Exploring Hip Hop: An Ageless Art Form With Evolving Characteristics - Essay Sample

Introduction

Music is an ageless form of art and culture that has existed from time immemorial. Hip hop is one of the major music genres being heard throughout the world. On top of this, hip hop has evolved into a cultural form with various characteristics that differentiate it from other cultures. Hip hop a sophisticated and refined culture with different accepted norms and values. Over the years, several hip hop songs have been criticized for their authenticity. At the same time, various divides exist over the authenticity of hip hop music with different artists as well as scholars having their own representation of authentic hip hop music. While some artists refer to conscious music as the authentic form of hip hop, others propose a more commercialized version. The following paper aims to evaluate the divide over authenticity that exists within hip hop as a music genre and culture.

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Authenticity is a concept that has been closely connected to the hip hop genre of music since its inception in the second half of the twentieth century. All types of hip hop music, as well as cultures, have exhibited numerous claims to authenticity with each artist coming up with labels or norms that prove their inclusion in the hip hop culture. Some of the commercially visible artists have used the titles of their albums and songs to show their dedication to the hip hop culture. "Mastermind," The College Dropout and "The Life of Pablo" by Rick Ross and Kanye West respectively, are some of the examples of albums that claim their authenticity to the hip hop music and culture. The music found in the collection further points out to the claims made by the artist on the authenticity of their music (Dyson 7). The different claims to authenticity have brought about several divides, given the recent growth of hip hop music and culture globally.

The allure of hip hop over its authenticity is peculiar to the culture as well as genre as it forms the basis for the cultural expression of the African Americans who have been economically and socially relegated. The growing popularity of hip hop all over the world exhibited by the ascension of hip hop artists, their singles and album sales as well as the commercialization of hip hop has jeopardized the perceived realness of hip hop culture and music with more threats of assimilation seen. Hip hop as a culture and music form has found itself within the popular culture, which it has unambiguously opposed since its inception. Consequently, artists have tried to reserve the identity of hip hop by appealing to the concept of authenticity in order to clearly demarcate the boundaries of the culture. Another aspect that is closely related to the authenticity of the music genre includes the worth of an artist. An example consists of the feud that existed between Jay-Z and Nas, where the latter purported to be more authentic than the former artist. Additionally, Nas goes ahead to name Jay-Z as a false hip hop artist. These are in the song "ether" in the album Stillmatic where he states, "I am the truest...Gave y'all chapters, but now I keep my eyes on the Judas." In a more recent scenario, Kendrick Lamar suggested superiority over Drake during their feud in 2014. The worth of an artist in hip hop culture was brought about by the practice of battle rapping, where the artist takes on each other through verbal spars (Dyson 8). In this situation, one artist tries to discredit the other artist as fake while promoting oneself as real.

There is numerous context through which hip hop claim to authenticity exists. It is almost impossible to concisely and clearly define authenticity when it comes to hip hop as a culture. However, several scholarly works have provided examples of authenticity as perceived by different groups claiming to be true to hip hop as a culture. Hip hop has been recognized as a form of art by different people in different regions; for instance, the perception of hip hop by African Americans is different from that of white. The same differences exist when it comes to males and females artists (O'Brien 56). The economic position has also played a significant role in creating a divide between different hip hop artists. In order to understand the gap brought about by claims to authenticity, it is important to conceptualize the different definition of authenticity as seen in hip hop culture.

Being true to oneself is one of the essential definitions of hip hop authenticity. Truth to oneself is a critical concept for hip hop as it includes all the artists within the different socio-economic paradigms in the culture. Additionally, the description of authenticity is compatible with the other definition of authenticity. In hip hop culture, the representation of personal identity and experiences is the most vital source of authenticity. Various artists have employed this definition in order to come out as authentic. Examples include Kendrick Lamar. In his song Duckworth, Kendrick provides a personal story where coincidences between his father and producer shaped his life as well as his career. The story provides authenticity to Kendrick Lamar as a hip hop artist living in a gang filled neighborhood. Kanye West is also another widely acclaimed hip hop artist that has given out his personal experiences to establish his hustle as a hip hop artist. His song "Through the wire" provides a context to his journey as a hip hop artist. The artists that refrain from being themselves and showing their identity are not trusted to belong to the hip hop culture and are seen as fake (Kruse 150). There are different forms of representing one's identity, for example, not selling out to the conventional market or remaining true to the streets. In most instances, personal truth is often used with other definitions of authenticity in order to make claims of authenticity within hip hop culture.

