“I aint got a single fan I got brothers and sisters.” Brother Ali, the street preacher, proclaims this on his track Operation Push…and damn don’t that make you feel good. Hip hop may just be the most personal art form available to the masses today, and historically the listener has been elevated (as Ali does here) to become akin to the emcee as an active participant in the music. We play an imperative and irreplaceable role in its dissection. Hip Hop is different from other genres in that way. It BEGS to be engaged in, analyzed, argued over, criticized, and praised. It doesn’t exist without the fan, whether that’s the b-boy born and raised in the Bronx steady blastin KRS-ONE, or the Iowa frat boy who keeps making the new Drake album the soundtrack to every kegger (sorry, Drake, didn’t make that up). The emcee and the fan are inextricably linked; one does not exist without the other.
But what happens when the fans, as a whole, stumble laptop first into an era in which these artists are accessible in a way we never imagined? We don’t know them in some lyrical, figurative way anymore. A lot of our favorite rappers have willingly given us access to a seemingly constant stream of consciousness via facebook, twitter, podcasts, blogs, etc. So now, we’ve become active participants, not in just the music, but in the lives of the emcees themselves. We expect to hear from them multiple times a day. How many friends do you even have that you expect to hear from multiple times a day? I’m sayin, Evidence deleted all of his tweets a couple weeks ago and posted something pretty vague and cryptic about things turning ugly. I became, no lie, genuinely concerned for dude. Now, I’ve been listening to and loving Ev for years but I don’t know this man. All of a sudden I’m invested in his personal life on a daily basis? These days one click gains you access to the perpetual personal musings of these artists; So the gap between fan and rapper is again closed, except now it’s not because we’re elevated; It’s because the artist is making the move to our level.
The question begged then, is what is this doing to the music? Speaking from a fan’s perspective, it’s undeniably exciting at first. Like, word?! Normally I have to spend $11.99 to get inside Talib’s head. Now I can do it for free, all day? But what happens then, when the man fails to live up to the emcee? I’ve seen it countless times, on twitter especially, and Talib is a perfect example. He makes a comment about respecting Soulja Boy’s hustle and starts catching it from all angles. “Fans” turn on him, they tell him he lost their respect, that they used to love him and now they’ll never buy another cd. Now just wait a second, folks. Think about this. He lost your respect not because lyrically he’s falling off, or because he’s taking his sound in a different direction, but because of a 140 character thought that he had when he was bored at 2pm last Thursday. How many times have you made a comment that you wouldn’t necessarily back the next day, or made a statement that you would back, but doesn’t define you in any real way? My point is this; these rappers are being held accountable for all of the thoughts they have now, not just the ones they write on a pad or say over a beat. Is that fair? Is that even Hip Hop?
Now complicate that with the fact that the fan can feel legitimately rejected by their favorite rappers in these public forums. Before these technological advances, your favorite rapper would feed you love over a couple tracks at least, and you ate that shit up. But now, you catch yourself thinking “What the hell, Snoop, you said last week you’d follow me back man?” Or, “Really, Jean? I’ve typed you the same question about your release date 5 times during this Ustream video, but you wanna answer dude who asks you about sexting?” You might even take it all the way there and let them know you’re pissed off and why, and then they snap back at you, and it escalates…is this striking anyone else as bizarre? If you’re a hip hop head who stays up on the cyber lives of these rappers, any given day they can make you feel like you’re back in that one shity relationship. You feel like maybe they don’t appreciate you as much as they said in your favorite song, and so you start to feel dejected and unloved. I mean, you buy their cd’s, you go to their shows, maybe cop some merch…what are you doing wrong? What do they want from you? What changed?! Then they retweet something you mentioned them on, add “LOL!” and all of a sudden you’re head over heels in love again.
Ok, ok so maybe it’s not that drastic. But one thing is for certain. If you're truly invested in Hip Hop, this 21st century pop culture phenomenon affects the music. Maybe it enhances it all for you, or maybe it has become more than you ever wanted it to be. Regardless of how you feel about it, it’s undeniable that in this age, we engage in a personal (if one-sided) relationship with the artist, rather than solely with his/her art. It’s not just straight up hip hop anymore, and personally you can miss me with all that. I want my hip hop like I want my drink tonight; straight up, with a twist.
GLAD YOU GOT THE HUNGER BACK...I'M A FAN...THIS ARTICLE IS DOPE!
ReplyDeleteHaha hungry than a mug...thanks, AVIUS- the fan thing...that's mutual.
ReplyDeletePersonally, for me, it has become more then I ever wanted to know. I liked it when an artist could convey a message through music and that was that. At the same time, I am excited because I see that there is potential for amazing changes to take place.
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a good point about Talib making an off handed remark on twitter and being ridiculed. People do tend to take things too seriously, especially in hip hop where fans feel such a strong emotional connection with their favorite artists. However, the gap between artist and fan is a two way street. It is true that fans now have more access to their favorite artists, but artists also have more power to influence their fans. Can you imagine if 2pac was alive in the 21st century? He would be having a field day on topics like politics and social reform. In the 1990’s he already had millions of people ready to do whatever he said, and that was without the mass instant communication that is available today.
My point is this, Hip Hop artists today don’t have to be victims of mass personalization. In fact, they have a responsibility to be socially conscious. Most Hip Hop artists come from humble backgrounds. Therefore, they have a fairly good understanding on topics like the disparity between rich and poor, the inequality in the school systems, and poverty. Hopefully we will start to see Hip Hop artists emerge who use technology to create a positive change in the world.
Take KRS-ONE for example, he is a highly informed activist who puts deep thought into major social issues. He is a very charismatic person, and he brings consciousness to a lot of meaningful issues, but he is still from generation X. We need Hip Hop artists from generation Y to stand up and become leaders instead of passive victims to cyber communication.
Many celebrities, like Don Cheadle, are doing great things to improve the world. This is great, but Hip Hop artists have the ability to wield even more power because music engages people on a highly personal level that other forms of entertainment cannot.
Wow Ray Im impressed. Crazy how technology can not only affect music but also a culture. Had to throw the ali reference in though huh? I love it though proud of you girl.
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