I'm going to consider this part 2 of the "A Little About Me" series.
I was born in the 80s and raised in the 90s…. I have a slogan that says: 80s made, 90s Hip Hop raised. The golden era of, well, everything. Hip Hop, Saturday morning cartoons, movies, toys, and music. Pretty much everything if you ask me. The 90s just brings me a certain nostalgia that is quite frankly unrivaled. There was just nothing better than life in the 90s. Although that statement is clearly subjective, I say it with such a conviction that it is almost fact.
Is that egotistical of my generation to call itself the “golden era”? sure. Maybe. Perhaps, but we believe it firmly and wholeheartedly. Our songs were timeless. Not the recycled and often forgotten tunes of today. My era had substance. I sound like my father telling me about his era and how Julia Iglesias was the man and how my music was just noise. I’m turning into that old man aren’t I.
So be it, but the truth remains. Even when we couldn’t quite pinpoint the words to a song, they were actual words. We never referred to our rap as “mumble rap” or our rappers as “mumble rappers”.
Coherency, lyrical ability, and substance Is now a thing of the past. So foreign that the Gen Z folk laugh at its mention. Who cares about lyrical prowess when all you want to do is just “vibe” out.
Well, I do. I still get a rush of inspiration and energy when I hear one of my favorite 90s rappers release a new lyric filled song. The storytelling, the vocabulary, and the yea, the substance.
When biggie said, “it was all a dream”, we were all sharing that dream with him.
When we listened to our favorite rappers we were engulfed in their story, their struggle, their substance.
We submerged ourselves in it and their journey became ours. Sure a few profane words were thrown in there for effect, but you felt it.
When Tupac rapped about pain, love, and fear. The poetry spoke to me via speakers. He was like a prophet speaking to urban and inner-city kids as the words pierced through our ears and into our brains.
When Wu-Tang told me that cash ruled everything around me, it was because before the fame "c.r.e.a.m." was scarce and the struggle was very real.
What’s missing from today’s mainstream music is substance. Of course, there are some exceptions, and my eras music still lives on, albeit it in a more underground and secluded sector of the hip hop community. It still exists non the less.
Everything in Hip Hop is cyclical, from the fashion to the rhythms. So, I still hold out hope that substance will make its way back into the forefront of what made the genre so enthralling. When the next generation gets tired of rapping about popping pills, and “vibing” maybe they’ll get back to wanting to hear storytelling at its finest, lyrical poetry, and substance. Till then, I’ll continue to reminisce of when life was good, and rap was substantial.
Although this is in no way shape or a form an insult to today’s generation or their way of enjoying music, its more about how I personally prefer to indulge in the culture. I rather have my music make me think and analyze words, than simply make me, vibe.
Nas said all he needed was one mic. Me, all I need is one pen. As a result, my era will forever live on.
