Hip Hop is Dead - I

The hip hop community here in has dwindled down dramatically nowadays. No longer does one get to actually hear good quality albums out in the market, nor healthy competition amongst the once prominent players of the industry. What happened to the days of weekend gigs, online freestyle face-offs and beef spat out in lyrics on released and unreleased tracks? Do we have to face the fact that Malaysian Hip Hop is actually dead? Forget rave album reviews, or showcases featuring Hip Hop artiste, I'd gladly see just one local act on TV talking about their upcoming show in the near future, because that can only be perceived as Hip Hop still having a place in our local music scene.

Don't get me wrong. There are those who are still pushing their own album, still driven with motivation to get their stuff on the airwaves, and even though we hear so little of them, I have the utmost respect for these rare groups of people. It's sad when I think of the hardship we had to go through once; having literally no money to even go for our own shows, not getting royalties from our album sales and having to travel out of state with shared expanses among us just so we could perform at a gig. Years later as the industry began accepting Hip Hop music as a means of generating lucrative revenue, groups began to emerge and fight for a chance to cut an album, to get sponsors and endorsement deals and even travel abroad to perform Somehow what we and our predecessors before us went through; felt worthwhile. That it took years of frustration and disappointments to build a foundation for the next generation to carry on the fight.

Sadly, that couldn't be farther than the truth. More and more groups are secluding themselves from the 'mainstream' acts. Everyone wants to be dubbed 'unique'. Now music actually had to be branded a certain way or type and not seen as universal anymore. Its okay when you differentiate your sound or techniques, but to totally sever yourselves from the genre by disassociation or by certain level of 'whackness'; is what kills the scene itself.

Back then, when one mentions 'beef', it is often because competition was fierce and everyone had something relevant to say. You'd patiently wait to hear your rival's comeback and plan to execute the next attack with fiercer words. You'd know which lines were bitten and who said what first. Even the fiercest competitors had some level of respect for one another. Often unspoken; but understood. So note to self and everyone out there: Be professional rivals and not personal ones.

It's good to know that nowadays creativity plays an important role in music production, concept and even lyrics. Where Hip Hop is concerned, we can say that our scene is more developed than most Asian countries, but it's also true that we have reached a state where the scene itself is stagnant and is no longer progressing anymore. It's definitely evident when you see more and more different genres being showcased nationwide nowadays and Hip Hop artiste are seen as yesterday's news, so organisers aren't even bothered to slot in artiste from this genre into their programme, but I think the problem is more deeply rooted than that.

We lack unity, and that's the underlying issue. Many don't or refuse to understand that the Hip Hop scene is so niche that it's almost impossible to see really prolific acts that in a span of a year or so ago were just about everywhere; as often nowadays. Some have just stopped altogether, concentrating on more stable ways of securing income or have opt to produce or arrange rather than putting out an album. I don't blame them, because it is true that each artiste has a limited lifespan to excel in this industry, and with this brand of music; the lifespan is even shorter than other genres. Making the most of it while you still can is one option, but the social responsibility to educate and inform the newcomers is the other and more critical duty. And that is where we have failed miserably.

I admit--I'm now more a spectator than a participator. But with 14 years of being in the industry, I think I speak for myself and my peers who still in our small ways contribute to the scene when I say we all love the music and what it represents. We've all experienced and cherished our journeys from hopeful kids to more informed adults, and how this music and the surrounding factors affect us as a person. But I'm just saddened that at this day in age, so many choose to look backwards and not towards the betterment of the scene as a whole. Maybe we all need a paradigm shift on how we think and act, maybe it's as simple as remembering how good we had it once ,and strive to rebuild it all over again. For the love of the music and what it means to each and every one of us, something needs to change.