Argus Managing Editor
The Hip-Hop Revolution. Some who are reading this do not know the significance of those four words, but whether you understand it or not, everyone is living in it as we speak. In fact, we have been living in it for several years now. According to an article by Jung Kyu Rhee, the birth of this era began as early as the 1970’s with such artists as Afrika Bambaataa, Kool G Rap, Raekwon, AZ, NWA, Run-D.M.C., Wu-Tang Clan and many others. It began with East Coast “thug” rap and West Coast “gangsta” and “underground” rap. One may choose to criticize or give acclaim, but one cannot help but give credit to the fact that Hip Hop is racing on the forefront of not only the music industry but the entire lifestyles of human society as we know it. Hip Hop is used to sell everything from clothes and shoes to video games and food. For the first time in history, Hip Hop even dominated the Grammy awards. The 46th annual awards show, which aired in February, featured 13 Grammy-nominated acts this year and only three —Ricky Skaggs, Evanescence, and the late Warren Zevon—were not rooted in hip-hop and R&B (azcentral.com). When Lil’ Kim’s flows and dances are marketing Old Navy, Eve is acting in her own television show, and the most popular video games such as Madden NFL and NBA Live are garnish with music from various Hip-Hop artists as Joe Budden, OutKast, and The Roots, one has no choice but to notice that this music genre is much more than obscurely taking over. KFC’s old, southern, Colonel Sanders, would probably roll over twice in his grave if he could see himself rapping and dancing the “cabbage patch” as the character was seen performing in past commercials.Many ask the question, “does hip-hop imitate life or life imitate hip-hop.” Another question to ask is, “do Hollywood films imitate life or does life imitate Hollywood films?” The question arises because various forms of movies are prevalent in numerous hip-hop pieces. The Godfather, Casino, Scarface, Goodfellas, A Better Tomorrow, and The Killer are “gangster” films that many hip-hop artists draw from when creating their music. This was especially exercised throughout the launching of the Hip Hop movement (Jung Kyu Rhee). The Hip Hop genre has evolved and become transformed, distorted, and recreated in such a way that those who appear total opposites, such as Jamaican-style artist Sean Paul and Detroit-bred, Caucasian rebel Eminem, can share the exact same platform and be placed in the exact same hip-hop genre. Most black actors and actresses in movies today are not performers who majored in drama in school or have been taking acting lessons since they could even speak. Those roles have now been given to and even created for such entertainers as LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Ice Cube, among others. Whether that’s good or bad, or wrong or right has no value. It has been proven that hip-hop sells. Regardless of if it’s movies or merchandise, if someone wants to market something effectively, this ingenious musical movement is an almost a guaranteed source of currency. If something is in vogue in the community which encompasses Jay-Z or Beyoncé then it’s a sure gold mine in any business from shoes to jewelry. Whether one deems this epoch as a Hip-Hop Renaissance or Revolution, you can not deny the fact that Hip Hop has drastically taken over in all medias of not only this country, but the world.