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Hip-Hop Appreciation Week Essay #1: Last Night a DJ Saved My Life…May 13 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line There's not a problem that I can't fix, 'cause I can do it in the mix. And if your man gives you trouble, you move out on the double.
I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for radio disc jocks. Even before I really got into Hip-Hop, I remember spending a large part of my youth being entranced by the voices and personalities of some of the greats like Wolfman Jack, Tom Joyner (has he really been around that long?), and even the complete insanity Dr. Demento. So naturally, when I started getting into Hip-Hop music, I tried to find deejays and radio shows that really explored the music, not just put on a rap track or two late at night when no one was listening. Eventually through much surfing and radio surfing, I found a treasure trove of local deejays who loved nothing more than to spin anything Hip-Hop related at a little non-profit, listener-supported radio station called 89.3 KNON FM. One of the programs was a well-respected mix show called Knowledge Dropped, Lessons Taught manned by DJ EZ Eddie D. Every thing intelligent and relevant made it into Eddie’s rotation; I still remember hovering over my crappy low-rent boom box listening to extended mixes overflowing with b-sides from BDP, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B and Rakim, and a slue of others too numerous to mention. With Knowledge Dropped… I refined my taste for underground tracks and Hip-Hop music, and started to really develop an appreciation for the culture as well. That show and many others like it nationwide epitomized the “golden era” of Hip-Hop. Deejays would play records not because the front office told them to, but because the streets told them to; the fans told them to. Periodically up and coming artists (and even a few established ones) would even stop by the studio to talk about rap, freestyle, and just generally hang out, not just to promote their latest wack attempt at an album. Spinning rap records helped to create a connecting common spirit that unified heads worldwide. It’s been said before, “the backbone of Hip-Hop is the deejay.” Not just the cats rubbing vinyl onstage at a show, but the ones in the radio stations across the country as well. The music radio deejays play a large part in the determining the direction the music will take in the future. That’s why the current state of rap radio is so disappointing. The playlists of far too many urban radio stations are determined by Soundscan numbers and advertising budgets without consideration of the actual quality of the music. In itself, this wouldn’t be harmful; there is definitely a place for pop music in radio. The problem arises when the “new breed” of urban radio jocks insists on calling pop music “Hip-Hop.” For example, several months ago, one of the deejays (the Director of Programming no less) for the most popular urban radio station in Dallas was on the air interviewing Jay-Z and discussing the nature of Hip-Hop. The deejay had the audacity to say that “even groups like Jagged Edge are Hip-Hop.” Even Jay’s commercial a** hesitated. The few seconds of dead air following that statement spoke volumes. Jigga may be pop, but he sure as hell knows what Hip-Hop is, and R&B group Jagged Edge ain’t it. Rza of the Wu-Tang Clan said it best in an interview on the Wake Up Show, “a lot of these stations claim, ‘this is the station where Hip-Hop lives’ and ‘it’s a Hip-Hop world’ and all that, and then they don’t play no Hip-Hop records. If [you want to be] Hip-Hop, [play] Hip-Hop. Don’t make it Hip-Hop because you say it’s Hip-Hop, ‘cause you’ll have all the children out there who’s listening and generations who don’t really know how we grew up with this, they start thinking that’s what [Hip-Hop] really is.” By classifying a pop-rap and R&B as Hip-Hop music, it completely undermines and buries the real stuff. Fortunately, more than a few old head deejays that know what real Hip-Hop music is try to represent whenever they can. It’s only on the mix shows of the older spinners that you’ll hear the genuine article. It’s the knowledge and respect for the music and culture that keeps them shying away from the commercial in favor of the authentic material. However, there are dire consequences for snubbing the mainstream, and that is why for the most part these deejays are being fired. Last year, Sway and King Tech of the legendary Wake Up Show radio program were terminated by black-owned Radio One (how sad) after refusing to adopt a more commercial friendly format. Julio G, a veteran of the nation’s first Hip-Hop oriented station KDAY, and the renowned Baka Boys were also recently terminated from Radio One stations. It looks like anyone who’s comfortable playing the pop stuff will remain gainfully employed while everyone else has to keep his or her resumes updated. Though most stations haven’t given a very good reason for the firing of these deejays, to many true heads, the answer is crystal clear. Old-school deejays are much more hesitant to play crap, and unfortunately crap is what pays the bills at most urban radio stations nowadays. Heads searching for “the real” usually resort to scrounging through underground stores and outlets for artists and compilations like those produced by popular mixtape master DJ Kay Slay. These “true school” deejays like Eddie Z, Sway, Tech, Julio G, the Baka Boys, Kay Slay, and a few others I didn’t mention are risking their livelihoods to promote the genuine Hip-Hop music and culture, so they get eternal respect and gratitude from me. Hopefully the mainstream will catch on and see that there is much of value beneath the surface, and be willing to penetrate the façade to find it. To all of the other milkcrate archaeologists out there making sure that real Hip-Hop is represented on the airwaves, I say thanks and hope you keep it moving for years to come. ----------------------------------- This Editorial is part of the Hip-Hop Appreciation Week Write-Off hosted by me. The purpose of HHAW is to help decriminalize Hip-Hop's current public image and to promote the true unity of the culture so that Hip-Hoppers may form a "common spirit" amongst each other. In keeping with the theme for Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, Gratitude, the writers are encouraged to give thanks to God, all people, places, things, and events, that have assisted their self improvement and sustained peace. For more thoughts and views on Hip-Hop, read the reviews and editorials from these other talented participants: LessThanNick1 Roheblius MagnumForce cletta1201 ekidd911 tigger500 DVON paulyoungotti gamblinfamily  |
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