Book of The Wild Woman (formerly Directions From a Lost Girl): Hip-Hop...The ressurection and Next Movement

She almost died. Nas declared her dead but shame on him for thinking that she was easy to kill. She, Hip-Hop, wasn’t dead. She was just in critical condition. I can’t lie, she was damn near close to flat lining.

She was attempting to live in a world where techno beats and partying was taking over. A few took on the challenge of trying to resurrect her. Lil’ Wayne’s “Dr. Carter” was a shot at it depicting him as a surgeon who was pretty much bringing her back. I can’t lie, I believed him…temporarily. I believed him until he got further in his career and…well…kinda lost it (some would dispute he never had it to begin with but…that’s another post)!

Dr. Carter

Ludacris tried to dispute Nas’ claim by making “Runaway Love” and exclaiming at the end, Hip-Hop wasn’t dead.

Runaway Love

She wasn’t too impressed.

Ludacris' latest song...Rest of My Life

She continued to lay in critical condition, only getting visitors who were paying homage to her; giving her their last words before they moved on with their lives. I, myself sat in a dark corner and balled for a few hours while listening to Nas’ “Illmatic” and wondering what the fuck happened? I put Kanye West’s “College Drop Out” on repeat and with a all black dress on and rope chain prepared myself to say goodbye to my beloved, Hip-Hop.

Then, a roommate a few years ago introduced me to a few underground artists. Something happened, a familiar feeling filled me when I listened to these kids that refused to morn something that wasn’t gonna die in their eyes.

I was instantly filled with joy and ripped the black dress off in celebration. I gave up so fast, shame on me too for believing that the spirit could be killed so easily! I listened to a song, “Hiii Power” and realized that a small group was devising a plan to resurrect our beloved. The underground bubbled up and like a good episode of House, bust through the operating room door, threw some gloves on and despite what everyone was yelling, began to perform an emergency procedure. She died on the table but only temporarily; they were determined to bring her back. And low and behold…they did. The people looked up and began to realize we were being force fed trash and our love had WAAAYYY more to offer than alcohol, parties and expensive brands.

We have survived the ratchet era of Hip-Hop. An era in which only money, cars, clothes and hoes mattered. An era in which artist had no longevity simply because they lacked something (talent maybe?). They lacked the love and passion of making this music. The only thing that mattered to these businessmen and women were making money and showing it off. Not to say that there is no room for this, but she will die if this becomes more important than the love of making the music.

I bought “Good kid M.a.a.D city” and was floored and relieved. Someone was becoming more popular who actually has a passion for the music. I explored other artist who shared the same passion. I’m going to dare to say, us Hip-Hop Generationers (born around 80s and 90s, the rise of the Hip-Hop genre) are entering into a new movement within the music. We now have J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar who at one point would be considered ‘conscious’ rappers and boxed into this category, cutting off their ability to be human and achieve balance. These rappers are now allowing themselves to speak on some real shit and at the same time roam over to the ratchet side (I keep saying it and I’ll continue to say it, we all got some ratchet in us!).

It’s a beautiful thing to be able to see these men and women who love the music, make an appearance and go against everything that the mainstream has asserted for the past few years. It felt as if I was holding my breathe, waiting on someone or something to break this cycle of ratchetness! Before I turned blue in the face and passed out I was allowed to exhale as I watched Black Hippy, Dizzy Wright, Hopsin, Pac Div etc., etc. Thank God!

Hopsin Mixape: The Mind of Ill Hopsin

Dizzy Wright. Mixtape: Soul Searching

Jaren Benton. Mixtape: Freebasing with Kevin Bacon

Angel Haze. Mixtape: Classick

We all know that the music is the soundtrack to the culture of the time. We are experiencing a dramatic shift…and I’m excited to see what effect this will have on the young people in the broader society.