Ladies and gentlemen, long before the T.I.'s and Solja' boys of today's "rap," there were many real artists that created works of art, such as Guru and Dj Primo's duo of Gang Starr. While much of the "gangsta" rap from the 90's talks about gang-banging and pimping, Guru decided to truly explain what it means to be from the streets, and put an end to the popular method of fronting to gain musical popularity.
You see, with the success of gangster rap in the 90's (and even now) people who weren't necessarily gangsters decided to rap about their hardships in the ghetto-even though they never happened. No, you don't have to be from a ghetto to have mad rhymes, but if you're going to rap about how you just saw your homie get shot by some bloods, that sure as hell better have happened. Posing, no matter what the posing is of, shows insecurity and lack of courage.
With Primo's couth beats and Guru's metaphor-riddled lyrics, Gang Starr didn't hesitate to show the world that just because a person's from the ghetto that they don't have any perspective on life. With such lines as "Sometime you gotta dig deep, when problems come near/don't ear things get severe for everybody everywhere" he's speaking out to the people, letting them know that, yes, things might be bad for you, but you can't dwell on it and feel sorry for yourself because it happens to everybody. "I'm ready to lose my mind but instead I use my mind/I put down the knife, and take the bullets out my nine" shows that (along with being a sick ass rhyme) sometimes you have to sit back and think. Getting impulsive and using the "nines" and "knives" won't necessarily help you.
As much as I hate to be honest with myself and realize the fact that artists and groups like Gang Starr won't be rising to the top of the charts at this point in time, there still might be hope for today's youth. Why trash like T-Pain and the "New Kanye" (I miss the old one) is topping out the iTunes top ten, I have no idea.
So I ask you reader, please, listen to "Moment of Truth," and see if it doesn't change your views on what rap should be and how much meaning can be placed into a song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH3hrtp1T84
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