HIP-HOP

            When the beat hits, I can’t help but want to bob my head and start flowing along with the music. The aggressive, poetic, passionate, rhyming words put together against a heavy hitting bass beat makes me lower my hat and my eyes disappear into the shadows of my hat. I sink into my comfort zone and listen to the lyrics consume my body; I listen for the competition, I listen to the raplete attack the beat and flow like a river, I listen for the metaphor and word play, I listen for the triple entendre, I listen for the stories and sometimes, I listen just to hear some nonsense. For the most part, I like hip-hop. I’m drawn to the amazing sound of the DJ. The sound of hearing a DJ mix well with some good music is pure bliss. The flashy style of hip-hop and the art, oh how I can’t forget the art of hip-hop.

            There’s something amazing when I see graffiti, not gang tagging but real graffiti. The graffiti you see in Queens NY on the side of the trains, the graffiti I see in DTLA when I’m on my way to art walk, you know what I’m talking about. The bold, bright lettering, the abstract drawings that turn into something else, that turn into an actual painting, that graffiti is the art I’m talking about. Oh how I love being at an art bistro and hearing some real good hip-hop spinning while taking in the sights of artist. The atmosphere is a really intelligent/urban feel. I love it. I think a lot of people forget what hip-hop is. Most people think hip-hop is only the music they hear on the radio. Once you delve deeper into hip-hop, you find all kinds of interesting artist who tell stories, you find producers who make entertaining beats, you find all kinds of creativity and sometimes, one may find hip-hop in different cultures.

            I love seeing and hearing international hip-hop. It’s insight to culture and it breaks down’s race barriers. Who cares if you’re German, Japanese, Australian, Nigerian, Mexican, Samoan, Arabic, Indian, or Alien, Can you spit? Can you flow? What kind of story do you have to tell? Can you dance? Are you a DJ? What kind of art do you have? What do you bring to the table out of the five elements of hip-hop? I know Hip-Hop to most is this aggressive music, this angry music and it is; hip-hop was born in Da’ Bronx in the late 70’s.  However, hip-hop comes in many different forms. If anything, hip-hop is an uplifting music and if the mc and DJ are a perfect fit, it can get the crowd moving. If you’ve ever been to a club, you’ll notice the dance floor packed when the right song comes on. In today’s world, hip-hop is not as aggressive but it still has the elements and it exuberates this using bragging rights or boosting this arrogant attitude. If you take anything from this, remember this: Hip-Hop is friendly competition, its fun, it’s loving, it’s storytelling and it makes move you when the beat hits. On that note, I’m going to leave you with a nice song and video by a rapper name Ike Nice. He’s a local rapper from out of Los Angeles and rep’s the Hip-Hop culture well. He’s one of the few artist on the radio who could actually spit and this song is the tip of the ice berg. I present to you, “I get it in”. Enjoy.