Represent

All this about whats real hip hop, and who is real hip hop is a snoozer. I guess you could say, Im a little on the pharcyde of things. Aint really none of this music thats out hip hop. Nas is right - hip hop is dead. Sorry, it is. And I know Mik can understand this, per her blog from awhile back (which I tried to respond to, but for whatever reason it didnt post, sorry Mik).

Instead of trying to beat the dead horse, we need to just embrace it and say, okay, the hip hop era is dead, as is the jazz era, the swing era, and the other eras that have passed. It was a time and place where 'being hip hop' was where it was at (about '91 til I would say about '99). There are some that try to keep the tempo going, but to me, thats more like hip hope - they hope that someone (probably me) will still feel what their doing. I miss hip hop, because when I first discovered it, I was truly enthralled. I was in sixth grade and my homegirl's brother used to play that 106.3 when it was ONLY basement music like Common, Pharcyde, Aceyalone, and Roots and shit. I was like, man, I love this music...it was different. I knew that I liked De La and all that, but something about when you put them all together...it was just different. It wasn't until eighth grade that, at my high school visitation, that I realized, wow, these people are like me. It was a whole school of them. At my grade school, my main buddy and I were kinda outcasted because of the way we dress, and the kinds of music and shit we were into. If it wasn't Tupac, they werent having it.
At any rate, I was madly, truly, deeply hip hop 'til the casket drops...
But what blows me is people who claim they are die hard, yet know nothing. I started crushing in '92, and fell head-first in '94. Those who are premies in the game have the nerve to step up with non-credible, new age bullshit. Well call me, To Sir, With Love because I'mma school the masses (and teach them some manners). Firstly, hip hop is a culture. Its not just music; its a way of life. I once heard someone compare it to being a Rastafarian, in the sense that, its a whole implementation of a subculture. The four major elements of hip hop are: the art of dance and/or expression through dance (i.e breaking, capoeira), emceeing (i.e. rhyming, poetry), art/visual expression (i.e. graphing, tagging), and deejaying. I could go a little deeper, but this is just for surface purposes.
Now, there were alot of naysayers that would (some still will) try to petition my authenticity, and question my devotion to this culture and everything that it consists of for various reasons: permed hair (at the time), makeup (which I dont really wear, just lip gloss and maybe, maybe, currently, mascara), and probably because I didnt break or really rhyme. I guess because I didnt change my name to Shakeelah Sunflower, I wasnt really 'down' for the cause. But the irony of it all is that, the main chicks (or dudes in some cases) that would try to label us 'toys' are the same people today who you never see or hear actually supporting hip hop. And some of the ones that 'represent hard', are straight up fake. I had a girl write me recently, "Oh I didn't know you were a 'b-gyrl'. That used to be my steelo back in high school..." Now this blew me because, even though she is cool, its people like her, that would've tried to test me way back when. If its something that is truly representative of you, then wouldn't be a passing phase. And if its a passing phase, then its really not representative of you. You are not hip hop. Young Jeezy is not hip hop. Nelly is not hip hop. D4L is not hip hop. These artists, and I use that term loosely, may make you want to shake a tailfeather in the club, but the reality is that, they do not represent hip hop.

I'm not saying that I epitomize the culture, but I feel that I still represent hip hop; just more refined. As an adult, I know that I dont have to 'prove' myself by saying peace to the gods and the earth after every sentence, and wearing clothes that are twice my size - compared to high school, where, you made it point to show dedication at any given expense. I am still the same person that will rock the Adidas track suit, or play "Itsoweezee" in the car. Im not embarassed to share my musical tastes and day that yes, I do listen to Tribe, but I also listen to Brandy. And I can see this same characteristic in my peers that rolled in the same circles as I did (all you people that I see at D'Vine that used to frequent the Point, this includes you too) - yeah it was cool back then, but now, we're grown, so we do us, like grown folk do. What blows me the most is the people that will wear their garbs and locks, and go on stage in the smoky, boho club and speak some words off their lips that 'flow like water', and still, to this day, claim they are realer than me because I dont represent in the same way they do - but when, no, really, WHEN did they fall in love with hip hop? Probably yesterday.