It's no secret that hip-hop receives it's fair share of criticism, and sometimes rightfully so. But one of the criticisms that I have always felt has been completely ungrounded is the argument that hip-hop is far too nihilistic; far too angry. The argument typically goes that a certain old person heard some random rap song on the radio (which usually isn't the best barometer for what most fans of the genre would consider truly good hip-hop music) and were disgusted by how angry it sounded, how in your face it was, and how it lacked any constructive message like all that great music that was released when that person was growing up in the 1960's.
It takes little immersion in the hip-hop genre to realize how ridiculous the argument that rap is hopelessly vapid is and the latest album for Reflection Eternal, comprised of Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, sheds light on the absurdity. Rap excels at being the modern realist poetry and truly great rappers are able to rhyme about something many people are feeling but in incredibly complex and nuanced patterns. This is precisely what Talib Kweli does on the song 'Ballad of the Black Gold':
There is no other genre that could possibly display the far-reaching consequences of our societies addiction to fossil fuels in such a nuanced way as when Talib Kweli pens:
Loyalty to petroleum royalty spoiled the economy
We won't get it poppin' till we oil free
If you're oil rich then we invadin'
They call it occupation but we losin' jobs across the nation
But perhaps it isn't that hip-hop is as nihilistic as it has been portrayed. Maybe it's just proudly declaring a message that most of America doesn't want to hear. But in this fact lies hip-hop's greatest strength. At it's best, it is almost viciously unapologetic, holding up a world that most would rather ignore. When one listens to an album like RPM they can't help but notice that most hip-hop is not vapid at all, but instead irresistibly engaging.
"STRANGERS" TALIB KWELI & Hi-Tek feat. BUN B from Reset Pictures on Vimeo.
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