Hip Hop is arguably the world’s most popular and intriguing culture. Its elements stem from the music it has birthed in the 20th and 21st centuries. From simplicity to complexity, this music genre covers all facets of human lifestyle. Geographically, rap music has become a global mainstay. Although it has been credited with origins from New York, the south’s influence on rap music is embedded within the popularization of it.
Despite the south’s ever-present success in this art form, the value of it has slightly depreciated.
Model shifts in music configurations such as cassettes, 12-inch vinyl, and compact discs are now being substituted with direct digital downloads, ring tones, and streams. In addition to this metamorphous activity, blatant disrespect and disdain are allegedly responsible for the decline in support of southern rap music. Southern rap artists have been artistically mistreated due to an over saturation of strategic based music creations. With a deceptive argument implying that the music industry is absolutely “single driven,” the faux pas is possibly one belonging to top industry stakeholders.
Who decides the programming of rap music in southern markets and venues? It appears that intangible professionals are presumably controlling public opinion by extracting rap music that has lyrical value and overly promoting egocentric and materialistic-themed music. As a result, creative rap artists with lyrical and musical uniqueness are becoming subordinate and less skilled rap jingles are becoming the norm. Consequently, southern rappers have withstood an economic pinch by creating dance/club oriented singles, but have suffered a decline in concert appearances.
Within this possibly unjust activity that has been imposed on southern rap artists, party rap continues to thrive. Therefore, current music industry facilitators perhaps are practicing a new form of music business which mainly promotes party music and books its artists. Such propaganda could hypnotize the consumer and lead him to believe that party rap is the sole genre of southern rap music that deserves appreciation.
Late rap legends such as Tim Smooth, Pimp C., Soulja Slim, Tupac Shakur, and Notorious B.I.G. would possibly frown at the current choices being made by current day music industry professionals as it relates to programming and promotion of southern rap music.
In rebuttal to the disheartening activity in the southern region, artists are developing alternative methods to uphold and preserve the artistic value of their creations. Ranging from self-funded tours to showcases, the southern rap scene continues to stay alive. However, this does not erase a “single-driven” campaign and the continuation of what has been possibly labeled as unfair programming and promotion among southern rap music. On a larger scale, southern artists continue to struggle for a proportionate share of mega record deals.
Is the “mis-education of a consumer” in progress? Has segregation revealed its ugly head among an art form in the south?
Subjective music alignment can be defined as a disc jockey promoting party music only while larger media outlets do the exact same promotion. In addition, this bias activity may appear in repetitive booking of artists that solely perform party rap. There seems to be a possible evasion of other creative works done by southern rappers. As a result, some southern artists have been forced into showcase-style performances and concert appearances on non-popular nights at certain venues. Conclusively, some sort of adjustment or compromise has to be created among the stakeholders or an entire genre, southern rap, can become meaningless on a national/global scale. The time has arrived for a regeneration of a “southern rap renaissance” akin to the Cash Money, Rap-A-Lot, Suave House, and No-Limit dynasties. There is enough economic possibility with hip-hop for any genre to succeed if the correct support systems remain implemented.
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