HIP-HOP IS DEAD…INDEED
Caveat: This write up is not intended as a diss, rather a form of correction to the misplaced belief that Hip Hop is restricted to a particular form or pattern as known in the 80s and 90s. Our own teachers used to draw a big head with two eyes, two ears, two horns, a nose and a big mouth on our work sheets/books to depict our dullness in a particular subject-this is exactly the intention of this writer. In the spirit of Journalistic camaraderie, I have not taken the ignorance of some people to the chop shop; I have instead opted to pull out a dangling thread at the seams with hopes of unraveling misconceptions embedded in the minds of millions of Hip Hop fans constantly debating her death.
“…But I tried her used her for a ride, for dollars not the fame;
She slowed me down and had me guzzling on cups of lean;
She’s a middle-class cougar, showing young’uns the dream;
Noticed she wasn’t breathing for a second then I screamed;
“She’s dead!” and everybody took it out on Nasty;
I was only looking out for my music family;
Wasn’t trying to claim her to myself, she’s yours;
You can have her, she’s a motherf**king whore
I f**ked Hip-Hop”
- Nas in DJ Khaled’s Hip Hop
19 December 2006, the world is was awash with impending Christmas cheer. While the Christians prepared to celebrate the birth of Christ, a man from Queens bridge, New York, who had mirrored the crucifixion of Christ in his video Hate me now, released his 8th studio album, the title he had chosen was reminiscent of the same macabre atmosphere at Calvary; his name: Nas; the title: Hip Hop Is Dead.
From Brooklyn to Nigeria, the title resulted in a divide, one side of the spectrum had the elitists who raved at the title, and they welcomed it as music to their ears. On the reverse, those pushing and advancing the movement did not understand what Nas was saying. I pitched my tent with Hip Hop fans who felt that he had gone a little bit too far this time; thousand miles off the controversial Hate Me Now music video. Yes, the crank, snap and lean movement were picking up steam but wasn’t Kanye on his Jay Jay Okocha elegant best?, How could she be dead when in 2006 she delivered us Food and Liquor, Rotten Apple, Donuts, 20/20, King, Blood Money and Port of Miami, to name a few?
I was vexed by a rapper, whom I respected and looked upon as a music mentor; I was angered by an unsanctioned town crier of false alarm — she was breathing. Years later, I had come to the realization that it is not uncommon for humans, when they leave a particular circle, to develop a belief or conviction that the standard in such circle has plummeted to unacceptable levels. And Nas was undoubtedly hit by an excessive sentimental yearning so poignant that it prompted him to conclude that Hip Hop was indeed dead. When the debris settled and the dust got swept off, Nas admitted that he might have cried wolf. He admitted that the Hip Hop torch was still burning and carried high by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Andre 300 (of Outkast), Drake, J. Cole etc.
Joe Budden put it succinctly thus: if hip hop dies nobody would survive the smell. The Nas episode came and went, and surely we all thought; “but never again,” I told myself “would anyone make false pronouncements of such dimension and be pardoned.”
“…When I said ‘rap is dead’ in Nigeria I didn’t mean no body is rapping. I meant we (being the fans, media and promoters) stopped supporting rap music as it should be at a point” (Terry Tha Rapman)
While researching for materials for my next Urban Central think piece, I stumbled upon an article titled “The Death of Rappers Is a Good Thing for Nigeria” (I choose to refer to it as That Article). My interest was piqued to know the extent of such ‘good’, but upon reading and examination, all clues pointed to a certainty that the entire piece was couched by someone who had little or no idea of rap; its origin or application. It was even more riveting that That Article was released in March 2017 and didn’t draw any irks from the populace. The rage I felt in December 2006 resurfaced, but I decided to share that article with a few pals, so as not to be seen as partaking in jungle justice though I swore, as a Minister in the Temple of Justice, to uphold the rule of law and fair trial. It is based on the opinions of friends and mine that I have decided to address this misconception on the following fronts:
- Rappers aren’t dead in Nigeria, they only evolved;
