By Falice Chin
Today, most nightclubs fill their dance-floor grooves with hip hop music. Urban music is arguably the most popular right now as most top-ten hits are somewhat rap or R’n’B related. My question is–if hip-hop is so cool, then how come nobody sticks by any standards?
It’s not that people only want to listen to mainstream rap–crowds bounce to Arrested Development at the Whiskey nightclub. Is hip-hop so “in” right now that a DJ can spin any solid good tune without complaints? Not so! In fact, people will jump on you and beat the shit out of you saying “you don’t know any good hip-hop!”
At a certain recent cabaret hosted at the Den, a certain acclaimed DJ spun some wicked songs. Some people felt they had the rights to march up to him and spit in the face of good music asking questions like “how come you’re not playing hip hop?” Well, if the Beatnuts can’t make you dance, I don’t know what can!
Maybe it’s not Justin Timberlake, but last time I checked, Mary J Blige was still called “queen of hip hop.” And isn’t Notorious B.I.G. still somewhat of a legend? What about the Beastie Boys and Pharcyde? These people topped the charts too! Yet in many occasions these artists clear up the dance floor.
How can anyone love the Black Eyed Peas when upon hearing the Roots, their gag reflexes are set off automatically? Obviously, these people are not really music lovers. That’s okay with me, as long as they don’t run around with their Triple-five-soul clothes offering offensive “lessons” to DJs who know what they are doing.
Despite the widespread popularity of urban music, the etiquettes of its culture are almost non-existent among new listeners. Emcee, DJ, and break-dance battles occur on a daily basis, but respect must be paid to the veterans and those who are really good at what they do. If a hell existed in urban culture, all disrespectful people will burn alongside unskilled rappers who insult others.
The word “dis” is used frequently in our lexicon of slang. This word is short for disrespect and comes originally from urban culture. The next time you use that word, try to think of whether you have violated the same act of extreme “whackness.”