Random Opinions Of A Hip Hop Head: The 5th Element!

I Have Always Been Hailed For My Intelligence For As Long As I Can Remember. For My Primary Life In Entirety The Praises Were Solely Based On My Academic Aptitude. Every Prize Giving Ceremony Was Like My Own Personal Ego Fuelling Event Because I’d Claim Prizes For Being The Best At Most, If Not All, The Subjects I Did. At Secondary Level My Academic Work Left A Lot To Be Desired As Per My Grades But The People Still Knew I Was An Intellect One Way Or The Other. Whether It Was Me Raising Valid Arguments And Presenting Water-Tight Perspectives During Debates Or Me Documenting A Solid Business Plan For A Unique Business Idea I Came Up With While Involved In The Junior Achievement Botswana (JAB) Program Or Me Being A Geek And Totally Nerding Out In Various Subject Quizzes Displaying My Vast General Knowledge, People Generally Praised Me For It. I Love Knowing Things And Ever Since This Trait Of Mine Became Dawned To Me, I Made It My Point To Let Anyone And Everyone Who Would Listen Know About This Habit Of Mine. My Own Source Of Pride.

Not Only Does Being Knowledgeable Make One Seem Attractive (To Sapiosexuals Like Me), It Also Allows One The Appropriate Tools To Rid Themselves Of Any Mental Slavery That Human Beings Have Been Subjected To. Racial Tensions, Institutionalized Behaviours And Many Other Forms Of Sub-Conscious Oppression Are No Match For Pure Knowledge. This Is What I Learnt From The Conscious Hip Hop I Am Constantly Listening To. MCees Are Philosophers, Offering Many Perspectives And Opinions On Matters That Affect The Society And Some Are Scientists, Giving Rise To Sci-Fi Concepts Which In My Opinion Will Most Definitely Become A Reality Due To The Limitless Power The Human Brain Has Been Abundantly Endowed With. I Mean, Sure We Are Creatives. The Proof Is In The Way We Play Around With Words To Create Artistically Appealing Pieces Of Work But We Are Scholars As Well. This Is The Main Reason I Went From Becoming A General Music Person To Becoming A Hip Hop Head. Don’t Get Me Wrong, I Will Forever Love Music Across All Genres But Trickling Down To The Finer Imprints Of My Preference, My Domain Is Hip Hop. It Quenches, As Well As Fuels, My Thirst For Knowledge While Inflicting The Same Effect On My Thirst For Artistic Excellence. The Perfect Gadget Of Evolution.

This Is The Reason Why I Feel Uncomfortable When Mindless Trap Music And Mumble Rap Are Linked To Hip Hop. They Seem To Be Chained There By This Era’s Youth(Well, Most Of It) Who Remain Under The Illusion That They Know What Hip Hop Is. And That’s The Thing, They Don’t. The Majority Of Fans Of These Genres Are People Who Never Made An Effort To Understand What Hip Hop Is In The First Place. They Fail To Understand That This Culture Was Meant To Serve A Specific Purpose. I Will Be One To Say, I Don’t Hate Trap And I Certainly Do Not Hate Mumble Rap, “It Is Art”. Truly. The Musical Equivalent Of Abstract Expressionistic Paintings (In My Opinion). What I Do Hate However, Is It’s Link To Hip Hop. If Somebody Died And Gave Me Control Over Things, The First Thing I’d Do Is Sever That Tie.

One Might Say, “Why Does It Bother You So Much? It’s All Art At The End Of The Day.” Well I’ll Tell You Why It Bothers Me This Much. It’s Because

 1.It’s Disrespectful To The People Who Pioneered Hip Hop As A Tool To Emancipate Themselves From The Clutches Of Oppression And

2. Ever Since This Scourge Gained Popularity (Yes! I’m Calling It A Scourge For Lack Of A Much Worse Word), True Fans Of The Culture Have Been Looked At Differently. The Very Nanosecond I Inhale The Air That Will Release The Words “I Rap”, People Already Associate Me With Mindless Trap And Mumble Rap. My Depth Of Character Is Jeopardised And I’m Mistaken For Someone I’m Totally Not. There’s Nothing About Mumble Rap That Screams “Hey! I Possess Great Knowledge And I Am Conscious Of The Issues That Affect My People”. At All. For People Like Me, Who Use Music To Reach Out To The Masses And Uplift Man Kind, As Well As Self-Expression(That’s Ultimately The Purpose Art Serves Regardless Of It’s Nature), Being Associated With A Genre Whose Lyrics Could Be Mistaken For A Kindergartener’s Failed Attempt At Writing A Song Is Among The Worst Experiences Ever.

To Remedy This, I Think Trap And Mumble Rap Have To Be Their Own Genres Koo(Over There) And Hip Hop Will Remain Pristine Kwano(Over Here). I Have No Problem With These Genres Collaborating With Hip Hop As Long As It Remains Clear That They Are Different Entities. Maybe, Just Maybe Then, I Might Listen To Some Mumble Rap Because It Will No Longer Be The Device Used To Destroy The Love Of My Life(Yes! I’m That Guy. Shoot Me.)

I MAY BE WRONG, I MAY BE RIGHT BUT THIS IS MY LOGIC AND I FUCK WITH IT!!!