2. There are no parameters to either qualify or disqualify any song as ‘Rap’. If it contains poetry, it is rap;
3. There are no two terrains that rap alike (US rappers sound different from UK rappers or Nigerian Rappers);
4. Deviation from traditional hard core rap to contemporaries was merely for survival; and
5. Rap originated from the West other than US.
The above misconceptions about rap is not only peculiar to That Article writer (that I will, as this write-up progresses, be quoting) but one that has affected a majority of Nigerian music fans, resulting in their belief that rap originated from the West and is majorly characterized by slangy rhyming or boastful wordplay (recently, some were criticized for advising that it shouldn’t be used to glorify illegalities and crimes). While few of this belief may not be far from the truth; the basis upon which it is founded is nothing but a pack of misconceptions. I will beg your indulgence to allow me guide you to the right path.
“Stop calling us indigenous rappers, there is nothing like that. A rapper is a rapper, calling myself, Phyno, Olamide, Seriki, BaseOne, Lil Kesh and couple of others coming up local rappers is a way of suppressing or making us feel inferior….” (Reminisce, Hip Hop World Magazine, 2015)
First of all, was Reminisce not profiled by Time Magazine in 2014 as a “rapper” you should meet? That being said the indigenous/local rapper tag to me seems like a failed attempt at suppressing those who were tagged, and on that note I really do not see the point the writer of That Article was trying to make by including it in his write up. I really don’t know why anyone will tout Remi as a local rapper on the big stage or could it be a reference to his single Local Rappers or the term local was used in reference to his country of origin; I guess we may never find out. However, it’s best to say it’s inclusion in That Article is a sad attempt to feign solidarity.
To dispense with overt ignorance, let me present a crash course in this hallowed art form. Rapping (in its verb form) is the musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates rhyme, rhythmic speech and street vernacular, which is performed or chanted in a variety of ways, usually over a break-beat or musical accompaniment. Its components includes content (what is being said), flow (rhythm, rhyme), and delivery (cadence, tone) (emphasis by me).
Unlike spoken words (requiring little or no musical accompaniment) and other music (that are ascertain by their distinct musical accompaniments), Rap does not confine itself to a regular pattern or format as a rapper can jump on any beat or adopt any style he/she chooses and the musical end-product will still be a rap (think I’m lying? Ask Kid Cudi). What makes rap unique is its content, delivery and flow. This begs the question: what is Afro-Beat? It is a genre similar to funk and jazz, but comprising mostly of the combination of West African musical instruments. It was birthed by a deliberate attempt at distinguishing Fela Kuti’s type music from American Soul. Its origin: Nigerian Fuji music and Ghanaian High Life.
…Our Hip Hop was defined by bars, lyrics and wordplay over what’s hot or the vibes that we are currently enjoying…Hip Hop today in Nigeria was imported from the West….
It is true that rap music originated from the West…but no fam, not the Overseas ‘West’; rap originated from West Africa. Your eyes aren’t failing you; you read the last sentence right-West Africa. The West African griot tradition was the earliest precursor to modern rap. The griot tradition was characterized by disseminations of oral traditions and genealogies by oral historians or praise-singers using formidable rhetorical techniques. The griots today are found among the Mande people, Fulani (or Fulba), Hausa, Songhai, Tukuloor, Wolof, Serer, Mosi, Dagomba, Mauritanian Arabs and many other smaller groups. African-Americans, most of whom for your information, had forefathers who were once residents of West Africa prior to their exportation to America in slave ships, only attempted to reuse elements of past traditions (embedded in their brains prior to slavery) while expanding upon them through creative use of language (slangs) and rhetorical styles and strategies. Anthony Holloway (the New York native, AKA DJ Hollywood) was not the originator of rap music but merely the first person credited with originating the style of delivering rhymes over extensive music, which would later become known as ‘rap’.
…we experienced a shift in the way music is recorded and Hip Hop is defined. Many artists are moving towards dropping the term ‘rapper’ from their profiles.
