All posts tagged: Hip Hop

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JenRO – “Planet Z” – Breaking Down False Binaries In Hip-Hop

Hip-hop is full of false binaries – East Coast/West Coast; Old School/Nu Skool; Street/Club; Male/Female; Gay/Straight, and, all too often, never the twain shall meet. Superstar Top 40 Hip-Hop artists like Drake, The Weeknd, and Nicki Minaj broadcast the intricacies of celebrity like some crystalline Fortress Of Solitude, faces as perfectly presented as some ceramic Mardi Gras mask, commenting on the nihilism of partying every night, the boredom and apathy of drinking $1000 bottles of Cristal every night. Meanwhile, rough-and-tumble street rappers speak more to the experience of regular, working class people, struggling for dignity and a good life. They’re stories more of us can relate to, not to mention having more in common with hip-hops embattled roots, but the lack of resources, like high-quality studio recordings and a well-oiled marketing machine, means people just aren’t as likely to hear it. While it’s not a problem in and of itself, as good-sounding records from highly talented people with a boatload of resources are important, (think: Beyonce), we run the risk of losing working-class dialects in …