Russell Simmons wrote: “Whenever we saw, or heard, or felt elements that seemed authentic or inspirational, we took them and turned them into Hip Hop.” That’s the essence of Hip Hop. I caught this little tid-bit of wisdom while reading Russell Simmons’ “Do You“, and it caught my attention because he used that particular paragraph to express his way of thinking back in the day during the inception of his Hip Hop clothing line, “Phat Farm”. Hip Hop is an inspirational genre of music, it always has been. Since day 1, Hip Hop artists did their best to break the mold, or break barriers.
But, what happened now? Why are more and more labels focused on breaking away from that and are focusing in on the drug dealers, and the gangstas? Okay, maybe even that image has changed now, but the mainstream Hip Hop now focuses on partying, girls, limos, and champagne bottles. So, when Desi artists come out and talk about real music, they get completely looked over and ignored.
Real Vs Fake
Artists who talk about real experiences seem to have no place in the Hip Hop industry at large. Even artists based in the United States like Bohemia, or Lazarus, or I-Sick, or Ali Kulture, seem to be treated like foreigners in their own land. As artists like them share their experiences of the ‘American Dream’, it seems as though their experiences are not meant for the world to hear. It’s as if what they say has no merit just because of their ethnicity or upbringing. As we can see from the audio snippet from Lazarus’ interview with Chuck D above, labels are not interested in his real stories of being a Doctor. Labels aren’t interested in the stories told in the east – in Asia.
If we placed Bohemia in a room with Timbaland and asked him to rap about the money, the cars, the paid models, and the expensive liquor, I bet the world of record labels would take notice and see what this Desi is all about. But, just because artists like him have real content, and real experiences to rap about, record labels feel the need to ignore it.
DesiHipHop.com – Where All Artists Are Free To Express!
We, at DesiHipHop.com, could care less about the mainstream. We have a single goal in mind, and that’s “UNITY thru HIPHOP“. And how do we aim to achieve that? We aim to achieve that by allowing Desi artists all over the world to express themselves completely, because we believe that as people share their stories, listeners will start to relate with that. We know that the more stories we release in the form of Hip Hop, the more people will relate to it. And, if we can get someone from India to relate to someone in Pakistan, or someone in Mumbai to understand the struggles of someone in LA, or even someone from NY to feel the music by someone in Bangladesh, then we have succeeded in our mission.
Bring ‘Em All! Let’s Start A Revolution!
So bring us all the Desi artists, the darkest and the brownest rappers, the Desi rappers who are so Desi that they get to their studio sessions in a Rickshaw! Bring us the Desi rappers who celebrate Diwali before they record a song, and the Desi rappers who celebrate Eid while writing a rap verse, and the Desi rappers who write rhyme patterns on the way to church. Bring us the Desi producers who get home from a week-long wedding party in their chacha’s village to compose a beat. Bring them all to us, because we will surely spread their stories and make sure the world takes notice!
With love from DesiHipHop.com
info@DesiHipHop.com | DJRaf@DesiHipHop.com