I Am A Hip-Hop Snob Part II

I may be a hip-hop snob, but at least I'm not a hip-hop purist. Hip-hop purist are so set in their ways they think Public Enemy are new school cats. For the purists everything is always in a historical context paying homage to the roots of the music. The definition of what constitutes authentic hip-hop has never changed. They fail to realize the nicest MC's are no longer huddled around park benches in the Boggie Down Bronx spitting rhymes for no paper. Nowadays there's more to rap music than battles and street cred. 2 turntables and a microphone at the playground is a far cry from videos, concerts at Madison Square Garden, and the world wide web. I'll be the first to admit the transition from underground to mainstream has diluted the product. Rappers with great skill and no marketability get buried while rappers with a catchy hook or gimmick go platinum. That doesn't mean hip-hop shouldn't be allowed to change. The purists don't understand that it's a young man's game and very difficult to compare eras. The exposure is greater and the corporate dollars have a great amount of influence. In the end purists are more critical of how hip-hop has evolved while snobs are more selective about what they listen to. I invite the purists to come to the new millennium with us. After all it's 2010 and Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Caz are not walking through that hip-hop door.