With the booming hip hop industry on display daily, it seems that there several more people each day claiming to be a rapper. This is somewhat unsettling to me from my perspectives of a musician, an educator, and a consumer. I consider hip hop to be the most delicate shapes of music and it seems to me that the complete notion of musicianship has been diluted to the likes of anyone with a computer and a microphone. As an educator its deeply saddening to see Black America’s youth gamble away their intellect, goals, money, and even morale, all for the sake of sometimes overinflated dreams. Everyday I see young people enthralled by the swift climb to success by those on 106th & Park and radio stations across the country. Their heads are filled with the over-romanticized ideas that music is “all you need” when you want to be successful. Even with the evident amounts of charity and philanthropy owed to the hip hop industry, I blame the hip hop industry, as a whole, for the decline in education’s priority in America, especially among African American youth. I feel that today’s musicians have a slight disregard for their inherent responsibilities as figures of admiration, role models, and the occasional muse to a young person’s dream. In my opinion today’s music industry would much rather risk losing future doctors, researchers, teachers, parents, and politicians, than they would to lose a few fans.
As a musician it is a disappointment to the measure of what talent has been redefined to be. Granted change is inevitable and necessary, but some things are better left untouched. Without a doubt, there are flocks of truly talented, blessed musicians that need to be heard and deserve to share their craft. On the other hand, there seems to be a misunderstanding that the large shoes an artist fills are “one size fits all.” I’m not saying that anyone should be hindered of their right to self-expression. With that said, I am LOUDLY saying that there is a fine line between artistry and the mockery of that calling. It seems that the focus in music has been taken almost entirely off of the actual music and more so upon the aesthetic value of the performer. This is indeed a vital part of good art, but it should not be the most important part. We as consumers have begun to settle for less and that trend is one illustrated by a comfortable slope to inadequacy.
As a musician, educator, and consumer I aim to issue a challenge to us all: demand better, seek something that lies a bit deeper than money, cars, clothes and hoes…We all just want to be successful but we must not neglect to think about those looking up to and coming after us…We in the present determine the future past and the future’s present. There’s so much more than ourselves on the line.
-MJL
Insights & Opinions That Arise 