Hip-Hop Block Presents: What hip-hop has done for me
Issue date: 2/9/10 Section: Arts & Society
By Donald Vincent
Music Critic
Dear Readers,
Out of appreciation for Black History Month, as prominent as hip-hop music is in America, I felt the urge to write about the history of rap music. However, in lieu of the facts, I will not be able to do the history of hip-hop any justice unless I write about how hip-hop has affected me as an African-American male in America.
I do not have any first, concrete memories of hip-hop, but I do remember a few. There were times during my elementary school days where I would miss the metro bus, and my mom would have no other option of getting me to school on time other than driving.
Because the radio already censored most of the four-letter words that the younger generation loses their childhood innocence to when they hear them for the first time, she would play 93.9 FM WKYS. I remember a fleet of music artists such as Mary J. Blige, the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Jay-Z, Nas, Raekwon, Crucial Conflict, and the Fugees.
The Fugeesí album, The Score, was the first rap album I owned with cursing and the censored advisory sticker on the cover. I knew the song "Ready Or Not" word-for-word, rapping the lyrics in the car sitting in the fast-food drive through lines, or whenever I would be in the car. I still own this album on my iPod today. Although times have changed, when I listen to the album today, I constantly find lyrics and substance that I would not have been able to understand with the young mind that first heard most of these song lyrics.
Because there is a 10-year age gap between my older brother and me, I was also introduced to premier hip-hop artists such as Kool Moe Dee, Beastie Boys, and Run-DMC. Run-DMC is responsible for the success of hip-hop, in my opinion. Will Smith was also important to the history of hip-hop because he had the first music video by a hip-hop artist shown on MTV.
Will Smith never used cursing in his lyrics. My mom would always push his music on me; however, I preferred the F-Word. It was constantly thrown around on the playgrounds and corners of my neighborhood. It also represented something I take pride in having as an American. It represented the freedom of speech. It represented the freedom of expression.
Music Critic
Dear Readers,
Out of appreciation for Black History Month, as prominent as hip-hop music is in America, I felt the urge to write about the history of rap music. However, in lieu of the facts, I will not be able to do the history of hip-hop any justice unless I write about how hip-hop has affected me as an African-American male in America.
I do not have any first, concrete memories of hip-hop, but I do remember a few. There were times during my elementary school days where I would miss the metro bus, and my mom would have no other option of getting me to school on time other than driving.
Because the radio already censored most of the four-letter words that the younger generation loses their childhood innocence to when they hear them for the first time, she would play 93.9 FM WKYS. I remember a fleet of music artists such as Mary J. Blige, the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Jay-Z, Nas, Raekwon, Crucial Conflict, and the Fugees.
The Fugeesí album, The Score, was the first rap album I owned with cursing and the censored advisory sticker on the cover. I knew the song "Ready Or Not" word-for-word, rapping the lyrics in the car sitting in the fast-food drive through lines, or whenever I would be in the car. I still own this album on my iPod today. Although times have changed, when I listen to the album today, I constantly find lyrics and substance that I would not have been able to understand with the young mind that first heard most of these song lyrics.
Because there is a 10-year age gap between my older brother and me, I was also introduced to premier hip-hop artists such as Kool Moe Dee, Beastie Boys, and Run-DMC. Run-DMC is responsible for the success of hip-hop, in my opinion. Will Smith was also important to the history of hip-hop because he had the first music video by a hip-hop artist shown on MTV.
Will Smith never used cursing in his lyrics. My mom would always push his music on me; however, I preferred the F-Word. It was constantly thrown around on the playgrounds and corners of my neighborhood. It also represented something I take pride in having as an American. It represented the freedom of speech. It represented the freedom of expression.
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