Who is Hip Hop a Way of Life to?

[inrctyhoodmusic]

I noticed that a lot of people are saying hip hop is a way of life but who is it a way of life to?Now don't take this as me playing the race card but to a person like me a black male that grew up in
what white america calls the "hood" well the hip hop life style in the "HOOD" gets people like me harassed by cops they even go as far as checking some guys butts for drugs Hip Hop is not a lifestyle or a way of life hip hop is music....somewhere down the line it got mixed up but if you would listen to the classic battle songs that Mc Shan and Krs one had hip hop wasn't a way of life it was music...All you young kids in the suburbs have no idea what you're talking about Break dancing and Graffiti are just what they are , dancin and art....I sure in hell don't hear anyone saying that the running man is a form of hip hop....Hip Hop is the music and rap is the lyrics a singer sings and a rapper raps That's that Hip Hop is not a way to dress if you look at the old videos by sugar hill gang grand master flash and the furious five , and any old school(real old school) acts they wore tight pants and and tight shirts so if hip hop is also a way to dress then people would still be in tight leather pants with michale jackson thriller jackets...It's not a way to live....You live your life the way you live it if you like hip hop than you like it...Do you hear people saying the live a R&B life ?? No you don't hear that , people live life the way they feel their life should be lived....So for all you people that say they live the "Hip Hop Life" spend the day in my negiborhood and you'll see that , that is just a line of crap......If you brake dance you're a dancer ,if you draw grafitti you're an artist , if you rap then you're a rapper that makes hip hop music...Just cause you wear FUBU , Phat Farm , and Sean John don't mean you dress hip hop Just because you wear baggy pants that hang below your ass doesn't mean you dress hip hop.Just because you wear Polo ,Nautica , Eddie Bower , Ambrocombie and Fich doesn't mean that you're not hip hop You dress how you want......The next thing we'll hear is You eat hip hop.......Please it's time to stop saying Hip Hop is a way of life because it's not

 

[J-UK]

Good post, I agree with a lot of that.

 

[Copenhagen]

Personally, HipHop music is in my heart, with every beat...and has nothing to do with how I live. Also, I don't wear baggy clothes, I don't really attend jams, I don't smoke weed (anymore), I don't work at Burger King, I don't wear a backpack, I don't walk with a limp...so I really don't fit the 'definition' of living HipHop as these no-brainers like to call it
Though, you might not call it living HipHop...but HipHop is not just music, its also a culture, meaning a lot of things are associated with HipHop. People who paint graffitti or break don't necessarily listen to HipHop...but the art is still strongly associated with HipHop culture. It's kind of hard for me to explain but I hope you understand what I'm getting at.

 

[inrctyhoodmusic]

I understand what you're getting at copenhagen ....

 

[T-Dash]

I agree that there is a line between living and doing. Cope put it exactly right...hiphop is a culture. Anyone that breaks, raps, DJ's, tags, etc can say they are a part of the hiphop culture because they are activly partaking in a form of hiphop. I am a firm believer in the culture aspect because its something that has hit the hearts of so many people all around the world.
Now, there is no such thing as dressing hiphop, I have to agree. A couple of the people I'm in a rap group with skate and chose to dress the typical way skaters do with the skate t-shirts, shoes, backpacks, etc and people in the street have said to them face to face "how can you like hiphop...you skate?" Perfect example of dress code not defining who you are...2 rappers that wear skate clothes being accused of not liking hiphop....cause of how they're dressed...thats fucked!
I agree that there is no one way of dressing hiphop and dressing in a particular way that makes you any more or less hiphop. However, I think that the idea of hiphop has taken a slight semantical change in the eyes of the population. A majority of rappers, producers, DJs, breakers, blah blah, dress in the baggy clothes and the chains and all that bullshit and so people now just say dressing hiphop cause most hiphop performers dress that way. It doesn't make em right, but now a days people feel the need to belong to a group and therefore dress certain ways to be associated with a particular type of music or culture. Eg. hiphop, punks, skaters, heavy metal rock lovers, high culture fans, etc...everyone appears to be looking to belong and clothes are the easiest way to represent that.

Although, there is also the pressure that rap artists especially put onto people to believe they have to dress that way. Rappers and labels with their own clothing lines and with artists actually saying stuff about what to wear...

eg. "if your ill on the mic but still dress like a geek...your a herb" (Esoteric)

but its something everyone has to deal with...dress how you like and if you know yourself your representing hiphop...who gives a fuck what people say?

 

[HaZwaiOh]

Since everybody has another definition of hiphop, i´ll just try to explain it plain and simple: for me hiphop is about respect, tolerance and being open minded. That´s all!
Other things beside that are certain ideas hypocrites and the industry have tried to establish. (Nelly looking like he doesn´t know how to shave, people walking like a cop hit their knee cap with a stick etc.)
I don´t think I live HipHop the way I should according to all those "real brothers" out there so let´s just put it that way: I live my own life and (my definiton of) hiphop plays a very big role in it. I´m just doing my thing and as long as it feels good to me and represents me it´s all good and i don´t give a *u*k what you all think and say.

 

[T-Dash]

Here, here HaZwaiOh. Nicely put....

