Chuck D once famously called hip-hop the CNN of the Black community, the way people got the news. Is it still? If so, what is the news coming across, who is telling it most profoundly?
I feel hip-hop is a mirror of what society and culture is happening, like any other art. I might not call it “news” per se, but if you’re perceptive enough, you can get a glimpse of what’s happening out here. But I feel that now it’s more filtered because the industry kinda gives monetary incentives and fame to artists in exchange for a loss of creative control and freedom. So as far as popular music, it’s watered down, to be honest. I’m not saying that there isn’t artists out there who really put they heart into it and express real feelings with real concerns, but popularity-wise, it’s more about how much can I sell—for both the artists and the labels. It’s more capitalism involved than being artistic. I also feel that’s the reason the general public sorta just lost interest in even really buying it. Sure you can just stream on Spotify, but you can leave it at that. There’s no real investment into it like…
