Hip Hop is grown. It is mature. This is a great accomplishment for what was once considered a fad that would come and go like the disco era. With this great accomplishment comes an unfortunate issue that people believe needs to be addressed. That issue is the generational gap in Hip Hop. How did this occur? What is the issue? How can we fix it? Is it something that should be fixed? You ask your grandparent/similar aged person, your parent/similar aged person, and a relative near your age who the best music artist of all-time is you will certainly hear multiple names. The same goes for athletes, movies, and television shows. It’s a generational bias. A bias to whatever generation or time was theirs. This is the norm in every facet of entertainment, but Hip Hop’s gap seems to be the one that gets the most attention.

“They don’t do it like we did it.” “They are doing it wrong.” “That is not my music.” “That’s not hip hop.” These are just some of the common statements that come from past generations. Hip Hop is about 3-4 generations in, but this situation of generational issues is new to us. I’d say maybe 15 or so years old around the time the south started being pushed to the forefront of the industry. I’m not here to down anything I just believe that’s when the distance began. Current artists didn’t want to be associated with new artist. New artists felt disrespected and returned the favor creating more distance. One of the main pillars of Hip Hop is attitude. This attitude has existed since 1973 (Consensus birth year of hip hop).

The attitude is “You are either with me or against me? I will do whatever I want to do, and nobody is going to stop me.” That attitude is what pulls a lot of us children of hip hop through the trials and tribulations of life. This attitude helped Hip-Hop fight through attempts to destroy the genre multiple times, but this attitude does not really promote understanding. It’s all aggression. It was and is an attitude to fight against living life with seemingly zero chance of success. So, with that attitude being the basis of Hip Hop, what side is a person who is telling you are doing it wrong on? Right. It doesn’t matter they are members of the same culture because they already failed the foundational step of the culture. You are clearly against them. This should be understood by the past generations.

Let’s address the questions asked in the opening paragraph. How did this occur? Well, it’s a natural occurrence with any art that lasts multiple generations. Listen to retired athletes talk about the current athletes. It’s not just Hip-Hop. What is the issue? I think some people who have an issue with the gap feel that it’s a danger to the art. Hip-Hop isn’t going anywhere. Those who are worried can relax. How can we fix it? One way would be for past generations to understand that the culture is the culture because everyone makes it their own. Another as stated earlier, is to remember the foundation of the culture. You are looking at a variation of yourself. No, their music may not sound like yours, but that foundation is identical. You know them more than you think. Is it something that should be fixed? This is not something to fix. This is something to be aware of, but this isn’t a scenario of something broke needing to be fixed. A gap is a sign of growth. No growth? The culture will die.

In closing, Hip Hop has hit an age where we can see mass changes. We have heard the sound quality change. We have changed the equipment we use. We have swayed back and forth from the importance of lyrics to the production being the most important aspect. We’ve went from leather suits and big hollow jewelry to way too baggy clothes and grills to way too tight clothes with minimal jewelry, if any. No matter what we do. We do it first and we do it best. We are Hip Hop. The 16 year old kid that lets their hair grow, doing whatever it wants with run down jeans and shoes that are actually brand new with a favorite song that is 2 minutes long and has as many adlibs as lyrics is just as Hip Hop as the mid-30s person with perfectly groomed hair, a fresh pair of Jordans that they’ve had for years, only listens to Hip Hop that delivers lyrical content and gets mad when they hear DJ’s that can’t mix from song to song thinking turning one song down while turning the other up will suffice. (NAH SON!)

Let’s not forget the 50+ Hip Hop people who have been down since the birth, still reciting rhymes from Big Daddy Kane and Rakim, refusing to listen to artists that debuted after 1997, and will out dance anyone in the building if you put on the right song from their era. We are Hip Hop. It belongs to all of us. “You are either with us or against us? We will do whatever we want to do, and nobody is going to stop us.”

Food for thought…you do the dishes.