41.5 F
Indianapolis
Friday, March 29, 2024

Understanding and enjoying hip-hop with my Generation Z daughter

More by this author

As a lifelong hip-hop head, even as an adult, I keep an “ear to the street.”

Though the artists I grew up on aren’t as celebrated with the platform and radio spins that this era of rap is blessed with, the sonic culture of beats, rhymes and life that they helped usher in still motivate and inspire my day-to-day actions.

However, as a parent my “ears” are sometimes given a great pause, as I actually listen to what today’s artists are saying. Raising an impressionable teenage daughter comes with its discerning moments. Properly navigating eye rolls and talking the birds and the bees are par for the course.

I was once a rebellious Gen Xer, counter-culture-seeking youth, too. Before Jay-Z became the PG-13 version we hear now, and Drake a universal hitmaker, my collection of tapes and CDs was filled with a diversified offering of temporal music. 

The Golden-era emcees like Big Daddy Kane and Rakim, most of us vibed with due to their lyrical smoothness and ability to bring street themes and community concerns to light through record. LL Cool J brought great, infectious, jump-off-stage energy. And lyrically he was just as strong — no matter how indifferent you feel about “Pink Cookies In A Plastic Bag Getting Crushed By Buildings.”

From Public Enemy to N.W.A. to even the Rawkus era, hip-hop music has always offered a balancing act between what was artfully good taste versus what was just a hot-for-the-minute song for the club going multitude. And if a record label tried to push anything “whack,” the artist policed their community accordingly, something 50 Cent and Eminem and the like were notoriously known for.

Still, everything had its time and place. And without being too hypocritical, or venturing into any mind frame that promotes censorship, the often explicit and volatile sounds of Tupac, Eazy-E and DJ Quik were played with a filter. Loud, but always seemingly respectful in regards to when, where and whom may be around listening. At least out of my radio. 

Commercially appealing groups like Run-DMC fought for radio play. Even with their suburban viability and presence on MTV, both R&B heavy and mainstream radio stations gave much of their music a halt. The term “raising hell” threw off many a radio programmer back in the day, I suppose. 

But that’s not today’s radio, which seemingly placates to the sex, drugs and clout chasing nature of fame. Not lyricism. Not the empowering voice of the youth wanting to be heard.  

As a Generation X-born parent — one that scoffed at C. Delores Tucker and Tipper Gore’s one-time campaigns against rap and hip-hop music — I cannot allow myself to be overly sanctimonious either. Yes, Too Short made a career (and took a lot of my money) off of one word, but to shun Megan Thee Stallion for her openness and raunchy-style persona would most certainly be contradictory to my feelings on entertainment as a whole. Even Madonna and Marilyn Monroe created a niche for themselves using sexuality, lest we forget. And as a parent, if I let TV or social media raise my child, or give an impression without adding my two cents or at least have a conversation about the difference between positive hip-hop culture and what’s just plain rap, then I’ve failed.

Like James Bond, I’ll never fail at that.

There’s over 45-plus years of hip-hop culture ingrained in everything from movies to commercials on TV. Though much was campaigned and fought for by the forefathers of rap, social accountability of what’s being said on the airwaves now lies in the hands to the purveyors of commercialism: corporation America, largely. 

It lies within the hands of the carrying fans, too. However, I’m a parent first. So, honestly, when I listen to today’s rap, I am starkly reminded of how the imperfectness of my era’s rap has been exploited.

Lil 1/2 Dead and Mr. Short Khop didn’t exactly drop classics in their day either. But their one hit song remains as just that one hit song, not 20 zillion Spotify streams.  

There will always be over-the-top acts. So, when my kid asks if I’ve have heard the new Cardi B., and the answer of “no” is already protruding from my face before the words can come out of mouth, and after we’ve had our “Generation X meets Generation Z” conversation on what the song may potentially be about — ‘cause we know it’s going to be risqué — instead of instantly hating, we listen together.

And I retort, “Well, kid, have you heard the new Rapsody?”

We have to hear both. 

Jonathan Birdsong is a co-host of Crossroads Sports podcast and pop-culture enthusiast. Contact him at jonathan_e_birdsong@yahoo.com.

- Advertisement -
ads:

Upcoming Online Townhalls

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest local news.

Stay connected

1FansLike
1FollowersFollow
1FollowersFollow
1SubscribersSubscribe

Related articles

Popular articles

Español + Translate »
Skip to content