The local hip-hop promoter is a buddy of mine. He has lectured me over
chronic many times about the difference between rap and hip-hop. As far as
I can remember hip-hop is a cultural movement (analogous to rock and roll
in the fifties) while rap is simply a form of music. The primary elements
of hip-hop seem to be cultural cross-pollination, societal marginalization
and opposition to the dominant culture. There's also a lot of talk of
racial harmony, anti-consumerism and weed as well as more than a hint of
spirituality (surprisingly often Islam) and talk of social change. Of
course every one of Dave's homies has his own variant on this and they
aren't all so positive. The only constant is the marginalization.
I might be going out a a limb, but 3 rich Jewish kids from Manhattan are
probably not gonna qualify. Not that anybody I know is wasting their time
figuring out who's keeping it real and who's not. It's just that the
Beasties spend a lot more time with Sean Lennon and Billy Corgan than they
do with the Wu Tang and Dr. Dre. Mike D. isn't guesting on many No Limit
productions. And the social change they advocate is fairly innocuous and
harmless to the status quo.
That's not to say they don't make great records. Paul's Boutique is behind
only Abbey Road, Sign O' the Times and Gone on my list of all time faves.
