Television has taken on an MTV, BET image the last few weeks.
Rapper Cam’ron told everyone to stop snitching on “60 Minutes." Common said all women were princesses on “Oprah.” Snoop Dogg’s explanation of how rapper’s usage of words differs from Don Imus’ played on several network news programs.
Their goal: to restore hip-hop’s image in the wake of recent criticism stemming from Don Imus’ now infamous words about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.
But they may be too late.
Long before Imus uttered his “nappy-headed ho” comment, rap, the music part of hip-hop culture, was in a downward spiral. After about 30 years of growth, rap sales nationwide decreased 21 percent from 2005 to 2006. Sales of other kinds of music in the same timeframe only went down 6 percent. Those numbers, from the Recording Industry Association of America, include compact disc and digital sales.
Lawrence rap, which is usually grouped together with Kansas City as one scene because of the cities’ close proximity and large number of venues in Lawrence, has also been affected. Sales have plummeted about 70 percent at one Lawrence music store since 2005 and crowds have decreased where rap artists play.
Theories for the drop off range from the increased prevalence of violence and sex that leaders are speaking against right now, to a lack of quality music, to a cyclical lull in sales.
The style of local rap acts differs from mainstream rap, but violent incidents that have been associated with hip-hop in Lawrence and a national focus on making hit songs, known as singles, rather than quality albums have created problems for the local scene.
“The last few years have been terrible for rap,” said Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur, co-founder and CEO of AllHipHop.com, a leading rap Web site.
Pick a Problem
You only need to look at the track listing on a few rap albums to see the presence of misogyny in hip-hop culture.
Jermaine Dupri sang about “Jazzy Hoes.” Ludacris distinguished women as “Ho.” Jay-Z invites people to read the scripture of “Money, Cash, Hoes.”
“The way they talk about women, the way they use the term bitches and hos and stuff, I think is a really sad commentary,” said the Rev. Leo Barbee Jr., pastor of Lawrence’s Victory Bible Church. “God has given us women to be an asset. To talk about them like that is to demean them.”
Imus’ comment may have sparked criticism against hip-hop, but studies and polls show people were tired of its association with violence, sexuality and drugs long before.
A 2006 study by the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation concluded that rap listeners are more likely to abuse drugs and commit violent acts. Half of all people surveyed in a 2006 AOL Black Voices Poll said hip-hop culture hurts American society.
That doesn’t mean rap’s declining popularity can be entirely blamed on some artists’ perceived negative messages.
“If people were sick of that,” said Sean Hunt, also known as Lawrence rapper Approach, “then the radio would stop playing it.”
Jason Agron, co-DJ for KJHK-Lawrence’s “Hip-Hop Hyp” show, said other genres such as country music exploit women and include violent messages too. He doesn’t think rap’s decline will be permanent.
“I think it just goes through phases,” Agron said.
Creekmur credits the decline to increased bootlegging and a lack of creativity in artists. He’s spoken with high school and college students and discovered that “vulgarity” isn’t the problem. He thinks it’s the popular artists’ inability to connect with listeners.
“It’s evident that the state of rap on the commercial level lacks depth and quality,” Creekmur said. “People just aren’t into buying rap music that seems forced or contrived. The consumers are speaking volumes by not spending their money.”
Local Hip-Hop Homicide
A Lawrence jury recently found Rashawn T. Anderson guilty of killing one man and injuring another outside a rap concert at the Granada last year. The two might not be his only victims. Anderson’s actions may have wounded the local hip-hop scene.
“With Lawrence, you have a really small town,” said Laura Watkins, co-DJ with Agron on Hip-Hop Hyp. “Whenever there’s something like the shooting, people are just like, ‘hip-hop, it’s all bad.’ That really damages it.”
Lawrence, which combines with Kansas City to have a strong hip-hop community, is experiencing a decline. Rap sales at the Love Garden, a downtown music store, are down 50 to 70 percent from two years ago. Kief’s Music, also downtown, is selling significantly less, although its owner couldn’t give an exact number. Both stores have large selections of Lawrence and Kansas City rap artists.
The Gaslight Tavern, which sometimes has live rap acts, gets half as many people for rap shows as it did two years ago. The Bottleneck has fewer rap shows than it did two to three years ago and is experiencing a similar decline in attendance. Only about 100 people came to see local rapper Archetype last week, about 1/3 of what the venue can hold.
