Hip Hop Wars:Tricia Rose

This article was one of the easier reads we've had in class. It was very enjoyable and interesting for me to read because I listen to Hip Hop very often. Throughout different media outlets I have heard the phrase "hip hop is dead" many times over. To have a woman like Tricia Rose stand up to this phrase and say hip hop, the true culture of hip hop, where hip hop began is not dead but in fact is "gravely ill". With her saying that it gives hope to those that truly think that hip hop may be "dead".

I think the hip-hop that teenagers know isn't the true hip hop. It's the more mainstream, commercial hip-hop that they know and look up to. It's the hip-hop that demeans women and embellishes the sex, drugs and materialistic lifestyle. It's sad because the real hip-hop, the one that talks about political and social issues gets downplayed.

To think about where commercial hip-hop is now and where it is heading, it's a scary thought.