^^^ sunshine. i think the sunshiney opinion part kills me. ' in my sunshiney opinion '. perfect.
you know when you look at a thread. read and move on. then it bugs you. stays on your mind. this thread has done that to me. when you cant quite walk away. and its starting to piss me off slightly because i want to say something. and im not quite sure what it is. but like. the statement is that south african hip hop is mostly middle cla** based and orientated. and this is a major problem in it becoming a major player. so then what follows on is why right.
it seems simplistic somehow. with so many factors at play. let alone the actual rappers or those now seen as the predominantly middle cla**. with middle cla** values or stories or demeanour. an industry that plays a great role in determing who they think will sell. what they think hip hop is. and what it means to make money from the genre. hip hop is seen to have a certain image. has certain connotations. not. that popular idea of what hip hop is and is about (influenced by a number of things. mostly foreign perhaps). hip hop is understood in a specific way. whether this is correct or not is a debate that rages on. it doesnt help that hip hop tears itself apart. what is hard and what is not. who is real and who isnt. and what is and isnt hip hop. this focus on this type of stuff fragments what ever gains can be made.
in as much as i see your point sunshine. im not sure if thats it though. like. would it not stand to reason then that with any genre besides kwaito. 'the middle cla**' kids there could also be in a better position to push their music. is this what is happening. why is this specific of hip hop in particular. and arent there enough stories of people in the industry who dont have that money. who are here. who have made it. who continue to make it. i would say maybe the majority of south african music players have a different story to that. is this specific of hip hop in particular. why.
i mean with any place there is a multitude of things that contribute to the culture and psyche. kwaito most definetly has its place. i jam. but tis true too that kwaito may not always necessarily reflect my positioning. it may be that sometimes what they big up is not my reality. but i like things. a nice song is a song. end of story. and also with the knowledge that i am also of this land. and am a product of all the various spaces. could we not reach the same space with hip hop. celebrating those differences.
i think its important to try. you ill not always succeed. thats life. but you can try to have a more widespread representation of any one thing. so you will have your hardcore guy. but you will also have the guy who will croon. that variety is out there. why is not coming through is the question.
and also. the way is see it. hip hop peeps. the market that is already there. that small group. the majority of us are haters. we do not know how to support other people. even those of who share that middle 'cla**ness' (gotta love it) hip hop is said to have in bulk. we do not know how to support. we spend more time theorising the nature of that artists stuff and that artist (nothing wrong with that really) - giving all the reasons why they are not down. and not making something with our limited (?) power as consumers. as people involved in various forms of media. we're clinging to rigid notions and not pushing or thinking more creatively. alowing ourselves the space to think more creatively/openly. and without that no genre can grow. even with its small group. it can catch on and open up. and yes. music can also be aspirational. like fashion. societal boundaries and distinctions can be bridged. but then perhaps we do not have the people who posses the fire to do that successcully in the fore yet. again then. why not. who is doing the choosing. and even if we play our part in influencing those who make these decision. we ourselves cant decide. or be okay with there being different interpretations of the joy that is hip hop.
kwaito got the industry big wigs support because it was seen to be firmly rooted in the 'authentic south african experience'. hip hop faces the challenge of not being seen in that light to begin with. problems. this name calling isnt helping anyone really. at such an early stage to be be spending so much time weeding out who sounds kwaitorish and who doesnt is anti progressive. but this is what most hip hop fundmentalists refuse to face. if its for the love. then sure do what you do. and do it your way. youre not interested in the machine anyway. but if otherwise. then the artform will have to be given the space to be fluid and find its own face.
there does seem to be a great need for hip hop to find its identity within the dynamic context that is south africa. but i think the way its been designed. the manner in which hip hop is being presented is part of the problem. and i dont know. i just dont feel like its enough to just simple draw the line at it merely being middle cla**. i just dont feel that its just about it being middle cla**. its about the choices that are made. and questions that lovers and supporters need to ask themselves and then of the industry at large.
look i tried. will probably be back. just tryna say something.
