But, in reality, those instances are disconnected from music. Hip-Hop is not boring. Hip-Hop is not a bad date or a political debate. Hip-Hop is not a menial task. In fact, some people use rap to give them energy at work, to refocus on homework assignments, to do some cleaning… even to do some sexing! It’s lively, fun, full of energy. More than that, though, it is the voice of the people. It has been since it birthed. Purist or not, everyone has to agree that it is the most, if not the representative genre of urban minorities in music.
I teach a Hip-Hop Creative Writing class at a high school in Humboldt Park (shout out to Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School!) and my students have listened to and analyzed Nas, Pun, Big L, Tribe and Jay-Z. It amazed me that they were so awestruck at how long the songs went. It was almost as if I were teaching about the French Revolution, or what alliteration and onomatopoeia is.
Until they got into the classroom, they didn’t know third verses used to be Hip-Hop law. I don’t have to give you a history lesson on the lack of voice we have been (are?) given as people, and, if we weren’t heard before, why are we allowing muteness now? We sit and back and just flip through radio stations while one of the few mediums that gives us that needed platform gets shorter and shorter. Can it finally dwindle into (insert dramatic pause here) OBLIVION?
I guess maybe “we” don’t have control over it. We aren’t sitting in the studio with artists as they write, we aren’t producing or mixing and mastering tracks, and we definitely aren’t signing checks. But, as consumers, why isn’t this an issue? Don’t you want to get what you pay for, especially if you used to pay for it back in the 90s and got more for your dollar? It’s kind of like those (very unhealthy but very addicting) bags of chips that used to cost .25 cents: There’s more air in the bag than nourishment, and you’re definitely upping more money for less product.
So, where the hell did the third verse go? Where is it now? Perhaps it’s just fighting to make its way back. Maybe it’s somewhere in the dryer with that sock you can never find. Maybe, (s)he’s vacationing in Cuba along with the 16 bar rhyme and Tupac. Or, maybe it’s just another way to silence us. Have things really gotten that bad, that we can’t pay attention to another minute or so of good rhyming? Or is this depletion of Hip-Hop?
Artists lack the quality…..and fans attention spans suck
I would agree. But did artists shape the industry standard, or did the industry standard shape the artist?
I believe it does have to do with shortened attention spans. Rap songs today (note that I did not say Hip-Hop songs) are more pop-ish than back in the day. Because artist are reaching for that mainstream success they have to dumb it down for the masses.
Look at the popular young rap artist (I use the term artist lightly
At the end of the day, it’s all about the dollar. If people will accept two verses, you take the third one you wrote and push it to a different record and make a second verse to go with it. Artists/labels these days are eager to push out another record. As long as it’s good for air play, as long as it can be sold to play in a commercial or movie, maybe even a show.. whatever gets to the masses.
Then again, you have to consider what kind of ‘deals’ people are getting. The majority of artists, I can only assume, make pennies on album sales, maybe a bit on iTunes downloads, maybe a few bucks on concert sales (equipment, venue rental and staffing is no joke!) but what they really need is FANS to market themselves. This will bring them endorsements, they can slap their name on a clothes brand or watches or shoes.. or stereos/headphones.
So.. with the opportunity to have your own reality tv show, your own clothes line, free cars with some promotional pictures, etc.. people who can REALLY influence hip hop as we know it would rather take the cash, it seems. I feel far removed from the hip hop I used to know.. I don’t know but I thought it would be a cold day in hell when someone like Soulja Boy would actually have a song on the radio.. that one song is still being played somewhere in the world..
What GREAT insight. Like you, I also feel far removed. But, that’s why I continue rapping and teaching about the culture. And writing to create change. Someone has got to keep it alive. Industry standards have clearly shaped the product that’s being pushed. And that’s a shame, because we used to define our own Hip Hop culture.
PS: Sorry, I was unaware I was replying to your post and not just a general comment.. shoot me later, thanks. 🙂
I do also believe it has to do with attention spans. How are we feeding into that shortening of focus by shortening the music we predominantly listen to?
