What’s up everybody, I’m back! I know it has been a while, but I was away on spring break and didn’t really have access to the internet, so that’s why there hasn’t been too many posts. I went to Miami for a couple of days and had a great time. It was my first time there and I saw some people that you all might have heard of. I went to the Miami Heat game (the night they beat the Celtics) and I got to go to the player’s lounge. For those of you that are sports fans, you might remember the sharp shooter Glen Rice. I saw him in the back hangin’ out. I also met (well more like was introduced to) one of the crossover kings, Tim Hardaway. I also got to talk to Leon Powe for a little while. No pictures from any of these encounters, so you just have to take my word for it, but it’s all true. I just got the hook up lol. Other than all that, I just enjoyed the nice weather, the beach, etc.

Anyway, enough of my trip, I know y’all really tuned in to see what music related topics I had for you today. So, something that I have been wondering for a while is whether it possible for hip hop artists to create timeless songs that can stand the test of time. Usually, when we think of classic songs or albums, we might think of songs by people such as Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Aretha Franklin, and others. All of these people have given us songs that not only our parents listen and can get down to, but that our generation does as well. I can’t help but think that many of us will pass these songs on to our kids and that they will last for a very long time, if not forever. Is this possible with hip hop, though?

The thing that I think may prevent hip hop artists and songs become timeless is the content. Of course hip hop’s content has been attacked for years on end (which we will cover in another blog) and in some cases for good reasons. Because that it is considered for adult listeners, this may take away from the appeal of it and prevent it from carrying the same legacy as we would hope. Since many people won’t really be introduced to hip hop until later on in life (and I mean really delving deep into it, buying many albums, analyzing the songs and lyrics, etc.) then the appeal and the effect that it will have on them won’t be the same. Many of our parents grew up on the artists named above, and so they play it in the house as we grow up on it, and that gives them a special place in our hearts. However, very few of us will probably end up blasting the dirty version of our rap albums throughout the house while our kids our present. We’re likely to play the same type of music that our parents played for us, causing the music to carry on for generations to come.

The other reason that hip hop songs may not stand the test of time (and really all music from probably the last 10 to 20 years) is because the music business has turned into just that, a business. For the longest time, people took the music serious, wanted to respect the art. Now, too many people try to exploit the music. It takes away from the effect that it has on listeners when we hear it. It doesn’t touch us and reach us the way it used to. There are many radios devoted to playing only those classic songs that any and everybody can listen to and love. But for newer music, they play the music until it has run its course, and then it’s off to the next hot track, leaving the other “old” songs left behind.

None of this is to say that hip hop itself won’t continue to flourish or that it will disappear anyway. I just don’t know if people generations from now will look at Tupac as the legend he is the way that we look at Stevie Wonder (even if he’s not necessarily considered one of the artists or our generation). Of course the people within the hip hop culture will consider certain artists and songs timeless, but will anybody outside of that have the same feelings?

What are your thoughts? Are there any timeless hip hop songs already, that are well respected across all genres of music that anybody can enjoy? Will we ever get songs like that, in hip hop or otherwise? Leave a comment or hit me at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.

Peace.