"The Real Hip Hop Is Over Here" - KRS 1

*please see tribe criteria at the end

I dedicate these pages to the research and preservation of our culture HIP HOP.

I have been a student and practitioner of this culture all my life and will remain a student till my death. And i will continue to present knowledge and history of this culture that has giving me many blessing and taken me throughout the world.

I give mad praise to the forefathers and my personal heroes of this culture

Mr. Wiggles Rock Steady Crew
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MISCONCEPTIONS by Rock Steady Crew

Q:HIP HOP IS ABOUT, DRUGS, MONEY, CARS, BITCHES, GANGSTAS, PIMPS, PLAYAS. KILLERS, THUGS, ECT.

A: NOPE. NOT TRUE. WE MAY HAVE PARTICIPATED IN ALL THOSE ACTIVITIES WHEN WE WERE CREATING HIP HOP. BUT WE NEVER RHYMED ABOUT IT, AND YOU NEVER HEARD IT IN A SONG.

HIP HOP IN ITS ORIGIN WAS ABOUT CELEBRATION, PARTYING, HAVING FUN, ECT. THEN AFTER THE JAMS WERE OVER WE USED TO ROB, SNORT, SMOKE, PIMP, KILL, ECT.

Q: IF YOU CAN'T FREESTYLE YOUR NOT A MC

A: THE TRUTH IS THIS. "IF YOU CAN'T WRITE, PERFORM, CREATE A SHOW, DO ROUTINES, AND ROCK THE CROWD YOUR NOT A MC".

ORIGINAL MC'S DID FREESTYLE BACK IN THE DAYS, BUT FREESTYLIN AS THE MAIN CRITERIA FOR A MC STARTED IN THE LATE 80'S EARLY 90'S. IT'S A NEW CONCEPT THAT SHOULD BE ADAPTED TO THE ART OF MC'in. BUT SHOULD NOT BE THE TOTAL CRITERIA FOR WHAT A TRUE MC IS.
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Letter by Lamont Slater February 17, 2004

It started off as a usual drive home: I threw the laptop in the backseat, checked the gas gauge, and popped in one of my favorite cassettes. In my car, I keep an array of old school Hip Hop that includes the likes of BDP, Public Enemy, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and Bizmarkie. One may feel that at 34, I should have matured to Jazz status by now. However, as I drive home I reminisce of a time that Hip-Hop encompassed a culture, which included break dancing, Graffiti, MC battles, and colorful fashion statements.

Today, most rap songs include explicit sexual innuendo, fairy tales of being rich and famous, gangster brutality, and violence towards our women. We find ourselves typecast all over again, as if today ’s artists are nothing but modern day Hattie McDanielses. Part of me believes that this negative self-imposed image can be attributed to the lack of a positive male influence in the lives of Black males in general. It is my belief that some of these rap artists are emulating a caricature of what being a strong black man really means. The foul-mouth, sex-crazed, muscle-bound caricature is a gross misrepresentation. However, the stereotype can be considered an ugly side effect of the plethora of social ills that plague the Black community.

The way the industry works is similar to a slave auction block, where the master secures the services of a muscle-laden, young buck so he can be assured that he would have a good crop, and create wealth for himself and his family. Today is no different. The industry is infatuated with marketing hardcore types such as 50 cent, Trick Daddy, DMX, JA Rule, and the late Tupac Shakur. This is the image that the CEOs of major record companies want you to see.

As long as this type of new wave blaxploitation is profitable, it won ’t go away, but will continue to eat at the fabric that holds the Hip-Hop community together.

don ’t fault the artist for making an honest dollar, however, every time I hear children repeat profanity laced verses, I think of the adults that allow their children to be exposed to music that is inappropriate for their age. Hip-Hop, as we know it will die a slow and painful death unless record companies start signing artists that are the mouthpieces of the community. This doesn ’t necessarily mean it will take 50 Chuck D ’s to save Hip-Hop; it means that we need to hear what is important to us, not what serves the almighty record companies.
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***TRIBE CRITERIA***

I don’t want to offend anyone here but, I thought I should put this in the tribe description

No TuPac, No Eminem, No Dirty South, No California, and Biggie’s is not even in the top ten.

I’m sure we all have our likes and definitions of what’s real and who's the best and
I’m sure I’m being biased here but, this tribe
is to bring together the collective folks of the same mind, interest, and concerns.

So please, it’s no disrespect and much love to everyone

p.s.
Rakim is Lord

http://hiphop101.tribe.net