Map of music venues and stores in downtown Lawrence. From Google Maps
An October 2006 incident involving the murder of Anthony Vital, better known as Clacc of the local group Da Bomb Squad, increased the connection between hip-hop and violence that had already intensified because of the Granada shooting. The negative vibes toward rap are evident on the Lawrence Journal World’s Web site. Citizens lit up the message boards with comments on the Granada story and Clacc story that blame rap for the violence.
But not everyone blames the recent violence for local hip-hop’s decline.
Most of the 50 plus rappers listed on lawrencehiphop.com as being from Kansas City or Lawrence local make music that lacks the misogynistic, violent themes common in mainstream songs.
“Our rap is completely the opposite,” Hunt said. “I’m the polar opposite of what would be considered misogyny.”
Local rap’s differences with the mainstream could actually be part of the reason it’s struggling. Rap listeners, Hunt said, have become obsessed with hot singles that have ready-to-sing choruses. The songs are perfect for purchasing on Itunes or for a ringtone. That’s why mobile phone and digital download sales have increased 98 percent and 71 percent respectively since 2005, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The artists and record companies who make those singles, Hunt said, don’t always focus on making quality albums.
“The labels have a one track mind when it comes to rap,” Creekmur said. “They are looking for a smash hit and hope that can be leveraged into other platforms like ringtone sales.”
Don Imus didn't ruin rap music.
Sales declined nationally and locally during the last two years.
K-U-J-H TV's Mark Dent tells us why people aren't listening to rap music.
Local artists don’t have the luxury of heavy radio play that can translate into those sales. All they can do is market albums. So if a local artist makes a quality CD, it’s not likely to sell as much in an industry where popular singles sold as digital downloads attract the most listeners and buyers.
Keys to the Future
Watkins attended a Talib Kweli rap concert at the Granada about a month ago. She enjoyed the music and the atmosphere and never once felt unsafe. The only problem was she could hardly move. The place was packed. It was the second high-profile rap show that’s sold out this year at the Granada.
Was the concert a sign that rap is starting to find favor again in Lawrence?
“If more shows happen the way Kweli went with really positive energy and nothing bad happening,” Watkins said, “it’ll rebuild.”
Perhaps even better for local rap was that Hunt opened for Kweli. A sell-out crowd had a chance to hear him. It’s one of the many ways local rappers try to gain the recognition that can translate to higher sales.
Technology is another way. Area rappers such as Tech N9ne, Reach, Archetype and Hunt have MySpace accounts that feature their music. Some also have free Podcasts on the Internet. Hunt said he expects these steps will help area hip-hop sales increase when several rappers come out with new CD’s in the near future.
“All of us are working hard,” he said. “Over the next eight months, you’ll see what we’re talking about.”
Changes like those could help local sales bounce back, but an improved image for all of hip-hop could be an even greater benefit.
Russell Simmons, CEO of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, responded to the criticism magnified by the Imus situation by calling for recording and broadcasting industries to ban “ho,” “bitch” and “nigger” in clean versions of rap songs. Clean versions of songs are the ones heard on the radio and TV.
The Rev. Leo Barbee, pastor of Victory Bible Church in
Lawrence, discusses how the Don Imus
situation could be a positive.
That ban’s not enough for some. The targeted epithets are already edited in most clean songs. Barbee said more drastic measures need to be taken to fix hip-hop’s negative effects on society.
“The Imus situation has made it become front page, and I’m glad it has,” Barbee said. “The community needs to rise up. I think if there’s an economic boycott it will make a difference. If there’s no money, they won’t make it anymore.”
Simmons, rapper Common and Kevin Liles, executive vice president of Warner Music Group appeared on “Oprah” two weeks ago to discuss the state of hip-hop. They said artists rapped about what they saw in their neighborhoods. Instead of worrying about fixing music, they said, people need to fix the poverty that influences the music.
Hunt said he’s worried about the apparent dissension between the critics of hip-hop and the members of the hip-hop community. He wants the two sides to come together. Then, rap music can get back to its old status.
“It’ll come back,” Hunt said. “But it’s not going to be one-sided. It’s going to have to be a compromise.”