Hip Hop Is Dead?

On May 18, 2006, NaS announced the title of his next album after a performance. The album was called Hip Hop Is Dead. It was not set to be released until December 19th, 2006, but it started a big uproar. At first, I did not have an opinion on the issue. I was on an online forum that is about Hip Hop. The people on the forum talked about it a lot over the summer. I stayed away from those threads. I did not hear much about it in New York City. When I arrived at Skidmore in the Fall of 2006, I started to research interviews and anything related to NaS on the subject Hip Hop is dead. I do not agree with the idea that Hip Hop is dead, but I do agree with NaS’ message in his album.

A lot of people mistake Hip Hop for Rap. The media is an example of this. KRS-One said it best, "Rap is something you do, Hip Hop is something you live.” Hip Hop is a culture. It has four main elements. The elements are B-Boying, MCing, DJing, and Writing. B-Boying is known as breakdancing. MCing is known as Rap music. DJs are the people who made the beats for the MCs, got the party started, and had to get the people at a live event hyped. Writing is Graffiti art. The main elements had brought so many secondary elements like fashion. Hip Hop Culture has a great history that can not be overlooked. History is still being written today.

When NaS says Hip Hop is dead, he means the music. In his album, he says that DJs, rappers, and the media killed Hip Hop. Some people say that NaS’ album is a big fuck you to the Rap industry. Throughout the whole album, NaS repeats that Hip Hop is Dead. From the start he says in his first track “Money Over Bullshit,” “Each one of you guys that claim Hip-Hop is still alive like y'all ain't in agreement wit NaS. That shit is dead motha'fucka, it's dead bitch.” That line was directed towards other Rappers like Young Jeezy. He was letting them know that they should face the fact that it is dead, and there is nothing you can do about it.

On his third track called “Carry On Tradition,” he talks about how Rappers do not know their history. They are about making money and not music. He says that he promises to carry on tradition, and he urges upcoming Rappers to do the same when they get on top. What NaS means by carry on tradition is to make good music and do not forgot you history, respect and embrace it. In his fourth track “Where are They Now?”, NaS wonders what are the Old School Rappers are doing now (later he did a couple of remixes with Old School Rappers). The lead single and fifth track “Hip Hop Is Dead” is NaS’ view how Hip Hop has changed. The tracks before “Hope” are about how mature he has come. “Hope” is the last track on the album. It is an Acappella. It was the turning point of the album. It reveals NaS’ true feelings about Hip Hop. The track starts with a women saying “Hip Hop will never die.” NaS says in his first verse that “Hip Hop is forever.” While the woman repeats “Live Hip Hop Live,” NaS says,

It ain’t got nothing to do with Old School, New School, Dirty South, West Coast, East Coast...So I say what I say, and I say what I say and I mean it. Y’all take it however you want to take it. Cause if you asking why is Hip Hop dead? It is a pretty good chance you the reason it dead, man. It is a pretty good chance your lame ass corny ass is the reason it dead, man. You do not give a fuck about it. You do not know anything about it. You want this paper be a hustler. You a hustler. You ain’t a Rapper. Get your paper, man. You know what I am saying? This Rap shit is real, bitch. This shit is real, bitch.

NaS’ overall message is that the Rappers who are in it for the money and do not know about the history should get out of the Rap game. They could make money another way. The music can rise from the dead when the Rappers who are just trying to make money disappear.

In 2006, people overlooked a lot of Rap albums. A lot of people say that it was Rap’s weakest year. Here is a few albums that were very good: NaS’ Hip Hop Is Dead, Ghostface’s Fishscale, The Game’sDoctor's Advocate, Obie Trice’s Second Rounds On Me, AZ’s The Format, Ludacris’ Release Therapy, Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor, Snoop Dogg’s Blue Carpet Treatment, Clipse’s Hell Hath No Fury, Project Pat’s Crook By The Book: The Fed Story, Lil’ Scrappy’s Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live, Busta Rhymes’ The Big Bang, and T.I.’s King. In this year alone, many great albums had been released like Chamillionarie’s Ultimate Victory.

The Rappers in today’s world have brought the Rap game to a new level. I know that there are a lot of negative things. The negative things cause people to overlook the positive things. Rap still empowers people. It also helps people cope with many things.

Today, Hip Hop Culture is nationally and international recognized. There has been a Graffiti exhibit in the Brooklyn Museum from June 30–September 3, 2006. There has been an exhibit on Hip Hop Culture as a whole at the Smithsonian from July 10–September 4, 2006. 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in The Bronx was declared as the birthplace of the culture. There are a lot of Hip Hop Culture courses being taught in places like New York University, Howard University, Georgetown University and Harvard University. There are many Hip Hop Culture scholars who have written books on the subject like Michael Eric Dyson, Bakari Kitwana and Tricia Rose.

Hip Hop Culture and Rap music is alive and well. People should not question NaS’ message. People need to really listen to his album to understand his point of view. NaS is right when he says “If you asking why Hip Hop is dead, it is a pretty good chance you the reason it dead.” That statement is not only for Rappers. It also goes for everyone who questions the culture’s existence. NaS said it best, “Hip Hop is forever.”