October 12, 2015

HOPSIN DOESN’T WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO TRAP MUSIC. NEITHER DOES YOUR MOM.

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So Hopsin just released a video that is basically a longer version of what Snoop said about artists like Migos, Future, etc. “No Words” finds him portraying a “trap” artist named Hash Brown and doing cliche rap video things like waving around money and driving a Lambo. It’s all very humorous (to someone, I’m sure) and I respect Hopsin’s right to not enjoy that style of music, as this is still #merica. My problem is with the preachiness of it. If Joey Bada$$ raps like an old head, Hopsin whines like one. All these gramps ever do is complain about the “golden age” of Hip-Hop being dead and how today sucks, blah blah blah. I saw the following meme like 30 times today:

You guys are dumb. We’re just going to pretend your “era” was all beasts and there’s zero talent today? I can do the same thing and it tells a very different story of progression. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or the ear in this case. Why can’t we ever learn that we’re not going to change what someone else likes?

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That brings me to the real underlying issue here; Hip-Hop isn’t being allowed to grow. Look back at Rock & Roll, from Chuck Berry to Marilyn Manson, there was a progression, no? An evolution if you will, and it wasn’t linear. Music doesn’t evolve into one thing, it branches off and becomes hundreds of different things. Rock & Roll was allowed to become Alternative, Prog, Metal, Industrial, Nu Metal, Death Metal, Punk, Ska, and a laundry list of other subgenres that started out as experimental before enough people liked them and made it a real culture. Now tell me, with all these different subgenres of Rock, are you allowed to enjoy more than one? Are you allowed to have System of a Down’s Toxicity album in your iTunes if you also have Eric Clapton in there? Why can’t we allow Hip-Hop fans to do the same? On the list of genres, Rap doesn’t even get it’s own full spot, it has to share with R&B. Meanwhile, we need two separate categories for Neo-Folk and Bluegrass. You old heads got me hot right now. Either open up your minds or let us live, I can like Illmatic and Back To The Bando if I fucking want.

Hopsin is just mad we don’t like his actual music. Fader ran a piece today where they had Vince Staples and Mac Miller discussing the genre of “white rapper” and how there’s a difference between white guys that rap and the “white rapper” genre. They’re right, and Hopsin is in that genre even though he’s black. I love lyrical rap, but only when it’s lyricism in the form of songwriting, with some melody. A show-and-tell of bars is just lyrics for the sake of lyrics, and that’s what plagues “white rappers”. Sick bro, you probably loved “Rap God” too. Future and Young Thug, among others, aren’t even out here claiming they’re great lyricists, that’s the funniest part. They make music to create a feeling, plain and simple. Hop, how come butthurt is the only feeling we’re getting from you?

How you gonna clown us for being us and liking what we like? I reached out for comment, but haven’t heard back yet.


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