exactly man. you hit the nail right on the head.
thanks btw and good to see ya too bro. I know I've been out on hiatus for a while..
And skierX I totally agree with what you're trying to say.
My whole thing is just that hip hop was founded on the love of music.. Where a bunch of guys/gals of all ethnicities/colors/creeds came together in the streets to express themselves. They didn't feel politicians on tv spoke the voice of the people so they all gathered and let it be known how they felt about society/life/love/ and everything else.
It was fun, it was positive, and it was beautiful. Sure there later came a point where GOOD music like this was on the radio and some of the best artist/emcees/d-boys were not only recognized but paid. But that was never what the true essence of hip hop was all about in the first place.. Where people would all group around a boombox and spit over soul/R&b music on repeat.
and there are still just as many cats today doing the exact same thing. People of all ages and races gathering around for the love of hip hop and nothing else. and that is beautiful and it's the very thing that will keep hip hop alive no matter what bling and chain rapper comes and goes.
that's all I'm saying
And also it may look like crunk/snap yo fingaz/dirty south/laffy taffy music is alive and strong.. But I actually recently heard that there was only ONE urban cd that hit platinum this last year. and that's from T.I.
and that's really hard to swallow knowing how many good mainstream artists dropped some of the best cds this last year... You could argue it's all thanks to internet downloads. But I think it's saying alot more than just that