| Is Hip-Hop News Really News? |
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| Written by Jamal Bell |
 Over the years, rap has been straying further and further away from the music. While new songs, albums, and mixtapes still prove to be newsworthy, a huge chunk of Hip-Hop headlines have nothing to do with the music. Reading Hip-Hop news is almost as bad as reading the tabloids in the grocery store, plenty gossip but no substance. I understand that stardom in Hip Hop has totally changed. Artists from the past didn’t necessarily get the media exposure that they wanted or deserved. Nowadays, all you have to be is a fresh new artist to be easily marketed and in the spotlight. And the exposure for big names is out of the question. Kanye West’s outfit can be news. We must understand that technology plays a huge role in this. We have mobile phones that capture everything, right in our front pocket. Back in the day, people had to really dig to find out information. Nowadays, a simple tweet can cause a ruckus. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Twitter. It’s a great vehicle for promotion. I find out about a lot of new music by simply following artists on that site. Artists use twitter to announce new upcoming music, or may even tweet a picture of them in the studio at work. At the same time, Twitter is a battlefield. Last year, Chris Brown made a statement about how he didn’t like negative, satanic music. Odd Future frontman Tyler, the Creator, quickly  took offense and started firing shots back on twitter. The beef got to the point where The Game had to play mediator between the two. I understand that there’s more to cover in Hip Hop than just music. I browse Hip Hop sites all of the time and I always read about who got arrested for what, or who allegedly got who pregnant. Some artists might like that type of exposure. However, I think Hip Hop in general has a bad reputation, and this type of “coverage” isn’t helping the situation. I like to hear positive stories. For instance, it was refreshing to hear that Fat Joe lost a ton of weight to live a healthier lifestyle. He lost a lot of friends to weight problems and didn’t want the same fate. He revealed that he was diabetic since his teenage years, but with all that weight gone, he has rid himself of diabetes. There’s one concept in Hip Hop that has been here and has no plans of leaving anytime soon. That factor is beef. Artists may have personal problems with other rappers but the media has the power to blow things out of proportion. Plenty of people STILL blame the murders of Hip Hop legends Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. on crazy and outlandish “East Coast, West Coast” media exposure. Everyone loves a fight, especially when they are not the ones in the ring. People grab their popcorn and get a front row seat. People’s enthusiasm for controversy gives media outlets a reason to feed that hunger. A rapper can make a song, people can start “examining” it, and then make claims. Something as simple as “Is _____ taking shots at _____ on his new single?” can start a rap beef. A lot of these so-called beefs are instigated. Some artists dismiss claims immediately; others welcome the exposure with open arms. Hey, at least we’re back to the music and not only the gossip. Rap is a competitive sport. Artists have their affiliations but at the end of the day, you must fight man-to-man. Hyper-masculinity has always been an issue with rap music. As a rapper you must always be on edge and ready to attack. If someone says your name in a rap, it’s probably not a good thing, unless you have the next verse. If somebody disrespects you, you HAVE to respond back. If you don’t respond, you look like a punk and lose credibility. That same credibility can be lost if you entertain the beef, fight back,  and lose. I think that’s a huge reason why Rick Ross is so hot and in high demand right now. He had a high profile beef with 50 Cent, started Maybach Music Group, dropped “B.M.F.” and took off. He defended himself in the rap game to become one of the hottest MCs out right now. Back in the day, artists had to rely more on their lyrics to make money. Their exposure was closely related to the music. Now artists spread themselves out through other business ventures to make a buck. Everyone knows how Jay-Z made music, has his own clothing line, brand of liquor, clubs, basketball team? You name it. I understand that as a rapper in the spotlight, you have to get yours any way you can. I’m not knocking the hustler’s mentality, I’m just saying don’t forget to focus on the music. Sometimes people dig too deep into celebrities’ personal lives that it jades their opinion on their music. Perfect example, I hear a lot of people say that they don’t like Kanye West as a person, but they like his music. Even though I don’t think people should judge him off of his opinion of President Bush or Taylor Swift, I respect that statement because it’s not interfering with the music. Don’t let outside influences cloud your impression of an artist, or rap in general. Stick to the music. Nowadays, it’s way too easy for rappers to make it into headlines. The media seizes every opportunity and we, as consumers, eat it up. People talk about how much they don’t care about topics from the Jay-Z Illuminati talk to Beyonce’s pregnancy, but yet they are still the topics of discussion. To a certain extent, we don’t control what gets out there. We are told what is “important” everyday by media outlets. I do acknowledge that rappers make great strides to get publicity. For example, Jim Jones is getting crazy spotlight from this “Love & Hip Hop” reality show as well as TI on “The Family Hustle.” Some sacrifice their privacy to be in the public eye. Others, like Ray-J, start fights in clubs once their reality shows are over and done. While I do feel that rappers have the power to control their image, I also realize that rappers aren’t fully in control of what happens to them. All the paparazzi needs is one good clear picture of a couple famous people to start a media storm. People will do anything for a story, but they will do more for some money. That’s exactly why you hear all these crazy allegations and “confessions” in Hip Hop nowadays. The hot one right now is that Jay-Z named his daughter with Beyonce, Blue Ivy Carter, after an ex, Blu Cantrell. I assure you, Blu Cantrell needs this exposure. Can we not get lost in the “news” and get back to the MUSIC? Please? |