Hip hop music and culture stemmed from the African American community, and therefore affirming one's ties to the black community is another description of authenticity. In a typical scenario, when anything is referred to as the authentically hip hop, then it implies the strong ties it has to the black community. Ice-T, in his book, claims that hip hop music has a niggafication impact on the white listeners hence showcasing how blackness is vital in providing authenticity within the hip hop culture. While being an essential point in authenticity, blackness has created the most significant divide in authenticity, with most black hip hop artists disregarding hip hop music from white people. In the song "Ali Bomaye," the Game points out to his black heritage. He states, "Coz I'm a black man, in a phantom." The line is evidence of blackness as an intrinsic aspect of authenticity. However, there are numerous hip hop artists who do not have black ties, for example, Eminem, Iggy Azalea, Macklemore, and Machine Gun Kelly. However, the existence of these artists, combined with their mainstream success globally has shown that blackness is not a primary aspect of determining authenticity in hip hop culture. At the same time, hip hop genre and music borrows a lot from the black community. Hip hop as culture has crossed all the lines of economics, nationality, gender, color, and race, especially following the commercialization of the genre. When an artist is able to create a collective rhythm that touches the audience effectively, the authenticity of the artist is increased (Dyson 7). Additionally, hip hop as a culture and genre of music, cannot only be tied to one race despite having its roots from the same race. A significant divide has been created by artist claiming that blackness accounts for hip hop authenticity and those who have succeeded despite being black.

Another ideology that comes about when the authenticity of hip hop culture is brought up is the preservation of the underground norms and practices. These practices include not selling out to the mainstream. The ability to not conform to the mainstream values and stick to the underground dogma is intricate as it is ambiguous. The notion of remaining true to the underground is based on the ideology of sustaining street integrity while also staying true to oneself, which is a description of authenticity, as seen earlier. Jay-Z in "The Black Album" testifies to the intricacies existing in the debate between mainstream and underground. Even though Jay-Z had earlier claimed that he was one of the most real niggas alive, he concedes to selling out to the mainstream in the song "Moment of Clarity." In spite of this, Jay-Z provides a context for his defection to the mainstream within other values found within the streets such as independence and the hustling life. He states, "...cause I really been there before." According to Jay-Z, designing his rhymes to suit his commercial interests is not necessarily incompatible with determining his authenticity as an artist. He goes further to reinforce his authenticity by bringing out his street credibility and personal values.

Sticking to the values of the street is another definition used to describe authenticity within the hip hop culture. According to studies done by Dylan, the majority of the artists, journalists, and fans compare a society dominated by the white population and an unrealistic and specific community that is found within the inner cities dominated by African Americans. By representing one's neighborhood and committing to the particular values found in the streets, including activities such as hustling or any other activities that can be described by the popular phrase "keeping it real" are tied to conceptions of hip hop authenticity (Kruse 160). Kendrick Lamar is an example of an artist who has indicated his dedication to the values of Compton streets. The Notorious B.I.G outlines the rules of the streets in the song "Ten Crack Commandments." He states, "I've been in this game for years, it made me an animal. It's rules to this shit, I wrote me a manual. A step-by-step booklet for you to Get Your Game on track, not your wig pushed back Rule Number Uno, never let no one know How much dough you hold cause you know The cheddar breed jealousy 'specially If that man fucked up, get yo' ass stuck up". Gang Starr also provides his manual of street codes that are central to proving the authenticity of hip hop culture and genre. Gang Starr's song "Code of the Streets states, "I'll organize some brothers and get some crazy loot/ Selling D-R-U-G-S and clocking dollars, troop/Cause the phat dough, yo, that suits me fine/I gotta have it so I can leave behind/The mad poverty, never having, always needing/If a sucker steps up, then I leave him bleeding/I gotta get mine, I can't take no shorts/And while I'm selling, here's a flash report/Organized crime, they get theirs on the down low/Here's the ticket, wanna bet on a horse show?/You gotta be a pro, do what you know/When you're dealing with the code of the streets". The street codes are principally tied to the marginalization of African Americans in impoverished urban centers. Artists such as Kendrick Lamar have used their neighborhoods to earn street credibility as well as authenticity. However, it is a complicated process when one needs to distinguish an artist's attempt to represent their neighborhood as being authentic. The neighborhood street codes have created a significant divide differentiating artists into various factions.

Hypermasculinity or the promotion of hard values is an aspect that has existed in hip hop culture hence have been used to define authenticity. Artists have tried being rough, violent, and over sexualizing their content in order to prove their authenticity. A clear divide has therefore been created between the mass-produced pop-rap that is slick in nature while at the same time being...