Thug Life Army

Hip hop.  It's a strange game. But where is it going? For me, it started back in 1996. After hearing California Love by 2Pac Shakur I was hooked. I wasn't ready for the movement. The movement of hip hop and rap, but also the movement within myself.  It was all about the beat.

Before I followed and lived hip hop, I was heavily in to dance music. Rave music. A certain group called The Prodigy. Again all about the beats. But once rap took a hold of me. It was on. I loved everything it stood for. Having nothing and making something. Boasting about it.  Showing people what you can make from nothing.  A rose growing from the concrete.

Now for some reading this, you will probably think that '96 was late to get into rap. I guess it was. But I wouldn't change it. Why? I was immersed and had a back catalogue that would keep me going for years.  I went back to the beginning. East and West coast. The likes of Nas, Snoop, Nwa, Public Enemy. But it was the West Coast beats, again that I couldn't get enough of. One rapper changed everything about me. 2Pac Shakur. More will follow about him.

Now I believe that hip hop and rap is about connecting people. They don't have to have the same things. Be from the same place. It doesn't matter. Hip hop makes it a common ground.

When I listen to tracks now from '91, they haven't dated. They still sound and make me feel the same way. Just like Hendrix's Purple Haze does. My point is the movement, the thoughts, the beats, the lyrics are still relevant 20 years later. Not many other things can do that.

But there is a danger now.  Nas said, is hip hop dead? I don't think it is dead, but it has really lost its way.  Looking back in history, the likes of Da Vinci, or Rafael, where all around at the same time creating masterpieces that will be marvelled forever.  But since then, nothing has compared.  Just like rap in the 90's.  Since then nothing has compared. What we are left with, is money making tracks that have very little value in today's society.

Now maybe I have a chip on my shoulder.  Maybe I needed to let some steam off. Either way, this is from the heart.  I love hip hop. Love it. But it saddens me with what we have been left with.

This is the first in a series of blogs that I will be creating. This is the truth. I welcome your suggestions. I'm starting a movement to bring hip hop back. Who is with me?

Peace.