Committed to page, I write a rhyme, sometimes won't finish for days / Scrutinize my literature, from the large to the miniature...

---Mos Def ("Hip Hop"Black On Both Sides, 1999).

Mos Def - Hip Hop:

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Does the mainstream Hip Hop culture see lyrics as anything of value these days? Do the collective artists that sell millions of albums, millions of ring-tones, singles, you name it, really care about the culture? Is lyricism on commercial radio something of the past? And more importantly, what the hell is a Waka Flocka? These are just a few of the questions I asked myself as I sat back and replayed one of my favorite joints from Mos Def (see audio above).

I think Mos Def really hit the nail on the head with how serious one should be towards their craft:

...I write a rhyme, sometimes won't finish for days
Scrutinize my literature, from the large to the miniature...

Those few lines sparked something that I think needs to be addressed in Hip Hop today, lyricism.

Lets take a quick peek at what good ol' Webster says about it:

lyricism:
1: the quality or state of being lyric
2a: an intense personal quality expressive of feeling or emotion in an art (as poetry or music).

If you turn on the radio right now what do you hear? Do you think the average 'rapper' on the radio is critical of their lyrics? Lets take Waka Flocka Flame for example (For the love of Pat thats one bad stage name). Below is a snippet of lyrics from his hit single "O Lets Do It" aka Oledoit:

Call me waka flocka aka young wild nigga
Aka young drug dealer
Got purp, got kush, got pills got white
In the trap all night with the hard and the soft
Stacks on the flo' [inaudible]
Shook it to the left then he shook it to the right
So icey brick boys got it all night
These lame ass niggas aint got no fight
Kick in my door we gon shoot out all night
Home of he braves shawty shoot em wit a k

Waka Flocka Flame - O Lets Do It

In the words of Cleveland let me just say: "Thats Turrible".

Before you say "Damn Steve don't hate on Flocka his lyrics are dope" while twisting your red-tipped dreads around your pinkie finger; Lets be honest here and point out the fact that real Hip Hop fans are also the most critical of the genre and whats out there, especially lyrical content. And I'd like to think of myself as a Hip Hop fan. No 'hate' here.

Do you think that Hip Hop in Pop/Mainstream Culture should be renamed to Pop-Hop? There is clearly a difference in the two.

Not to compare Mos Def to a 'rapper' that might not even be here next year, but the differences in lyricism AND production is key here. Some of the production out here on the radio sounds like my nieces first attempt at playing around on a 15 key casio from the flea market (shes 2 by the way). I hear more and more 'rappers' out now with sub-par production and even lower-par lyrics, and thats saying the least. Lawwwd make it stop!

Without me getting to preachy let me be 'frank' for a minute here and say, yes, I like my fair share of that 'Ignant Shit' but would I purchase it with my left ova money after paying my 3 baby mamas child support for my 5 illegitimate kids? Sheeet naw, sorry Flocka, you're welcome kids. Its good for a quick minute but almost never has any replay value years later, let alone next summer. To further explain myself let me just say this, I like all aspects of Hip Hop but what I don't like is the absence of all the various types of it in the media. When it becomes one-sided thats when I turn off the radio, and its been off for a while now...sigh. I don't know when the DJ's stopped being cool with the Talib's and Mos Def's of the game but good music is out there, don't lose hope (thank God for the internet and Satellite Radio!).

With all that said, there are tons of good underground artists that are keeping Hip Hop alive; Which leads me to my next question, Do you think that Hip Hop in Pop/Mainstream Culture should be renamed to Pop-Hop? There is clearly a difference in the two.

(steps down off soapbox)