hiphop discourse

[woody tobias jr.]

You have to admit, though, that the hip-hop of Grandmaster Flash and co. is 
worlds apart from the hip-hop of today. The artists of the last ten or 
fifteen years (save PE, KRS-1, DHOH, etc) are not nearly as political as 
their elders; as much as people defend Eminem as some sort of paragon of 
free speech and urban angst, I can't help but think that he's just a hip-hop 
version of Marilyn Manson--someone who hides behind free speech in order to 
shock people into buying his albums. Having said that, I think that the 
music (in particular, Eminem) has become a lot more sophisticated; 
Grandmaster Flash's beats seem quaint compared to even the most insipid acts 
nowadays. However, I still think that hip-hop's following the same path as 
rock 'n roll did in the 70s. It's become a caricature of itself; the music 
(and marketing) is becoming bloated and over-produced. It's also becoming 
increasingly suburbanized, just like punk (i.e. Blink 182, etc). Perhaps 
there'll be a reaction to all the corporate-inspired madness, leading to a 
pared down, grassroots brand of hip-hop. I fear that hip-hop, to further the 
rock analogy even more, has entered its Vegas years. There are still quality 
acts out there, but they're becoming more and more difficult to track down. 
Company Flow comes to mind.
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