Trending Topiks: #rememberwhen



Do you #rememberwhen you fell in love with hip hop? For me it's kinda hard to pinpoint, but I honestly think it was when I bought Illmatic. I bought it years after it came out (I was only 6 when it was released) and I was just beginning to really explore the history of hip hop. To that point, I was working on building my cd collection from by buying albums from the late 80s and early 90s. I had a few and was really starting to get a better understanding of hip hop, but when I listened to Illmatic, I was amazed! During the first listen, it was obviously too much to really soak in all that Nas was expressing (I still find jewels in it now), but his flow and descriptiveness were the first things to really capture me. Listening to Illmatic, I began to truly understand the art of lyricism and hip hop as a whole. 

From that point on, I listened and analyzed hip hop in a different way and I got excited about all other hip hop albums. I wanted to learn more about the history of hip hop and all it had to offer. One thing led to another and, as they say, the rest is history. Now, I have the blog dedicated to preserving, empowering, and improving hip hop along with looking for ways to make a living from it. 

If listening to Illmatic really was when I fell in love with hip hop, then I fell in love in my college dorm room. Personally, I still haven't found another album that I think, as a whole, is better than Illmatic, but I have found plenty that have affected me the same way in their own right. It's funny to think back (although it wasn't very long ago at all) and imagine how much has changed since I really became immersed myself in hip hop and the culture. People on the outside looking in probably don't understand, but listening to a few words cleverly put together (not just Illmatic, but several albums) somehow took a hold of my life and the lives of countless others. What's your story?

When did you fall in love with hip hop? Did a certain album do it? A concert or performance? Share your experience. Comment or you can always e-mail at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.


Peace.


Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 11/21/2010 10:38 PM
Categories: Trending Topiks
Tags: hip hop music Twitter trending topics Illmatic
 

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  • 11/26/2010 5:16 AM Charles wrote:
    The album that really did it for me was The Chronic. Until then I had not been exposed to anything with that sound and style.
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  • 11/27/2010 1:04 PM Sleet Uvotu wrote:
    To me, falling in love with Hip Hop was not a moment, it was a process... At first, I didn't know that I was falling in love, I just knew that Hip Hop understood me, was my friend and companion and when everybody else left me, Hip Hop was still there... And then, by every track that I listened to, I fell more and more in love with H.E.R. and today I have it clear: I didn't USE TO LOVE H.E.R., cuz I STILL LOVE H.E.R. now. On a less abstract level, I think I knew how much I loved Hip Hop when I realized that it was the only thing that made me happy, when I recorded my demos, when I held the mic in my hand. That's when I knew - Hip Hop was the LOVE OF MY LIFE.

    Peace.
    Reply to this
  • 12/5/2010 11:36 PM MsMae wrote:
    I couldnt agree with Sleet more...Falling in love with Hip Hop has been more like a process and not an exact moment. There has been times when I was so thrilled after hearing a certain song and/or particular lyracist, and wanted nothing more than to spend every waking moment with that song/lyracist. While still there are moments when I hate hip hop's guts...like during the time of the east coast/west coast drama. Still there persists an utter yearn for what it is that hip hop has to offer and an intense gratification for the way that it makes me feel. Nothing understands me better than Hip Hop and it continually communicates my feelings to the world even when I dont have the ordacity to do so -Ms Mae- www.treeoflifefashion.com
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