Grillless

Revisionist hip hop history is a hot topic lately, revisionists are coming out of the woodwork like crazy, and it’s not just ill-informed journalists riding the media mogul wave of big cash bags that are propogating the myths of hip hop, which I recently found out for myself.

Everybody has an opinion about hip hop, some love it, others hate it, some grew up on it.

I’m not sure if I’m falling into the reactionary trap, but if I am, I’ll just chalk it up to another blog post and leave it at that. I know that those from the last category are very passionate about the subject of hip hop, and there’s no crime in trying to open a younger audience’s ears and eyes on what the love of hip hop is all about.

Where we tend to go astray is in using our opinion to define the culture, this can turn into a dangerous excercise. There’s a difference in telling your audience what your personal preferences are, and using that as gospel, than giving the facts of how a generation moved through the music and culture. If we are doing the latter, we are empowered because we are empowering others with information. If we are doing the former, than we are on that slippery slope with the devil laughing all the way to the bank on a nation divided.

We are free to discuss and editorialize, but make sure that you tell your audience what you’re doing by using your words, we must refrain from editorializing opinion as fact.

I have made it known on this blog that Vanilla Ice (heralded by today’s revisionsists), was rejected by true hip hopers. I didn’t use my opinion, I used the voice of a generation, and I paraphrase here, “Rap is not pop, if you call it that then stop” - Check The Rhyme, A Tribe Called Quest.

So just what is Kangol, a very well respected and talented man of the culture, one of the members of UTFO, about on his new piece in AllHipHop.com?

“Soldier Boy and Ice T is an example of Hip-Hop communication gone wrong” - Kangol, 2008

I’ll leave Soldier Boy alone for this blog post, since we’re talking about the history of the culture. I do want to hear what he has to say about Ice T, in regards to this however.

So before I get caught in the reactionary trap, let me just say that we need someone like Kangol out there, this man is credible, and that my message to Kangol is, the children of hop hop are listening, use your voice wisely.

To the readers from the latest generation, take the advice from a previous generation, don’t believe everything you hear, ask questions, and be informed.

Don’t trust me. Trust you.

Here’s the link to Kangol, support him! This man is part of the birth of hip hop. Yo Kangol!: INDUSTRY ADVISOR