True Talent
I guess I came up in a time where lyrics defined the true talent of an artist. I could give a shit about vocal gimmicks and high end album production engineering. In the most dominant era of West Coast hip hop, what you said was far more important than how much money you had or your appearance. Artists got deals off of pure skill and their ability to paint pictures with words. True talent was apparent even before you first seen the artist or knew who they were. It was all about the words back then. Prime example is Ras Kass’s song “Nature of the Threat”. The song was so raw and so grimy that you felt like you were in a classroom learning something that you knew was important but were never told.
Lyrical Content
At times I feel like Hip Hop has lost its way. There is almost no substance in lyrical content. Don’t get me wrong I grew up on West Coast music, so I am not a huge fan of metaphor rapping and battle rhyming. I like to hear a story that is told through the art of rhyming. Kendrick Lamar has shined light on a bleak lyrical society and I am hoping more artist do the same. If we don’t start taking pride in what we put out as artists, fans will stop caring about what we have to say. Eminem lyrical content cannot be denied because at a lyricist he realizes that every line is an important part of a musical jigsaw puzzle. Eminem states that the truly talented artists are all about the words. He still makes his words the focal point of each song and when you have longevity in the music game that’s a very hard thing to do.
Artists
Music is a sense of expression and many artists fail to express themselves with the platform they are given. I wish MC’s would realize that they were born with talent for a reason. Use that talent to make sure your voice is heard. Bad habits are passed down from generation to generation. Hopefully we do not let today’s music, influence the next decade of rappers. If we do our voice and our music will go the way of Jazz, rock & roll the blues to a certain extent. Money still runs the music business and the inner city youth do not have the money to compete with those that do have the financial backing to invest in high dollar recording and production. Just a thought; but that’s for us as artists to decide, not a copycat industry of gimmicks, smoke and mirrors. Lyrics are far more than just mere words; they explain a way of life. Whether its street life, ghetto life, prison life, it’s still our life. This article is Signature Diversified ENT approved, just in case anyone forgot Brotha Blakk said it. I’ll get at ya’ll next time, I’m out…
Brotha Blakk