Kevin:
I think this is attributed to the lack of creativity in Hip-Hop today. How creative can a video be when the topic of discussion is ice, hoes, money, clothes, cars, etc.? Artists’ have lost touch with the art of true musicianship. There’s nothing wrong with creating fun records but many of these records lack substance. The music industry has become trendy and those who are unique become overshadowed because the industry is oversaturated with the same sound. When music executives decide to change the face of music, maybe we’ll see a better video.
Mario:
The fact is that hip-hop videos aren’t creative anymore. The issue is larger than that though. Hip-hop as a creative genre of music is slacking right now. I blame the music industry because no one wants to take a risk on signing an artist doing something new and innovative. They have lost focus of what drives music which is the search for what’s gonna be hot NEXT. Music videos as a result take the L as well because the music doesn’t depict an interesting scene. Music video Directors aren’t going to think outside of the box when the artist is singing “money in da bank.” The solution: independent labels that offer raw and rugged style and
sounds for the masses. The more money they make the more the videos will change.
Sulaiman:
Hip-Hop videos aren’t the basis of the problem. Neither are the subjects spoken about in the songs. The real problem is the average hip-hop artist’s attachment to the PROFIT more than the PRODUCT. It takes a certain mind state and upbringing to not become a slave to money, as we all know. Therefore I can’t truthfully blame the artists for becoming infatuated with the clothes, money, cars, women, etc. – these are all things that they never would have dreamt of having when they were growing up in disgusting living conditions. They exist within a subculture that is in direct correlation with the roles that African-Americans have traditionally had in this country since it’s inception. Many blacks gave up a long time ago on trying to become part of American society, and therefore have opted to become successes within their own communities, although this is putting a considerable cap on the levels of progress we can reach as a people. And what makes it even worse is that we see the methods to make a considerable change in the world everyday – hip-hop is global, spanning across battlefield lines and being played everywhere from the White House to Iraq. Imagine the change that could be fostered if more artists just took more control of their art. I recently had a conversation with an associate about one artist in particular – Young Jeezy. Jeezy is a fan favorite amongst the urban communities in Chicago, and I can’t quite understand the dichotomy that allows this to be. Chicago has long been the city of gang violence, stemming back to the Prohibition era with Al Capone and his gang. Every other city, every other country derived their systems from us. We are all around it, and it is commonplace to have a friend shot here, a drive-by there, etc. Chicago has become desensitized to this type of occurrence. Why, then, would we want to hear about the same things we see everyday in songs on the radio? Getting killed isn’t cool. Shooting people isn’t cool. Getting shot at DEFINITELY isn’t cool (believe me, it’s happened to me.) I personally want to stay as far away from things like that as I can, and definitely don’t wanna be reminded of it when I listen to music. This is a great reason why I believe more artists from these areas in the Midwest where crime REALLY happens need to come out and speak about a different side to the struggle. Artists like Common, Kanye, Outkast, etc. are doing a great job of taking hip-hop’s creativity to a new plateau. It boggles my mind to hear people proclaim T.I. as the king of the south, when T.I.’s record sales don’t TOUCH Outkast. And continuously groups like Outkast produce enticing AND innovative music and videos to accompany it. If we find a way to glorify those artists who are succeeding globally with a penchant for the innovative, we will be able to show that a mid-range successful, gold-plaque, 24-inch rims on the Chevy, “spending more money to ACT like a star than actually BEING a star†mentality isn’t the way to go. I get embarassed when I juxtapose Lil’ Boosie’s Video:
with something creative from another genre like Ok GO:
Do we feel as if our people are not smart enough to understand a “concept”? Or are we slaves chained to stereotypes we feel like the purchasing public want to see? You be the judge. The state of hip-hop has transitioned from the summertime block parties in NYC to visual tactics on BET, MTV, and most recently YouTube (as evidenced by the video-induced battle between Cam and 50, which I PERSONALLY think is all planned by those two, but the job of a journalist is not to be opinionated). Almost every video you see nowadays in terms of Hip-Hop follows the same formula: a club scene, a shopping scene, a solo “driving the new expensive whip” scene, the “bedroom with 2 or more girls” scene, the “miscellaneous people who are supposed to comprise your crew” scene….wow, how creative. We who hold the content of Hip-Hop in high esteem are disenchanted by the visuals which accompany our music, however there is a very legitimate reason why this barrage of video content doesn’t stop and probably never will. That reason is called money!
If you haven’t recognized it already, money makes the world go round. As long as you (or the milions of 15 year old Caucasian boys who watch the videos & millions of 15 year old Caucasian girls who BUY the music) keep watching it, keep buying it, the quality won’t ever improve.
Christopher:
Hip-Hop videos of today all have the same formula. And I’m not just talking about the usual suspects of cars mixed with “T and A.” The formula I’m talking about is the portrayal of a lifestyle that most hip-hop artists have not acquired. I do not have a problem with portraying a lifestyle one has not acquired as long as its a more uplifting image as opposed to the “ghetto superstar” so often seen which can be paralleled to you’re successful community drug dealer. Black people have long been creative individuals, and it is quite ironic that one of the most creative genres of music ever created has its artists marginalize themselves and the community with such predictable non-sense. The first hindrance of creativity derives from hip-hop artists having the strong desire to be accepted as artist and not dare to try something different out of fear of being called “weird” or “whack.” We must remember when Outkast first tipped past those non-stereotypical boundaries and many thought that they had seriously lost it. Everyone thought they seriously lost it because they were different, but later looked past the fact that is was different and more at the fact that it was creative and mentally stimulating. Considering most hip-hop artists are black, I will make a generalization about the ultimate goal of hip-hop. Hip-Hop has an extreme responsibility to change the condition of the black community. Whites have always known that communication was a powerful tool - hence the disallowance of blacks learning to read and write for hundreds of years. Hip-hop artists not only have a powerful form of communication, but they have entire world listening and watching whatever they release. There are so many new rappers that have scenes driving a fly car in the hood, with nice jewelry, and some exotic woman that you can’t even tell which hemisphere she grew up in. It is because of this that our children are able to pick out every ghetto hot spot in the cities throughout America, but none of them know about the various architectural structures that exist such as Smithsonian’s and museums of contemporary art. They can use the platform they have created to empower the black community by instilling images and lifestyles that many are not aware of. It is okay to every now and then have those videos in which many people in the black community can directly relate to, but right now we stand as an underexposed group. Music videos are at the point in which they might be as important as the lyrics due to the multimedia society we live in, where every form of communication seems to be accompanied by its visual - Thank you Youtube.com. If hip-hop artists remain to create the kind of videos that dominate music video programming, Hip-Hop may be doomed. Unfortunately, the videos are so conventional that they have to be split into frames no longer than 3 seconds to keep to attention of the viewer. I might have a strong case of Attention Deficit Disorder, but I still want to view something that will hold my attention longer than 3 seconds.
Lorenzo:
Because hip-hop is afraid to break the mold. I think that hip-hop is already in the eye of controversy, so making a video that’s borderline taboo is asking for it. Plus they’re probably all afraid that people won’t like it or they won’t get as much play as they should.
Check the flash playlist for some new joints. And stay warm! We sure will. Happy Valentines Day to you and yours!
