Did Hip Hop Sell out?
“Selling out” refers to the perception that someone is compromising their integrity, morality, or principles in exchange for money or “success” (Wikipedia)
Let me start by giving a really simplified history of hip hop..
Hip hop began in the South Bronx of New York City in the 1970s. It is possible to trace the origins of this genre back to the griots of Africa. Griots are poets, musicians, and storytellers, preserving and reciting ancient and current events, in a manner similar to rapping. Hip hop and griot-like performances began to popularize in New York through block parties across the urban neighborhoods. It is said that this new style of music was “an outlet and a voice for the disenfranchised youth of low-economic areas as the culture reflected the social, economic, and political realities of their lives”
Hip hop largely emerged as a “direct response to the [mainstream] watered down, Europeanized, disco music” of the time. It was the urban communities way of rejecting the conventional “acceptable” music, and creating art that represented the culture that people outside of their communities didn’t understand.
Since the “creation” of hip hop, several different forms and interpretations of the genre have emerged. I’d like to focus on one of them to enforce my point. In the 1980’s the sub-genre of “gangsta rap” was pioneered and reflected the violent and controversial lifestyles of inner-city youth. It quickly became the most lucrative sub-genre of hip hop.
Several artists, including Jay Z and Ice Cube, gained their fame rapping about hustlin’ and the “gangsta life”. Recently, both Jay Z and Ice Cube have been called sellouts by many accusing them of having gone “mainstream” with their raps. Ice cube is criticized for no longer being “scary” and opting to do family movies to reach a broader audience. Jay Z has been dubbed a sellout for everything from collaborating with alternative artists, to making music that is “easy to listen to” rather than focusing on lyrics. Both have been accused of caring only about the money, and not staying “real to the streets”. But listen, if these artists came into the game with the purpose of making as much money as they could and getting out of the hood, what kind of “success” would they be if they didn’t chose to expand their audience, diversify their repertoires, and just stayed rapping about the same exact thing in the same environment? How stupid would it sound if Jay Z and Ice Cube tried to act all hard and like they were still out on the streets struggling to survive, when we know they are sitting on a pile of money? They rapped about drugs and thugs when they were in that environment; when that was what they knew. Now they rap about money, make deals with large corporations, and make movies for a different crowd because thats the environment they are in now. Make sense? It’s not selling out, its succeeding.
Now, let’s fast forward to the present. Things have changed quite a bit since the 80’s “golden age of hip hop”. Where as hip hop once began as a rebellion against mainstream disco, and served as a voice for the rough lives of the economically challenged urban youth, I think it is safe to say that hip hop is now as “mainstream” as it gets.
I’m not talking about just the music here. I’m talking about the entire culture, from the clothing, the lingo, the dance moves… all of it. You can turn on the TV and hear raps on commercials for all kinds of things. You walk down the street and see affluent white kids dressed head to toe in baggy jeans, and gold chains. The urban “lingo” is being used more frequently in daily conversation, and has in fact become a kind of joke for everyone other than those who created it. Mainstream culture has taken from the urban culture what it wants, and made a mockery of the rest. Let it be said that this transition of urban culture into mainstream would not be successful without the collaboration of key players in the hip hop industry. Just as Jay Z signed on to HP to help them market their product to a wider audience, others joined on with several large corporations to create this new popularity of hip hop culture.
As the hip hop culture grew more widespread, hip hop as a whole began to change. What started as a rebellion against European “white” culture became more of a fusion between the two worlds. The underlying rebellion in the music resonated with teens across all demographics, and those teens from more affluent backgrounds were able to put more money in the artist’s pockets. However, the depth of the content was often too much for mainstream youth to understand, and as sales in hip hop began to plummet, a compromise was made. The baggy, “just out of jail” look was replaced by preppy skater boy apparel. Harsh, controversial lyrics were traded out for fun, easygoing stories of the glamorous life. Artists are no longer judged simply on their lyrics, but rather on their “swagger”, silly dance moves, and catchy taglines. Much more marketable to teens who have never stepped foot in the hood, right?
It’s safe to say that the majority of us equate money with success, to some degree. Artists in or attempting to get in the rap game want to make money and keep their jobs, as we all do, and adjust with the times. That, to me, is not selling out. Doing a collaboration with an artist you despise simply because you’re promised a good chunk of money for it, that’s selling out. Collaborating with an artist from another genre whom you respect, simply for the sake of trying something new and adjusting to the new trends… well, that’s just change, and change is inevitable.
So to those that call Jay Z a sellout. What do you suggest he should have done? Made some money, but stayed in the hood so that he could stay “relevant” to the streets? Should he have continued to make the same kind of songs, never progressing, moving on or moving out of the ghetto? Would that make you feel a little better about that fact that you’re still stuck in the same place? Does it hurt to see someone overcome all the odds? He came into the game to make money, and become a media mogul; and that’s exactly what he did.
So before you go pointing fingers at different artists for changing their ways, take a look at the way hip hop has changed over time. Look closely at how exactly it changed, and how it has become more marketable to the same people that it was once rebelling against. I’m tired of hearing that Hov sold out, Ice Cube sold out. If anything…. hip hop sold out.
