The Destruction of Lauryn Hill

February 8, 1999, TIME magazine blessed the cover with the face of hip hop artist Lauryn Hill, crowning her as Hip Hop’s matriarch. The issue was made to celebrate Hip Hop’s 20^th anniversary; highlighting the impact of rap music and its affiliated culture. The 12 page cover story examined many legend rap artists including Sugarhill Gang’s 1979 hit “Rappers Delight”. Yet they choose Lauryn Hill to represent Hip Hop.

It was during that time period when she realized her position. The resounding success of her empowering album, Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, put her in the position to lead the masses. It was evident that she would lead a new generation of rappers that were intent on stepping beyond explicit and misogynistic status quo and to emphasize person and conscientious themes.

But then things went all downhill. Her career took an unexpected turn.  People were wondering when she will return. Than they began to wonder if she would ever return at all. Rumors surfaced that Hill had bipolar disorder, received spiritual misguidance, and underwent paternity disputes. She denied nearly every interview. However in 2002 she finally made an appearance doing her live album, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 which clearly showed her disillusionment. To make matters worse in June 2012 she was charge with tax evasion. She pleaded guilty to file tax returns on more than $1.8 million between 2005 and 2007. 

Before she went in, Hill made issued a statement to the public:

“…I entered into my craft full of optimism (which I still possess), but immediately saw the suppressive force within the system attempts to maintain its control over a give paradigm. I’ve seen people promote addiction, use sabotage, black listing, media bullying and any other coercion technique they could, to prevent artists from knowing their true value, or exercising their full power. These devices of control, of no matter how well intentioned (or not), can have a devastating outcome on the lives of people, especially creative types who must grow and exist within a certain environment and according to a certain pace, in order to live and create optimally…It became increasingly obvious that certain indulgences and privileges were expected to come at the expense of my free soul, free mind, and therefore my health and integrity…Individual growth was expected to take place unnaturally, or stagnated outright, subject to marketing and politics. Addressing critical issues like pop culture cannibalism or its manipulation of the young at the expense of everything, was frowned upon and discouraged by limiting funding or denying it outright” (click here for full statement).

Hill states that it were these conditions that led her to not be able to file and pay her taxes. “Someone did the math, and it came to around $600 million,” she said. “And I sit here before you trying to figure out how to pay a tax debt. If that’s not like enough to slavery…”. The question rises of why. Why the record were labels putting her in that position. It is because she resisted. She refused to “sell her soul”. But Hill had brought in an overwhelming amount of money that exceeded all expectations. During the week Miseducation hit shelves, Hill sold more than 420,000 copies, breaking the record release-week sales by any female artist. The Record Industry Association of America certified the album Gold a little more than a month after it came out and the record spent 81 weeks in the Billboard 200. They did not want to let that go.

Lauryn Hill is my favorite artist. Her outspokenness and positive outlook on situations makes her admirable. The soul that she put into her music captivated the world. She honest and intimate. She opened the doors for female artists who aren’t materialistic and flashing. It’s sad to say with the destruction of Hill, it tore the road she built. Yet the bridge that she made connecting Hip-Hop to mainstream stayed strong. 

Hopefully by now you can see how the greed of money that some record labels possess, can truly destroy people lives. 

There have been many articles stating the how record labels and corporations exploit black culture. However Hip-hop isn’t the only genre to be exploited. Is there a difference between the exploitations? Stick around and find out next week. Love and Peace.

Your Choice of Music Is An Illusion

Jay Woodson, organizer of National Hip Hop Political Convention (NHHPC), said it best : "What our options are in this political economy are options for profit, which benefits large corporations. This includes the entertainment industry". America is the master of illusion. Last week I explained how hip hop artists with a message gets over looked by major corporations and record labels for artists who discuss topics such as drugs, violence, misogyny and destruction. For those who primarily consume large doses of corporate media may find what this article reveals to be shocking.

The shocking truth is that big business control the types of music and artist that get exposure and become popular in our society. The Music industry is a $14 billion dollar business. There are 5 major record labels; Sony, Universal, BMG, EMI and Time Warner whom dominates 85 % of the market. Since 2012 the "Big Three" record labels include Sony, Warner, and Universal Music Group. They control the artist and set what percentage of the sale they keep. Since they are already a monopoly they try to keep competition between them at a bare minimum.

There was a time when radio companies could only own up to 40 stations nationwide and only four in a particular market. Then the Telecommunications Act of 1996 came and now Clear Channel, a large radio company, owns 1,170 radio stations nationwide! A lot of larger media bought up smaller markets and it has narrowed the choices for smaller media to have access to cable programming or local radio stations.

