Foot of the century, please insert yourself into the mouth of the universe.
Lord Jamar, an American MC from the iconic group Brand Nubian, recently went on VladTV to discuss his uncultivated opinions on the state of hip hop and where he stands on the whole “Macklemore” craze. The often controversial artist left no censored gaps in his descriptions, and managed to offend just about everyone who has any kind of love for the popular genre of music.
The interview begins with Jamar addressing the differences he sees between the two classifications of rap and hip hop.
Rap speaks for the haves, whereas hip hop speaks for the have-nots
Fair enough – rap does cater to a crowd in love with money, and hip hop has always been more socially conscious and strives to expresses a voice for those who wouldn’t normally have one. The two have been separated as genres in the past few years, and will more than likely remain as such because of the differences. But as the interview continues, and the subject of Mackelmore’s “Same Love” song is asked of him, Jamar all but drops his guard and begins his rant of the ages against the pro-LGBT single.
White rappers, you’re coming to this, almost as a guest. Matter of fact, you are guests in the house of hip hop. Just because you have a hit record doesn’t give you the right, to voice your opinion.
We really wish we had something witty to say right now, to at the very least thin the glob of tension in the room, but we don’t. We just simply can’t. He unfortunately continues:
He’s trying to push an agenda that he, as a white man, feels is acceptable. But those proclivities and those sensibilities are not at the core of true hip hop. Don’t come into my house, talking that bullshit.
Now, we can’t help but to mention the glowing hypocrisy in the way Jamar defends the honor of hip hop against Macklemore’s appropriation. Most hip hop historians would agree that the spoken-word overlay on top of musical beats evolved from Jamaican toasting (poetry and speech over music) and the folk poets of West Africa. It wasn’t invented in the streets of New York, as Jamar alludes to.
As with most everything now, the groundwork for hip hop lies in the capturing of historical elements and evolving them to suit present day attitudes. Sampling, a technique where old music is taken, revamped and made culturally relevant again is also a big part of the hip hop development. But, this is Lord Jamar’s BBQ, and like any others that get too out of hand; we’re now stuck in the corner of the diatribe, trying to find an excuse to leave.
You know, I know I can get myself in trouble for saying a lot of shit, but I don’t give a fuck.
Oh, god, thank you – the old “I do what I want” speech. Now hopefully everyone has stopped paying attention and we can get out while the traffic is still down. If you need us, we’ll be at Rick Rubin's house – discussing his time as a guest in hip hop.
Watch below for the full interview – but don't say we didn't warn you. Abhorers, as they proclaim, will always abhor.
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