Cole took the stereotype of a Soundcloud rapper to task on “ 1985 (Intro To ‘The Fall Off’),” drawing the ire of Soundcloud kids like Lil Pump, but the end result was a sitdown in which both rappers were able to come to terms and find more in common than in conflict. As always, there is pushback from the older heads: J. Those Soundcloud rappers, from the late XXXtentacion and Trippie Redd to Lil Skies and Wifisfuneral, have been given perhaps the most leeway to embrace their own individual styles of any group in hip-hop. From the industry heavies to the Soundcloud rappers, this wave, this generation in some ways feels more authentic to self than ever before.” And for a lot of artists, I think it does. “I’d like to think today that it means being true to yourself. “Authenticity started out as street solidarity,” he explained. Hip-hop journalist Rodney Carmichael, who is currently NPR’s resident expert and has written at The Fader and Rolling Out, expanded on the definition of “keeping it real” as it relates to solidarity within marginalized communities. The obsession with performing a twisted form of authenticity is endangering a new generation of fans and artists who’ve been inundated with that principle without ever really questioning why.įor Rob Markman, who is currently the Manager of Artist Relations for the popular lyrics site Genius, and a veteran hip-hop journalist with bylines at outlets like Complex, The Source (RIP), and Vibe, “keeping it real” means to “keep it authentic to yourself.” Keeping it real, at least in the sense of the phrase that evokes street credibility and the invincible, tough-guy persona, comes with a price. Over time, the definition has shifted to mean so many different things, but over the course of hip-hop’s 45-year history, it came to be associated with a very particular attitude, a persona of violent hypermasculinity that resulted in videos like those described above becoming the standard, not an exception.īut that standard has had dire consequences for some of the rappers who’ve associated themselves with violent attitudes 18-year-old Tay-K is currently on trial for capital murder in the state of Texas, while controversial Florida rapper XXXtentacion was shot to death just a month ago. In hip-hop, “keeping it real” is a badge of honor, a prerequisite, and code of ethics all at once, supposedly. Rap audiences - and consequently, the major labels and media outlets that purvey the music to their potential consumers - have long insisted on authenticity as the cardinal rule of hip-hop. “Keeping it real” has long been not just a feature of hip-hop music and culture, it’s been the foundation that both are built on. But why? Why would anyone want this to be their audience’s first impression of them and their art? Polo’s following is practically nonexistent, the video a paid promotion to Worldstar Hip-Hop like Tay’s and like Nahmir’s, but it’s clear he hopes to insert himself as they did into hip-hop’s ongoing, ever-expanding discussion by proving his street credibility. The video in question is Polo G’s “Gang With Me,” but it could belong one of any number of other rappers who’ve filled their videos with the same level of military-grade armory and sinister intent, from viral upstarts like Tay-K, whose video for “The Race” made him a superstar, to YBN Nahmir, who formed his YBN rap collective over online gaming networks and grew up playing baseball, but blew up when “ Rubbin’ Off The Paint” became a Youtube favorite. The kids, the beats, even the low-budget, shot-on-an-iPhone-in-mom’s-kitchen aesthetic all seem woefully incongruous with the casual menace conveyed by those words and that gun. The gun draws the eye because it’s almost as big as the kid holding it it seems out of place in the video, yet the lyrics mark it as the only thing that should belong in it. It has all the makings of a sunny, summertime bop, but then, the rapper brandishes a monstrous automatic rifle that looks like something out of Call Of Duty, upsetting the lighthearted presentation with the contrast. He’s surrounded by friends, none of them much older than he is, a few looking significantly younger. The beat backing him up is as cheery as the melody he sings on the instantly catchy hook, built around a bright, gospel-influenced piano loop. The rapper onscreen can’t be any older than 19 or 20 years old.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |