...or get out of the way.

i never really understood the phrase "hip hop is dead."
long before Nas capitalized on the saying, people who had grown up with hip hop as "their" music would mutter these words with the same certainty as saying "i live on the planet earth."
to them, it was a solemn and somber fact.
i mean, to some degree, i felt the same way. every time i turned around some new artist was coming out of nowhere with what i considered to be mediocre bars and flows and under produced beats.
don't get me wrong, i'm far from a hip hop purist. as a song writer and record producer, it's a cardinal sin to stay locked into a certain "thing". experimentation IS, essentially, what evolution in music is all about. it's never reinventing the wheel, it's simply about refining it, making it roll better.
so, the "hip hop is dead" thing really never resonated with me.
similarly, i never understood it when i'd hear younger musicians and artists say "these old cats gotta get outta the way" or "he's/she's too old to be doing this."
saying that takes a lot of balls.
especially when the artist it's directed toward has laid the foundation and paved the way for the new generation of artists.

part of the problem is intrinsic in the art form itself; hip hop has been, and always will be, an all consuming, insatiable symbiote, assimilating any and everything "fresh" in order to live.
this is a good and a bad thing; it's dope because it makes for an ever expanding form of self and communal expression. it sucks because it's appetite never allows what it is digesting to be tasted and savored.
the shelf life of hip hop is very, very brief. what's hot today is wack next week.
last week's "Young (fill in the blank)" is next week's " (fill in the designer name brand) Man".
The Stones still tour on material they cut 50 years ago. Maze tours on records our parents, and in some cases, parent's parents grooved to. not so with hip hop. a couple years difference in age could mean an entirely different "like/dislike" list.

i consider myself a "not one or the other, but both" kinda guy so i found both positions intriguing. on the right you have "golden era geezers" who don't want shit to ever change and on the left you have "new school knuckle-heads" who don't follow "the rules".

it wasn't until this past weekend (at Sheefy McFly's 'The Air Up There' @ Bob's Classic Kicks 4717 Woodward Ave.) that i saw the solution: older cats need to get in where they fit and and GUIDE this younger breed like a parent does a child; we can't expect them to be us, be like us, or agree with everything we say, but we DO have a responsibility to show them where we went wrong and help them avoid the potholes we stepped in. further, this next wave of artists need to respect their craft and study; listen to an "OG" when she/he is givin' u a bar. the knowledge they have is priceless and paying for it because that advice was ignored is bad business and tantamount to subsequent and utter failure.

at The Air Up There, i watched an eclectic and talented youngster run an all inclusive, high energy hip hop celebration, pied pippered by an older cat, DJ Primeminister, a master of the turntables, with zen-like insight.
his calm and positive disposition coupled with Sheef's angst and energy made for an experience i haven't felt personally since the days of the world famous Hip Hop Shop and it's sister, The Rhythm Kitchen.

ceremony master Ro Spit fell through and went acapella over Sheefy McFly's beat box. after handing out bars, Ro said to the next generation these words: "don't stop what y'all doin'...this shit is dope and i support y'all!"

the next night Supa Emcee was there lending his support and love.

Miz Korona has performed there as have other "OG" artists.


essentially i'm sayin' this to MY peers: we've lead, we've followed...there's only one other option.

i say we do them all.
but hey, what the fuck do i know, right?