For so many years now, the line between commercial and underground hip hop has been distinctively drawn as a battle field for underground MCs to express their discontent towards the commercial market. But why? As the hip hop community, we should have the final say on what should be considered commercial or underground hip hop, so why is underground considered a sub genre of hip hop when we started this shit.
In the early 90s, corporate America made a business move that would forever change the direction of hip hop as we knew it. By signing the most influential hip hop artists of that time to major record labels, the corporate world was able to enforce their own ideologies on the entire universe, under the banner of hip hop. Leaving the everyday hip hop head on the street, who is all about expression and empowerment of the youth, to submerge into the UnderGround. And so our society of UnderGround artists was born.
This gave rise to a new generation of MCs that were no longer expressing themselves, but pushing the disguised agenda of a corporate giant with hopes of becoming wealthy. i.e. Soulja Boy. So where does this leave us? Fair Enough, we have our Black Thought, Madlib, Mos Def, Ben Sharpa, Hymphatic Thabs, Nick Explicit and so on, but why is the S.A. UnderGround not making the impact that artists like Da L.E.S and Soulja Boy are making?
As the hip hop community we should take to arms and buy into what we believe in, and not what we are being told to believe in. Realistically, none of us are living the lifestyles of the commercially successful artists but most of us can relate to the struggles of Thabs or Ben Sharpa. So why endorse artists that we cannot relate to, and ignore the brothers that are telling our story. The major record labels, in S.A and elsewhere, are endorsing their own ideology that encourages people to aspire to lifestyle that will ultimately keep us in poverty, and keep the corporatist extremely wealthy. So, why endorse that lifestyle in the first place?
Let the UnderGround Unite, Let us create or own corporate world. Let real hip hop have the final say.
In the early 90s, corporate America made a business move that would forever change the direction of hip hop as we knew it. By signing the most influential hip hop artists of that time to major record labels, the corporate world was able to enforce their own ideologies on the entire universe, under the banner of hip hop. Leaving the everyday hip hop head on the street, who is all about expression and empowerment of the youth, to submerge into the UnderGround. And so our society of UnderGround artists was born.
This gave rise to a new generation of MCs that were no longer expressing themselves, but pushing the disguised agenda of a corporate giant with hopes of becoming wealthy. i.e. Soulja Boy. So where does this leave us? Fair Enough, we have our Black Thought, Madlib, Mos Def, Ben Sharpa, Hymphatic Thabs, Nick Explicit and so on, but why is the S.A. UnderGround not making the impact that artists like Da L.E.S and Soulja Boy are making?
As the hip hop community we should take to arms and buy into what we believe in, and not what we are being told to believe in. Realistically, none of us are living the lifestyles of the commercially successful artists but most of us can relate to the struggles of Thabs or Ben Sharpa. So why endorse artists that we cannot relate to, and ignore the brothers that are telling our story. The major record labels, in S.A and elsewhere, are endorsing their own ideology that encourages people to aspire to lifestyle that will ultimately keep us in poverty, and keep the corporatist extremely wealthy. So, why endorse that lifestyle in the first place?
Let the UnderGround Unite, Let us create or own corporate world. Let real hip hop have the final say.
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