…The truth is simpler and very essential. Rappers are limited in the Nigerian music industry now. The way we enjoy and consume music is changing. The taste of the masses is switching, and these artists, to stay ahead of the game; they have to move with the times. Being just a ‘rapper’ is a limitation today.
The above statement sounds like something coming out of a mind bereft of music education. There is nothing like a shift in the way music is recorded. Music production has never being static enough to experience a shift. And neither is there a different definition to Hip Hop as used to know it; its style of delivery may have changed but its elements: content, delivery and flow are still and ever will be present. No offence, but I believe the writer of That Article has never sat through a recording session; his ability to misconstrue facts is alarming.
Furthermore, an ‘Artist’ is a person whose creative work shows sensitivity (ability to respond to effective changes within one’s interpersonal environment) and imagination (ability to deal resourcefully with unusual problems); a creative (originative) person. What the Nigerian artist, like his counterparts in other parts of the world, has succeeded in doing over the past couple of years is to reinvent rap (making it commercial by rebranding its outlook rather than the content of the product in the same vain as product manufacturers and dishing it in varieties); while also harmonizing rap with other popular genres widely accepted by Nigerians; such as high-life (shout out to M.I. with African Rapper, Phyno, et al), Fuji (the likes of Reminisce, Olamide, Lil Kesh, BaseOne et al), Makossa and other danceable genres. This art of rebranding of rap only proves the artistic nature of the Nigerian rapper. That being said; should I now remove the title of Rapper from Falz’ or Reminisce’s profile and replace it with Afro-Beat artist because they adopted Afro-Beat in their rap songs? Are we then going to change their reference to High-Life Artists when next they decide to fuss High-Life to their rap? That Article is even more bereft of direction than publications erroneously referring to all music of African origin as Afro-beats (the ‘s’ is not silent…LOL).
In the United States and other countries today, rap has evolved into several shades; from hard core to soft rap; trap to mumble rap and the likes. The same is what’s obtainable here in Nigeria, our Hip Hop has taken various forms and none of those shades are outside of ‘rap’. Again, while it could be true that some rappers are ditching the profession for singing careers (the likes of Skales owing to the fact that you can’t raise a dog alongside chickens and after some years, you expect it to have an appetite for bones and meat similar to that of a dog raised in a dog community); there are others who are begging to be referred to as Rappers (hello Banky)
I’ll like to clarify another thing, “M.I Abaga is chasing his next hit” is not a yardstick to say he is not a rapper, the attention to details he demonstrated on Safe is evident years later on Monkey and you’d be hard pressed to find same dedication from these artists you claim are dropping rapper from their profiles. That Article was on equal parts a faulty attempt to justify the glaring ineptitude of some acts who want to make music with a shelf life of two club outings and an ignorant approach at concocting a theory that is dead in the water.
The Nigerian rapper is alive, his name is Boogey. While some know him as Paybac, others call him Poe. This rapper is beyond sex limitations, sometimes manifesting as Phlow or Eva; this rapper is a double edged sword- The SDC. This rapper connects in English but demonstrates fluidity in vernacular and dialects- Oladips, Classiq. This rapper is a word-play Mozart- Vector. This rapper is a sample loving nerd-Falz.
Finally, Rap did not die; she only grew up from being that baby in the 80’s and 90’s who wouldn’t sleep until her parent sang lullabies and dropped poetic rhymes to her ears. She grew, in the early 2000’s into a teen with full blown breast, succulent nipples and mad hips, longing for a lover who could sweep her off her feet with punch lines and hard knocks. She is presently a grown lady with insatiable appetite for sex; a middle-age cougar as Nas will describe her, whoring after every man that can satisfy her needs while not willing to settle down with any. She may be a whore now, but she isn’t cheap; she may have being around for long, yet she isn’t old; she may have lost her body count but she hasn’t lost her identity; she may be sleeping around but she isn’t dead; she only grew to encompass a diversity of sounds. She’s still poetry and possesses content, delivery and flow. Her themes may be different but hey! That’s evolution for you.
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