 

[Copenhagen]

I love it in the morning, jumping on to our metro, in my 'normal' clothes (that's closer to looking mainstream than hiphop), sitting next to some young guy in baggy clothes thinking that he's so cool and everything, looking down at me, and then seeing his expression when he hears hardcore hiphop bumping from my headphones...get's them all confused.
I personally wear 'ordinary' clothes because I don't want to be associated with these "hiphoppers" with baggy clothes...with their fucked up attitudes and gangster bullshit...not to diss any of you here wearing baggy clothes but in Denmark, there's no gangster shit going on and their attitudes are just adopted...to the point where it's more fake than 'real'.

One more rant...why does every video, especially pop videos, gotta have a DJ scratching on 2 turntables in it...even though the damn song hasn't got any scratches in it...just because hiphop is the trend at the moment.
Oh, and just one more rant...fuck the labels here. Their don't really give a shit about hiphop and signing artists...but make compilations called Hip-Hop 1, 2, 3 etc...with Rock, R&B and Dance tracks on them!!! What the...!?! Talk about misusing something just to make cash...

I'm out, sorry for the ranting...needed to get that off my chest.

 

[T-Dash]

shit man...Cope, I hate the whole CD bullshit. Over here in the UK we got some stupid ass CD's. Catch this....most recently an album called 'The Very Best of Pure R&B'. Now, I'm using this as an example cause I saw an ad on tv recently and I just looked it up on Amazon. Its a similar scenario to those wack hihpop albums...this is the best of Pure R&B suggesting its all singing and people like Ashanti....because it is PURE R&B. Amazingly it features...
Nothin’ - N.O.R.E.
Who’s That Girl? - Eve
Make It Clap - Busta Rhymes Feat. Spliff Star
Jump - Kris Kross, etc...

I mean WTF!?! I'm sure N.O.R.E would love being refered to as R&B. When will record companies learn the difference between music genres???

 

[HaZwaiOh]

just think about those mailorders, where you can get baggy pants for 200 EUR. There are actually people buying that stuff and those are the people that have difficulties to release their albums because they don´t have the money for it, because they are broke and stuff. To me this has nothing to do with hiphop, because those people are not determined enough and rather wear certain clothes than work on some output.

 

[Cold Truth]

hip hop as a lifestyle?????? i consider hip hop as a piece of my life, not what i base my life on. when people say that its a "way of life" what they are doing (albeit unknowingly) is turning it into a god, an idol... a religion. soooo... just thought i'd give some love to the heads on this sight. when i "make it" im certainly going to come back here and bring some people up with me.... its heads like the ones on this post that define the term "keepin it real" damn guys.... we can make an impact! the revolution will not be telivised.... the revolution is at ILLMUZIK.com!!! haha...lol. seriously; someway, somehow, we need to collectively do a project. by the way- how do i post a beat on here for the competitions? i can see it now: in other news, a musical collective signed to the jumpstart ILLMUZIK! label has recently gone gold. although their debut was smallish by todays gargantuan standards, these guys are poised to make a big splash in the world of hip hop...... Ja Rule was quoted as saying "that nigga Truth got us scared here at murda inc... i never thought of things that way. whats his name- copenhagen? that dude is NICE..... i'm thinkin of hiring him to produce my next album.... T Dash, if you get this, holla...i'm droppin gotti. i want you to handle buisness. get at me..." However, as is fitting of the philosophy at ILLMUZIK! records, they all responded with a collective middle finger at the entire industry. inrcityhoodmusic was quoted as saying " we worked hard to get where we are. no disrespect, but i think we have come to far to just come crawling when someone calls. no disrespect, though. hey, when we feel the time, money, and project is right, will talk. dont call us, well call you." the rest of the heads over at ILLMUZIK! records nodded their heads in agreement. it looks like hip hop isnt dead after all. This is Sway for MTV news, keep it righteous. ...... oh, by the way..... keep a look out for the WOKE UP show. its me, tech, and the entire ILLMUZIK! squad."

 

[Fade]

Aahhaahah!! Nice one man. LOL. It would be nice if IllMuzik got to that point, I like the part about all of us giving everyone a big middle finger.

 

[Barock]

HipHop is a culture, a cultere which is evolving, everyhing changes, the clothing style, the rappin' the producing, the braking everything..... It's about to be fresh, and in 1980, leather jackets where fresh, now sneaks and baggys are fresh....

 

[inrctyhoodmusic]

Clothing has nothing to do with hip hop........the hip hop culture does not have a dress code

 

[milLion]

hip hop is what you perceive it to be -- music!!! -- a lot of outside factors have influenced its perception -- but when it all boils down to it -- it's just the music that you have come to know and love

 

[Copenhagen]

That was a good one TruthTold...maybe one day.

 

[Barock]

Originally posted by inrctyhoodmusic
Clothing has nothing to do with hip hop........the hip hop culture does not have a dress code

You shure? Back in the days it was all about fresh gear, namebelts, graffiti jackets, kangols, Adidas 3 stripes.... and you say that clothing has nothign to do with HipHop? Must be a joke...

BTW. If you say that HipHop is just music you discriminte a lot of people...

 

[inrctyhoodmusic]

Like I said you dress how you want!!!!Just so happens that , that was the style then and that's what most people in urban areas wore...it had nothing to do with hip hop.....Singers were dressing the same way so were kids and drug dealers what does that mean???

 

[Barock]

Of courese you dress how you want, but clothing is aprt of the big HipHop culture, like Run DMC, who reintruduced them 3stripes, or graffiti jackets or as i mentioned namebelts....

 

[milLion]

how is saying hip hop is "just the music" (not JUST MUSIC) discriminating a lot of people? -- explain yourself

and don't twist my words