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If you consider artists that you like, what are some of the things they talk about? The popular image on television is to make money and sell drugs, which many artists today embrace.
Anyone can sell drugs as long as you have clientele. Taking pride in the fact that you can distribute something in demand is foolish. Whether you are poor or wealthy, black or white, the mentality of selling drugs for quick money affects everyone negatively. A few thousand dollars is not bad, but in the long run, there is potential for one to make more money legally. In some cases, it is necessary to do so in order to eat, but I am talking about the fake musicians who talk themselves up.
Today you can walk around and see that some people clearly have put their confidence and faith in material items, and if someone challenges their character they have very little to fall back on. Those who have put their faith in popular values, money and drugs no longer shine their light to their full potential.
Some of us today unknowingly see such artists and dealers on television as the new reverends and forget that real conversations provoke thought and lead us to better lifestyles. Do not get me wrong - I know that such artists are making money, and it is a business, but the widely white-owned record industry, along with the typical cookie-cutter artist, has turned the art of music into a business of drug dealing and new dance crazes. Foolishly accepting record contracts because they are being paid, the artist conforms his or her music to what is popular and what the record label says, making the artist a puppet or a slave to the industry, in a sense.
I will admit though there are artists like Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Nas who still maintain the skill of lyrical freestyles, but what is not widely known is that such artists still admit that Talib Kweli is the freestyle king. I know very few have heard his name before, but this is because his lyrics deal with social issues and not being a rock star.
We need to bring music back to talking about real social injustices that still exist today and relinquish sly drug references that most do not catch. Music provokes emotions and fills a void in many people's lives, yet this is what is cool to listen to these days. I know that from meeting people you can tell a lot about a person by the music that the person listens to.
Artists like Talib Kweli and Immortal Technique keep issues of injustice on the forefront of their music and make it known that someone with an education is far more dangerous to the system.
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