“There is genuine Hip Hop; a message that connects, rocks a crowd, and motivates a people and then there is what is left... instead of Hip Hop we have Hip replacement.” Said by Johnnie Dent Jr.
Hip-hop wasn’t a genre, it was a culture that,
told the good and the bad
The harsh reality of the lives of those that lived it
It was a masterpiece built on the canvas of the project walls
Cold hard concrete that bites at the touch.
But Covered with a lyrical protection that poured out your soul for you
Told your story for you
Shed those tears for you
Mended the pain with a earth-pounding bass, a smooth rhythmic movement that keep the blood flowing heart beating and the mind sane,
Hip-hop was more than just fame
It was unity, a magnifier of the black culture, our talent our abilities
Often looked over by the music industry
And To our communities stuck in a rut
You gotta keep ya head up
I wish I could say the same today
I wish music wasn’t tainted by the lust for fame
But what’s lost is significance
Music is nothing without lyrical intelligence
That why it’s a hip replacement because it’s a cold hard metal replica
there’s no muscle, no strength, no significance to inspire generations after of us.
Raping, I mean rapping to the minds of the innocent stripping them of a better future.
Instead of building our culture,
we degrade, divide, and deteriorate the bond formed by hip hop.
Hip hop was more than just music, it was a message, a story, a life lesson…
If rap is something you do, then hip hop is something you live
Hip-hop died when family didn’t matter no more
Culture didn’t matter no more
Community didn’t matter no more.
So pop that pussy for a real nigga,
Money over Everything
Cause if it was about impact,
We’d put thought into the things we say
If you don’t take anything from the poem, I ask you to just remember this
“I am the manifestation of study, not the manifestation of money, therefore I advance through thought, not what’s manufactured and bought” -KRS One