This amount of control over the Industry makes it almost impossible for underground artist to get exposed to the masses, which is what the Industry likes. It's no coincidence that big name rappers who are known throughout the world are sponsored by the biggest corporations in the world. These type of rappers promote business agenda's for the music industry where advertisements and propaganda takes over young minds. The majority of rappers are used by major labels to sell propaganda. Singer Cee-Lo Green had said " At one point in time, there was a code of conduct: creed and credential...hip hop was once an Ivy League institution, and now it's become a community college--you don't need qualifications to come on in".

Corporate America has infiltrated and corrupted Hip Hop for their own personal gains. They took the truth out of hip hop to keep the truth out of the youth. If you have a nation that is focused on topics that does not matter, it leaves room for the corporate to operate how they please. It gives them ample enough room to make money in all area, not just music. If you find this information to be unconvincing, be sure to stop by next week. I will give examples of artists who have benefited from this system and artists who have nearly been literally destroyed by this system. Love and Peace.

Hip-Hop, Its All About The Benjamins

American political, poet, writer and entrepreneur Kevin Powell said it best in his TIME interview; "You can always tell where a people are at by the music they make...hip-hop is no different. It has evolved with the times. Now whether or not the evolution has been progressive [or degressive] is another discussion entirely".

In my last article I promised to explain the downplaying of hip-hop and why it is happening. However, I can not keep that promise. As I did more research I found hip-hop isn't just downplayed, it is being exploited. To understand its exploitation you must first understand what hip-hop is and where it came from.

Hip-hop music is considered to have been pioneered in New York's south Bronx in the 1970s, on the brink of the Civil Rights amongst African Americans, but with some influence from the Latin American population as well. The four traditional pillars are DJ'ing, rapping, break-dancing, and graffiti art. However these elements are simply forms of art designed to express a deeper meaning. Hip-hop is more than art and entertainment, it is the constantly evolving spirit and consciousness of urban youth that keeps repeating itself in a never-ending cycle. It is everything from joy to sorrow, life to death, to dreams and nightmares. This genre of music is the spirit that connects the past to the present and lays a path towards the future. It is the same spirit that African people throughout the Diapsora have introduced into the world: Jazz, Reggae, Blues, Doo-Wop, Be-Bop and many more. Because of this hip hop can never truly die as a spirit is eternal.

If this is to be held true than why is there such controversy about hip-hop being dead? It is because of its exploitation. There is an over representation of the criminal aspects of the black youth culture. America was built on violence. Once gangsta rap groups such as Public Enemy and NWA surfaced, bringing in the representation of what the "streets" where like, there was increase in sales. People, especially white people, were fascinated. Corporations saw dollar signs. But even NWA said "it's not all about a salary, its about reality". That statement hold no truth to it anymore. Corporations send labels out looking for artist talking about drugs, money, guns and b's and ho's. These artists are typically black people living in or a paycheck away from poverty. As hip-hop transition from an underground genre to a mainstream billion dollar business, a lot of youth saw and still see hip-hop as a way out. They are going to rap about whatever it is that the industry wants them to. If their lyrics were to positive Industries wouldn't release their music. They would tell the artist to come up with something more "marketable". If you take into consideration where these artist came from, they will do whatever it takes to not go back and to keep their families from going back as well. The labels understood this very well.

As hip hop becomes more main stream it creates a barrier between old school and new school. Its not the style of music and content but the knowledge and history of hip-hop. There as always been the negative aspect of music. (Even though if you actually dissect the song, which you must do in rap, you will find the true message of the song.) However today's artist tend to rap blindly without reflecting on why it is they are choosing those specific lyrics. They do it for money; it's all about the Benjamin.

Hip hop has been divided into the selfish and the unselfish. The unselfish are the underground, socially concious rappers who thrive to keep the essence of hip hop alive. The selfish are the mainstream artists who entertain for a check and to keep their families out of poverty. But who can completely blame them. Hip-hop, like everything else black people create, is so easily exploited because of the conditions they face and live in everyday.

Hip-hop has evolved from socially awakening the mass, to motivating the mass to make money for the individual. Yet, I sense a movement taking place. A few underground, socially conscious artists are making an appearance in the Industry. Artists like J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, and Schoolboy Q. There is a merging taking place.

This rises the question, if artist like J. Cole are capable of making hit music that bring in a lot of revenue, why are corporations still highly marketing artist like Young Thug? Why aren't they giving these socially conscious rappers the same platform if the market is out there?

The answer to these questions may or may not surprise you. To find out stop by next week. Love and Peace.