The Moment I heard Hip-Hop Was Dead
Feature by Matios Berhe
The moment I heard Hip-Hop was dead, my heart broke.
I mean, people on the underground have been saying that forever.
They said it about jazz; they said it was the devil's music. They said it was about rock and roll; they said it was a devil's music. That it had no class. Everybody assumes that every piece of art is the reason for The Demise, that it’s the reason why everything’s going wrong.
They think hip-hop is a bunch of Materialists or Lovers of Capitalism; Hedonists.
I say, yeah, he's spending stupid money on a chain; you're spending stupid money on a house that you can't afford. And maybe he's sending the wrong message to a kid but his purchase isn't the one that's ruining our economy.
You bought the house, you refinanced it, bought a car, bought a boat, used it like a bank account, couldn't pay it back, messed it up for everybody. It just sounds crazy to me. It's like people aren't even paying attention to the things that they're saying.
And then they turn around and listen to a 17-year old rapping about getting [ __ ] and then they get upset…like you weren't thinking about getting [ __ ] when you were like you were 17, or weren’t thinking about getting [ __ ] when you were 47, or weren’t thinking about getting [ __ ] when you're 78..
When I was eight hip-hop kissed me on my lips and I had nothing but lava to say after that…
An excerpt from On Art with Matios.
You’re not ready for it.
There’s nothing that can prepare you for it.