M.E.D.I.A

I can see hear, see, and feel you, but I could never touch you
Which is probably a good thing, because sometimes I wanna punch you
I can simply look at you and you can sell me your dream
How come when I look away I don't see the same thing?
Even if I was illiterate I could still read between the lines
Is this just the way of the world?
Or is it the sign of the times?
I lack a valid opinion, pressured to adhere to your standards
When I ask no stupid questions, why do I get ridiculous answers?
I tend to block you out, but my associates associate with you
And even when they can't agree with you, they still share your view
I could live without you, but that seems to be only figurative
They say civilization is dying
You're the reason its as sick as it is
Torn between our worlds, they have to be intertwined
The more I observe you, the more I study myself and my mind
I don't meet your height or weight requirement
Why do I even let you in to my environment?
The more I let you dictate
The more I fabricate
Just so that I can relate
Which allow your words to hold weight
As I come to the realization
That you have no hesitation
In thinking that your lack of education propelled your occupation
This only causes me frustration
You tell me how to
Think
Walk
Dress
Talk
Eat
You feel justified in determining what's beautiful when it's only skin deep
You glorify
Destruction
Judgement
Drugs
Crimes
Obstruction of justice
Mass murder
Suicide
I'm not saying its not there, but its still not fair
How you make us feel
Yet you don't seem to care
My ignorance allows you to influence my actions in parts
But like a transplant, I have a change of heart
I know that I have to accept your power over my world
Or in it
Because no matter how much I'm against you
I'll end up in it
So in this open letter
All I ask is that you do better
To represent me
My people
My life
My struggle
My story
My future
But in me is us, so I guess I mean Ours
Music. Entertainment. Drama, Internet.
Is this Art?

Hip Hop Child

I'm a Hip Hop Child, born and raised
It's taught me Funkin Lessons I never learned in my school days
No Dr, Seuss or Mother Goose for me
Hip Hop was where I heard the best Bedtime Stories
I learned what Teenage Love was, to never trust a big butt and a smile
In order to get Cash Money I had to be a little Juvenile
It taught me not to fall for a girl who says she has friends,
And I can meet my peeps at Tha Crossroads when this life ends
When I stop, collaborate and listen to a Rapper's Delight
I drift away into Street Dreams of how the Freaks Come Out At Night
I feel All Eyez On Me cause I'm an Outkast
But I Walk This Way in My Adidas, so they know I'm Bad
With my Raiders hat, my Starter jacket, and my gold chain
You might not get The Message, cause it's Nothing But A G Thang
I live Hip Hop to the fullest, Ain't No Half Steppin
Me, Myself, And I is the style I stay reppin
But I know It Takes Two to make a thing go right
And I Left My Wallet In El Segundo so could you Let Me Ride?
I have Ambitions Of A Ridah and think If I Ruled The World
I'd get Paid In Full and have all the Girls, Girls, Girls
But I need the money, then I get the power, then I get the respect
They ask how I Got It Made
Nobody wanna put in work, yet They Want EFX
Not a College Dropout, made it before the Late Registration
But I know What's The Scenario because of my Miseducation
You can Lose Your Mind, Just Lose It, but don't ever Lose Yourself
And if you forget that Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing To F Wit, it's bad for your health.
So this is The Dedication 4 the emcees who gave me The Show
It Ain't No Joke, I Can't Live Without My Radio

True.Real.Everlasting.

Hip Hop In My Opinion

Is hip hop really dead? Rappers aren’t selling like they used to. It’s been almost 2 years since Wayne sold a million. Em couldn’t sell. Fifty couldn’t. Kanye tried to sing his way to sales, and failed. Jay still moved units, but not like back in the day. Nas is laughable when it comes to moving soundscan numbers. X is gone. Ja is a joke now. Pac, Big, and Pun are memories of a better time. T.I.’s absence left us without a king. So the complaint is that the new breed isn’t up to par. Of course the first argument of any hip hop head is Gucci Mane. Granted he isn’t Rakim, hell he isn’t even Special Ed, you can’t ignore success. As much as you hear “Gucci sucks”, I bet you’d be hard pressed to a person without one song of his in their music library. This could be due to the fact that his recording regimen is much like Wayne’s, release so much music that you almost over saturate the market. This reminds me of the old saying, “If you throw enough shit on the wall, something’s bound to stick.” Your next argument can be Souljah Boy. Yes his raps are simple. But so were Kris Kros, Bow Wow, and Kid n Play’s. Even one of the most played rap songs of all time, “Summertime” by Will Smith, is not big on metaphor usage. If there’s one thing that hurts his case though, is that Souljah Boy’s attitude that he feels he is the best. In conclusion, I feel if we weren’t so exposed to him as a person, we would have no problem with Souljah Boy’s music. The third case is tough one. Even though the need for more spotlight on female rappers is dire, is Nicki Minaj the one that should be on the forefront? Unlike Ludacris, her over animated style is more annoying than impressive. She’s ten years too late on the outwardly sexiness that Lil Kim made you go “OMG” over. Even her claim that she’s bi induces yawns because, unlike Lindsay Lohan, we’ve seen no proof. The only comparison to greatness is her sporadic rhymes that her label head Wayne has been known, and also scrutinized, for. One thing you can say about all of these rappers is that they are forced upon us. Gucci by the amount of music, Souljah Boy by using every internet marketing tool, and Nicki her label. Real talent isn’t forced, it’s accepted. None of these artists are considered great by industry standards. If they were, then you would see a Grammy nomination in there accolades. A refreshing artist is Drake. He came almost out of nowhere and was everywhere. But it wasn’t by a media blitz that was premeditated. We as fans wanted more. In a time where we thought there were no real hip hop mainstream artists, Drake rose to the spotlight and gave us hope. But did we really need to lose hope? Sure Lupe Fiasco, Wale, and Kid Cudi didn’t do big numbers. But they’re still in it. They’re still relevant. Plus we have the artists who have that true essence of hip hop on the come up. Charles Hamilton, Asher Roth, B.o.B., Cory Gunz, are a few of the rappers that remind me of what hip hop was. But isn’t hip hop also about change? It was us, hip hop, that changed the game. Hip hop is the new pop. Hence, all of our wrongdoings and failures are under a microscope. As long as we support true music, it will win over. At the same time, there is room for more than 16 bars of sheer metaphors or wit. Remember, we had to take ODB to get Wu-Tang, we had to take Flava Flava to get public enemy. There will always be stars who should’ve stayed on the bench, but that doesn’t mean they dominate the league. Hip hop has not died. It has merely expanded.