weaving its way, through the young at heart, into our culture. It isn't just urban culture, not even American culture, but now, global culture. But as wide ranging as it may become in the generations to come, this now global iconic expression of life is still a part of the tree that grows from the root of Black culture in the hoods of America.
Is Hip-Hop the New Renaissance?
A culture can eventually die off, but forever leaves a remnant that becomes a fabric of human custom. So upon thinking further, this question came to mind. Is Hip-Hop on pace to become the greatest overall modern day cultural contribuition to our world since the Renaissance? First of all, if anybody thinks of Hip-Hop as simply a genre of music, they just haven't done their homework in understanding all of the ins and outs of the movement. Keep in mind, when you talk about Hip-Hop, you're not just talking about the music. Its an artform, originating with major components such as: The Dancing (Breakin'), Rappin', DJing, and its form of graffiti Art. Much like the Renaissance of over 500 years ago which shaped Western Civilization, Hip-Hop has become the revolutionization of music, art, fashion, and an overall lifestyle. It itself had become a lifestyle, with art going beyond imitating life; its also dictating life.
And so I think its a legitimate question. It maybe a few years, decades, or even centuries ahead of its time, as Hip-Hop is still young, still evolving, and still smoking. But could this indeed be a global cultural movement that is comparable to the Renaisannce, or the Hellenistic?
Anytime you talk in such historic terms, you gotta take a second and say "Hold up, now." Its like asking if the Internet was the greatest invention ever (fire was pretty important), or whether 22 year old Lionel Messi is the greatest footballer or soccer player ever (there are those guys Pele and Maradona) but to ask the question is to recognize that what has been done before can be equalled or even bested. Make no mistake: any culture not named Egyptian or Greek has to run a lot of miles before it can be counted alongside a culture as rich as the Renaissance; and that includes Hip Hop. But I do think that potentially, Hip-Hop's effect can be comparable to Renaissance culture as it continues to evolve and spread. Though the known world prior to Hip Hop wasn't the Dark Ages like the pre-Renaissance days, in forty years Hip hop's appeal and influence is already felt from Brussels to Buenos Aires, from Connecticut to Calcutta; whether by way of rap music, B-Boy break dancing, beat-boxin', turntable DJing or the revolutionizing of graffiti art. By comparison, without the obvious media advances, it took the Renaissance movement over a century to spread from Italy throughout the whole of Europe and from there, the whole of the West.
Its amazing how when Hip Hop first began to take flight how even other facets of Black culture wanted no part of it. As a music, R&B wanted no part of it. And it was always considered a fad. We kids thought it was cool, but it was surely just a phase. But a funny thing happened. These kids got older, but we never left it. Or it never left us. Instead, we became it, and it became us. This we now pass down to our children and voila! That's how a culture and a tradition gets going.
But while its always been more than just music, now its beyond what it ever was. Hip Hop has always been a political force, it has its own philosophical principles, is profound, edgy, intellectual, brash, spiritual, marterialistic, lucrative, controversal, complex, contradictory, corporate, enterprising, expressive and always entertaining.
It can easily fizzle out too, you know. I mean, its not like we haven't been down that road before. I would just be surprised. I personally think it has more staying power than a lot of its comtempory cultures because Hip Hop at its core has and always has seen itself as a community and furthermore, as synonimous with the people. And its identification with the poor, with people of color, and with those generally living outside of the box of the establishment all chasing their dream, whatever that dream may be, is something that massive, massive amounts of people around the world have and will continue to grab ahold to. For that reason, I believe it will always be reborn before it ever truly dies.
Time will tell just how much more Hip-Hop will evolve, and how many generations and people it will influence, or whether it fizzles out. But this much I know: Hip-Hop ain't dead. And its certainly not dead just because there's some weak mainstream rappers out there. The fact is that its outgrown its origin, outgrown the South Bronx, NY, LA, the streets, East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South, Black America, and all of America. It needs different clothes to fit it now. And though Hip-Hop will always be our (Black America's) baby, its no longer a baby. Take comfort in this though, that the baby Black America gave birth to may just as well grow up to become the biggest cultural movement since the Renaissance.
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