MC Improvement Article #02

   Visitor Email: Should I Just Quit Rap or Keep Pursuing My Dream?

I recently received an email from a young emcee. He had a good question which I thought a lot of people could benefit from reading. I ended up writing a fair amount in response to his question and decided to post it as an article. You can read the entire unedited email below. The sender’s name has been withheld for privacy.

NameWithheld@email.com writes:

Aright well I belong to this hip-hop site, where you can do battles, open mics, audios, poetry, the whole 9 yards. Anyway, I'm 13... and in the chatroom I was telling people that I wanted to do this rap stuff for a living when I get older. They told me since I'm just a (fill in ethnicity) kid from the suburbs, and I'm not gangster, I wouldn't have anything to write about and I wouldn't sell because I'm not part of the "hip-hop culture". They were saying stick to my own culture, not try to go into something else. Plus they said that I sucked. I dropped an open mic concerning the situation, and it surprised a lot of them, they all said it was really good. But still they said since hip-hop isn’t my culture I'm not gonna get anywhere in the rap game. So should I not take this rap stuff seriously anymore and listen to them or try to follow my dreams and see how far my skills take me? Thanks....”name withheld”


Reply: Thanks a lot for your question, it's very good and touches on a topic that I might go ahead and write an article about in the near future.

First off, I wouldn't ever recommend giving something up that you love. And don't listen to those people who tell you "you're not part of the culture...just leave it alone". They, my friend...are haters. If they were right, rappers like Slug of Atmosphere, and even probably Eminem...would be out of work.

If anything rap is now spreading, and though I used to be on the side that wanted to keep it limited to people "belonging to the hip hop culture"...it is out of my control. Hip Hop culture IS pop culture now. It is at a critical point where fresh new styles (some of which "hip hop purists" hate, i.e. crunk, snap, etc...) are coming on to the scene. As time goes by these offshoots of traditional east coast rap will only divert more. We already have a white southern rapper making a big impact (Paul Wall), English rappers doing it big (Roots Manuva), rap is literally all over the globe and new styles spring up every season.

My point is..."the original culture" as we know it is (sadly for some) nearing an end. That is not to say that there won't be any room for what I like to refer to as "traditional hip hop artists" in the future, there still will be. But the point is...a minority (that would be Black/Latino inner city youth in this case) can only maintain full control of a culture's direction for so long before its tremendous growth transfers the reins of power (and consequently the ability to direct the culture) over to the masses (or the whiteman for my conspiracy buffs). We have already seen this begin to happen. The hip-hop culture was still relatively "pure" according to most until up around the mid nineties. Successful Hip Hop from the late nineties to present day has been driven largely by what sells. Themes in hip-hop music (or at least what you hear on the radio) are drastically different nowadays. Whereas in '91 Tupac could get funding to release a video like "Trapped" or in '96 Wu-Tang could go Gold off of "Triumph", nowadays the biggest hits are decided by what will sell to 13 year old girls, or what will be hot in the club or what will be a hook people can sing along to.

...But I'm digressing...I'll leave where I was heading with that for a future article.

My final answer to you is this: YOU...a white (fill in ethnicity) kid from the suburbs own hip hop just as much as anyone else nowadays. And that statement will anger a lot of purists...but it’s the truth.

Can a (fill in ethnicity) kid from the ‘burbs be the next big thing? Who's to say he can't?

Can a (fill in ethnicity) kid from the ‘burbs TRYING TO BE SOMEONE HE'S NOT, be the next big thing? Probably not.

So when people say, "stick to your own culture" they're right. But that doesn't mean to start making rock music. You should take that as meaning "be yourself". And since nowadays hip hop culture is basically pop culture, what that means for you is you can very easily be a part of it but not with a fake or forced "gangsta" or any other image...be yourself and you have a shot.

Rap about life, mix in some street themes (because the streets, the inner city, poverty, and gangsta shit will always play a part in hip hop, don't get it twisted), throw in your personal cultural themes, anecdotes, etc...anything. Just be confident and KNOW you're good. If YOU rap like you know you're dope, if you have confidence in your intelligence and skill, it will show - People will believe that you are intelligent and skillful.

Just don't be fake. Don't rush into rapping like someone you're not. Don't limit yourself (i.e. being ONLY a battle rapper). And don't stop learning and understanding who you are...which is the most important thing to know because once you know who you are, YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN HAVE WRITERS BLOCK...you'll always know exactly what you want to say.

Lastly, it's not about how far your skills will take you but rather how far you will take your skills. You control your destiny. Though skills are important there is still a lot to be said for hard work.

I've written a lot...as a matter of fact I might turn this into an article for the articles section, but I hope I've been of some help.

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