Hip Hop Maturation - The Blueprint 3

About 15 years ago, and prior to that, hip hop was regarded as a “fad” that wouldn’t last. The general perception was that this infant form of “music” was nothing more than people shouting over other peoples’ music and that in time, like disco, it would be relegated to its own grave. Between the fashion and the content, it was regarded as having no moral values and as something that only deviants could ever appreciate. What happened was the exact opposite. Hip hop became arguably the most dominant force in music and culture over the last decade. We have everything from hip hop dance classes to the President of the United States talking about brushing dirt off his shoulder. The words “diss” and “beef” have become so implanted in our daily lives that some people probably forget or don’t know at all where those words actually originated. All the while the critics are still out there, whether in the mainstream news coverage painting hip hop as still a violent evil force in the corruption of youth, or in the genre itself as countless “columnists” feel the need to attack every new thing that hip hop ventures into. While bad press is still press, this need for people to constantly hate on every little aspect of hip hop culture, FROM WITHIN THE CULTURE ITSELF, is something that has been growing over the last few years and while the worldwide access the internet has given us certainly lends its support to this phenomenon, the real reason for the self-hatred is the fact that hip hop is in its second generation, and the first generation has no idea how to grow up.

When hip hop was a baby, it was nurtured mostly by its own people. The artists were the promoters were the record labels were the magazines were the critics were the fans. Hip hop was its own little bubble, separate from the rest of the cultural world, where young artists were free to express themselves as long as they were original and fresh. No one over the age of 25 was really doing anything with hip hop and as artists got to be that age they started to fall off. Obviously there were exceptions but the majority of these groups and artists saw a short career with maybe a few highlights and then a fade to obscurity. As tiny as hip hop was in the 80s and 90s, countless albums were released by countless artists, only to be never heard from again. The artists that were big failed to maintain that status as they grew and essentially outgrew the youthfulness of the culture they helped create. KRS-One, Rakim, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, and many others, by the mid 90s, even as they still made music, failed to create the success they once had. Newer artists were seeing short-term careers with one or two albums under their belt before fading into obscurity. Groups like Black Moon and Das EFX never made it past that first hit and only a very select few artists saw their careers grow over time instead of fade. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, Jay-Z and Nas, these artists managed to grow and develop and maintain relevancy in a game that was always about the youth. But somewhere along the way, hip hop matured and brought some people with it. It culturally matured and has attempted to shed that anti-, youthful aggressive label that it carried for so long. With that maturation process inevitably comes rebellion, something that is no stranger to hip hop. The difference being that the rebellion hip hop has always been familiar with is the rebellion of mainstream culture, not the rebellion of its own culture.

Recently Jay-Z released “The Blueprint 3”, an album which has been picked apart by every critic inside and outside of hip hop, as well as every blogger and anonymous fan. Some of the criticisms have been the beats sounding too futuristic or the lyrics being too lazy. The general consensus is still hotness but not without a heavy level of critiquing. While every album sees its fair share of love and hate, what makes this different is that hip hop is, for the first time, experiencing the views and thoughts of a 40 year old man. For real think about that for a second, a 40 year old man. When we speak of legends in rap, the Big Daddy Kane’s, the Rakim’s, the Chuck D’s, we have to remember that all these MCs released the work that we praise so highly when they were in their 20s. When we point to the greatest albums of all time, the greatest verses of all time, the greatest moments in hip hop history, we are referring to moments, albums, and verses that were crafted during those individuals 20s. Their youth, their growing and changing and developing youth. Nas released the greatest album in hip hop history at the age of 20. Every album on the top 20 lists of rap was made during the artists’ 20s, so when you have an album that is released as the artist is pushing 40, you can’t expect it to consist of the same content and structure as the 20 year old.

We have one of the most, if not the only, competitive genre of music in hip hop. Since day one battles have been ever present in rap whether on the street or on wax and because of this we are always looking for those young bucks to try to come up and take the place of the seasoned vet. Only difference then was that essentially everyone was a young buck and the “seasoned vets” were only 5 or 10 years in the game. Perfect example is Canibus taking on LL Cool J. Student versus teacher. The battle was one that most people remember for ending Canibus’ career but not without a vicious punch delivered in the form of “Second Round Knockout”, a record in which Canibus accused LL of only making records for women at this point in his career. At that time, insulting someone’s game was the way to beat them in a battle. More recently however, battles have almost all involved one generation of rappers hating on the previous. Soulja Boy vs. Ice-T, 50 Cent vs. GZA, Joe Budden vs. Raekwon, The Game vs. Jay-Z. Every one of these battles has involved the older artist saying “you youngin’s got no respect” and the younger artist saying “yall is too old, retire”. It’s like the argument now is not about lyrical ability but about why older artists are still trying to be a part of what most still consider a youthful game.

What we need to all realize is that like all things that withstand the test of time, growth and development is necessary. Another recent album release is a perfect example of that. Raekwon’s “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2” is the follow up to arguably one of the greatest rap albums of all time, released in 1995. Here we are 14 years later and the Chef has cooked up something that both brings us back to the time when the Wu-Tang was the strongest element of hip hop yet also is within the current state of hip hop. This isn’t Jurassic 5 trying to “bring back the old school” but it’s also not just an empty title in an attempt to sell records. It truly is a sequel to the first album. And it’s a damn good sequel because Raekwon understand that he is no longer a young street hustler and therefore portraying that would be nothing short of laughable, so instead he made a crack album for 2009 that sounded like 2009. Growth and development.

In order for hip hop to maintain a lifespan far beyond anyone who’s around now we need to both appreciate the veterans who are able to grow and mature as well as embrace the new ideas and directions that the music is taking. Someone like Kid Cudi is doing things that 10 years ago would have never been in the minds of anyone, even the revolutionary, way-ahead-of-their-time Neptunes. At the same time Jay-Z is showing us that a lifetime of hip hop cannot consist of the same thing every day, every year or else it just gets boring and unrealistic. So for the haters of “Blueprint 3”, remember that a 40 year old hip hop artist is something that no one ever thought would happen and that rather than hating on it for not being “Reasonable Doubt”, that instead it’s better to take it in and see what maturity has to offer.