July 2008

It’s amazing nowadays. It seems that every hip hop listening session I attend is being covered by more non-blacks than I’ve ever witnessed before! Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that the music and culture I grew up on is being appreciated and covered by all races. I love that it is being accepted internationally. But, I have to ask: where are the black representatives?

With so many blogs, websites, magazines and television shows covering hip hop, it seems as if the voice that was once ours is being taken away from us. You know, know, like rock and roll. The universal appeal is still strong, but the trend of blacks actually making money off this entity is minimal when you see the people running the labels, the radio stations, the distributors, the magazines, the retailers, etc. Will we be shut out of our own creation again?

If this pattern I am witnessing continues, it’s going to get to a point that we will be unable to attend press conferences or anything involving hip hop in the very near future. I also fault publicists, managers and label heads, because when the artist is still underground, bubbling or just coming out, the urban press gets first dibs.

We are the ones that make sure to let the world know when these artists are coming out or how hot they are. Yet, the minute they chart, make noise and sell some records, we get taken out the loop for the sake of the MTVs, Rolling Stone Magazines and more ‘national’ publications!

But, lo and behold, if these same artists fall off or need that buzz again, guess who gets that email and phone call? This is a sad situation indeed. I’ll be monitoring this for years to come…

What do you think?