Breath of Fresh Air

When Nas came out with “Hip Hop is Dead” I agreed with him. It seemed like there was no music of any substance being produced anymore. The songs that were hitting on the charts were all empty, soulless songs that did not appeal to me in the least. That’s not to say that quality rap did not exist, it is just to say that the culture was not being properly represented in the mainstream. I think that Nas helped bring hip hop back to its roots. He seems to have kickstarted a revival here that we are finally starting to see the effects of.

I saw some music videos this week that were like a breath of fresh air. The first was the new video by KRS-One and Marley Marl. It celebrates hip hop in a positive way and I am really looking forward to hearing the rest of the album.

Here are some other recent video examples;

Marco Polo ft. Masta Ace – Nostalgia
Common – The Game
Bone Thugs and Harmony – I Tried
Talib Kweli – Listen
Ludacris & Mary J. Blige – Runaway Love
Classified ft. Maestro – Hard to be Hip Hop

These songs are real, positive hip hop songs. Hip Hop is alive! I never thought it would die but it was looking pretty ill there for a while. It’s nice to see that hip hop is alive and well.