Fame is the worst drug known to man.
It’s stronger than heroin. When you can look in the mirror
like, “There I am,” and still not see what you’ve become. I know I’m guilty of
it too but not like them. – Jay-z, “Lost Ones“Being part of the Industry.
When
you take that first step on your journey to becoming an industry superstar, your
head is filled with culture changing concepts. You’re ambitious
and idealistic. You know what Hip Hop needs and you will deliver.
Rain, sleet, snow nor dark of night will keep you from realizing your dream of
Hip Hop innovation. You are the rap crusader.
Then
opportunity knocks and you answer. Your dreams are realized and
you are presented with your industry insider merit badge. Access
is granted and all those music videos you used to watch on your 13 inch tube are
now 3D. It’s top notch glitz and glamour and there is nothing that
can rip you away; not even your own voice.
You
can hear the outsider you used to be reminding you of your desire to develop the
culture, but the music in VIP is loud. The expensive doors filter
out all the noise. You misplace that voice somewhere deep in the belly of the
latest hot spot. And when you emerge, you are vacant and
voiceless.
Access
is a beautiful thing.
We all want it. However, that access can arrest the
development of our crusaders. We look to Hip-Hop’s fresh voices to
push the boundaries of the genre; to advance the music. But being
silenced by that death grip you have on being accepted serves no purpose to
anyone but yourself.
I’ve
seen glimpses of this behavior. Artists get caught up in their own
hype and don’t feel they have to work for your money anymore.
Journalists allow platinum selling rappers to lie to them in interviews,
but don’t protest because they don’t want to jeopardize their outside
relationship or the next interview. Folks look down the barrel of their noses at
the latest battle king or regional mixtape phenom because they have yet to make
a mainstream studio album. You have made it to the top, but that doesn’t mean
the work you put in to get there is now beneath you.
You
did it when you were a fan and no one was paying you anything then.
You did it because you wanted to. You did it because you
cared. Now all these little industries that have popped up over the last 30 or
so years to siphon as much from the music as possible have created their own
league of distinguished gentlemen; groups who have bought into their own hype
even though they add very little to the Hip-Hop landscape but an extra body
in VIP.
It’s
tragic because when the innovators stop innovating and the crusaders stop
crusading, the music suffers. So, the next time you are patting
yourself on the back for all of the A-List accoutrement you have in your
possession; remember how you achieved that. Think about that
ladder you had to climb to get to where you are, and the passion that drove
you. Excuse yourself from the round table and get back to being that advocate
the culture needs. Then you can try to marry that
passion with your status. If you think back far enough, that’s
probably what you were trying to accomplish in the first place.The opinions expressed in the above editorial do not necessarily represent the views of AllHipHop.com, it’s representatives or assigns.