The kind of rap I listen to…the 3rd verse is still there. I listen to true hip-hop Jean Grae, Elzhi, Talib, Roots, Common, Joey Bada$$…real shit! Everything else is utter bullshit for people who are slave trained and nigga-tized!
Unfortunately, the artist with the third verse is not being funded by illegal activities for promotion and radio spins. That is where the third verse went!
Hmm… That’s a whole ‘nother article. LOL!
Dope!
Thanks for reading! 🙂
If more artists move towards self-publishing and self promotion the third could very well make a comeback. Then you’ll be hearing about the return of the great ‘vintage/back in the day’ third verse and a return to the roots of hip hop.
So who will be the first to get that stone rolling?
hmmm….
Haha! Vida, are you hinting at a particular Pinq person? 😉 Thanks for the awesome insight!
This is FSD fam, Since when do y’all give a shit about lyrics?!?! I check the site mostly to laugh at the short bus coons y’all put up (same reason people watch Maury) & to wait patiently for Lupe and Mikkey posts.
Well, it seems you now have another reason to read. Thanks for your time and reply. 😉
yo im really feeling this ..this is real yo.. I actually had a similar convo with my manager the other day..its crazy…but these emcees gettn lazy n listeners attn span is short..
Thank you! 🙂
i dont kno wat the last 2 paragraphs talkin about
In a nutshell: We’ve always had our voices taken away, why are we letting it happen now? …Clearer for you?
Nowdays in hip hop, 3 verses is too many! That’s a five minute song right there. Radio ain’t gon play that
They used to play it… Why are we feeding into this shortened attention span/lack of words/stifled voice?
in a couple of months you will be writing an article called “where did the 2nd verse go”? i believe music and most art are a mirror of our society, and if we look at the state of hip hop, we are definitely all tore up.the lack of any content or substance in most of todays songs is so drastic i havent listened to the radio in about 3 years, its GARBAGE and its getting worse by the day. i think if we sit and do nothing about it, we are cowards, there should come a time in every man and womens life when you stop caring about being popular and start caring about leaving this world better then you found it. if we dont reach that stage, i believe its a wasted life.
*raises hands and testifies* Yes. Yes. Aaaaand YES! Thanks for the insight, Marz. Hopefully a shift is imminent.
GO AND DOWNLOAD MY NEW SINGLE I GOT BANDZ
BRUNO – I GOT BANDZ http://www.hulkshare.com/it7pj9mu5agh
WHAAAT A POST ABOUT HIP HOP WIT 20+ COMMENTS AWWWW SHIT ITS COMIN LOL…nice piece tho, good to see people dont feel forced to put critical thinking aside while listening to music. You can do both its still legal.
LOL! Change gon’ come. 😉 Thanks for reading. Thinking critically should be an everyday thing.
The 3rd verse is alive & well in Hip Hop. Lamestream coopted media hip Pop is a brainwashing tool of corporatocracy. Its about a quota of songs & the deliberate dumbing down of the youth to become good complacent slaves in a cyclical instant gratification consumer culture of planned obsolecense. The elite fears an educated inspired youth & so the social engineers have tried to control and surpess quality in exchange for quantity through media/tech to serve the political agenda of the elite. The paradigm is shifting axis.
The 3rd verse is alive & well in Hip Hop. Lamestream coopted media hip Pop is a brainwashing tool of corporatocracy. Its about a quota of songs & the deliberate dumbing down of the youth to become good complacent slaves in a cyclical instant gratification consumer culture of planned obsolecense. The elite fears an educated inspired youth & so the social engineers have tried to control and surpess quality in exchange for profit through media/tech to serve the political agenda of the elite. The paradigm is shifting axis.
I have several songs with 3 verses/ bridges/ intros/ and outros and the quality is never lost. Some people don’t have the creative network to pull it off thats all. click the name.