More than Music

“There is genuine Hip Hop; a message that connects, rocks a crowd, and motivates a people and then there is what is left... instead of Hip Hop we have Hip replacement.” Said by Johnnie Dent Jr. Hip-hop wasn’t a genre, it was a culture that, told the good and the bad The harsh reality of the lives of those that lived it It was a masterpiece built on the canvas of the project walls Cold hard concrete that bites at the touch. But Covered with a lyrical protection that poured out your soul for you Told your story for you Shed those tears for you Mended the pain with a earth-pounding bass, a smooth rhythmic movement that keep the blood flowing heart beating and the mind sane, Hip-hop was more than just fame It was unity, a magnifier of the black culture, our talent our abilities Often looked over by the music industry And To our communities stuck in a rut You gotta keep ya head up I wish I could say the same today I wish music wasn’t tainted by the lust for fame But what’s lost is significance Music is nothing without lyrical intelligence That why it’s a hip replacement because it’s a cold hard metal replica there’s no muscle, no strength, no significance to inspire generations after of us. Raping, I mean rapping to the minds of the innocent stripping them of a better future. Instead of building our culture, we degrade, divide, and deteriorate the bond formed by hip hop. Hip hop was more than just music, it was a message, a story, a life lesson… If rap is something you do, then hip hop is something you live Hip-hop died when family didn’t matter no more Culture didn’t matter no more Community didn’t matter no more. So pop that pussy for a real nigga, Money over Everything Cause if it was about impact, We’d put thought into the things we say If you don’t take anything from the poem, I ask you to just remember this “I am the manifestation of study, not the manifestation of money, therefore I advance through thought, not what’s manufactured and bought” -KRS One