Saigon Comments On Current State Of Hip-Hop

People say Hip-Hop is dead, others think it is just evolving, Saigon thinks there something really wrong with Hip Hop music right now. He had a "street life" past, but he is off that now, and chooses to educate the youths with his music. He recently dropped his new album (Nov. 6), The Greatest Story Never Told Chapter 2: Bread & Circuses  which is a follow up to his last year critical acclaim album- The Greatest Story Never Told.


Check out what Saigon has to say about the state of Hip Hop right now-



Listening to today's music, I hear a variety of songs with the content that sounds like an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Songs with titles like "Money To Blow," Rich Forever etc, you wouldn't begin to fathom that we're in some of the worse economic times. Songs that speak of buying Bugatti's and Bentley's like they were Honda's and Mazda's. If I'm correct, a Bugatti retails at over a million dollars and a new Bentley cost roughly around $300,000. I know there is a group of artists who have reached the level where they can obtain this caliber of vehicles but it seems this has become the norm in hip hop music. In 1996, Nas rapped on his hit record If I Ruled The World, "If I ruled the world and everything in it, sky's the limit, I'd push a Q45 infint... An Infiniti Q45 retailed at about 45k at the time and that was major for even the biggest rapper in the game at the time.


I wonder when and how did the art form stop reflecting the realities of the place where it was born? It's become the opposite of what is taking place in its birthplace. We are in some of the worst economic times in modern history but you wouldn't believe this if you listened to a rap song. There is a disconnect with hip hop and the community where it was started, but it has become somewhat of a detriment. The imagery in popular hip hop is either extremely sexual or extremely violent. These artists have become vessels for corporate America to exploit to sell commerce. Whether it's Mercedes Benzes or the latest flavored Vodka. Hip hop culture has become a big advertising tool and nothing more. When you see the sales of Timbaland rise and fall depending on the popularity it yields in rap songs is proof. When you see the sales of Vodka go through the roof because its hip hop's drink of choice is proof. When you see multiple artists who have taken the moniker after clothing designers, clothing brands, car brands etc is proof. The language we created to combat oppression and to tell the stories of our trials and tribulations of being young black descendants of ex-slaves; is now being used to sell sex, cars, drugs and other things that have and still plague the same community in which it was born. Who caused the disconnect?




I totally agree with Saigon, but i have to say people like Jay-Z started this trend of Corporate Rap.
The best way I can sum this up is this quote i found on a hip hop website- Money changes everything. As an aspirational cultural force, rap and hip-hop always reflected the dreams as well as the realities of people who often had to do without. Nevertheless, somewhere along the way, some rap artists grew out of touch as the industry became more lucrative. Now, they appear as oblivious and inappropriate as the Wall Street executive with his extravagant bonus. (thegrio.com)





 Rap is an art-form, and when the artists (the ones that are very money conscious) saw that they could make more money from it with their new found fame and popularity, they went ahead and started shouting out company products (like Cristal) to maybe get some endorsement money. And from then on, money changed everything. But still, some were just putting those products in their music ignorantly.




I don't know if Rick Ross has any deal with Maybach/Benz (the car company), or Aston Martin, but i wonder why he would keep putting their name out there, and giving them free promo. In fact, 80% of rappers are guilty of this in one way or the other. Most of the products they shout out- Air Force 1's, Jordan's, exotic cars, expensive liquor and all are owned my rich white guys, who keep making money off sales that come in from the free promotion the rappers give them. Till this day, I wonder why a black dude can't have a major label with all the money rappers are making...why is Dr. Dre still answering to Interscope Records Jimmy Iovine? I s that slave mentality?