Add to favorites Examiner Bio

An open letter to Hip-Hop in 08'

2008 was quite the roller coaster year, wouldn’t you agree? Attire alone was simply entertaining with tight jeans, circus uniforms, and rappers rocking scarves; and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. However, I am not Anna Wintour so let’s discuss the music. Can you please explain to me what happened this year? It seems as if talent took an early vacation. I know you usually use auto-tunes in your music but let’s be honest, once upon a time you used it in small doses; at this point, I think it is safe to conclude that some hip hop artists are overdosing and seriously need to be taken out of their miseries.

           

This year, Lil Wayne sold 1,005,545 copies of his album The Carter III in its first week and yet, a good majority of people can not recite an entire verse from one of his songs off of the album; and I am still trying to solve the Scooby Doo Mystery as to what he is saying in T-Pain’s “Can’t Believe It”. There are a few thank you’s I’d like to give you though. I would like to thank you for your huge contribution to politics this year; you truly helped make history. Thank you for Ludacris’ Theater Of Mind that was a nice save; thank you for Jay-Z’s performance at Glastonbury although the singing was horrid, he proved his point; Thank you for Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool that was super refreshing; Thank you for T.I.’s Paper Trail; and thank you for allowing Lil Wayne to discover Rock & Roll, things are looking up for 2009!

 

With my thank you’s hip hop, I also have a few no thank you’s. No thank you for T-Pain’s “Thr33 Ringz”. If I was interested in seeing circus clowns and listening to circus music I would go to Madison Square Garden and catch Barnum & Bailey. No thank you for Souljah Boy Tell Em’ and Ice-T’s beef; there is nothing worse than watching O.G.’s argue with adolescents. No thank you to the ridiculous jewelry hip-hop artist continue to concoct in their minds and have jewelers create, I could have done without the sight of Sean Kingston’s Crayola box remake and Plies’ goon chain. No thank you for your continuous exploit of diamonds, shall I remind you of Sierra Leone and Liberia? Not all diamonds are conflict diamonds (you’d hear them say), yea I know, but the representation of lives lost over diamonds sure does suck. No thank you to the lack of variety; question, how many times are you going to tell us how rich you are? We get it! And yes we know, you are disgustingly filthy rich, but are you happy? T.I. said it best, “Unhappy with your riches cause’ you’re **** poor morally”. No thank you to Jim Jones’  Complex interview, you do know ignorance kills…right? And most importantly, no thank you for adding mediocre lyrics to hot beats and giving them to radio stations to play in an attempt to get us to buy your albums; and then have the audacity to complain about not selling albums.

 

I have high hopes that next year will be much better as well as liberating. I look forward to 2009 being the next Golden Age in hip hop where artists will use their voices for good and the quality of music will be envied and untouched in excellence by any other genre of music; its time for a hip hop rebirth. Here’s to you hip hop in 08’; goodbye, sayonara, adios, au revoir, peace.

 

Sincerely,

Samantha

 

P.S. Can we please get some female rappers in 09’? I mean seriously, where are the female rappers?!