What is Hip-Hop?

What is hip-hop? Is it just spoken word lyrics delivered over a beat, or does it have to speak to the struggle against the dominant hegemony? Does it have to express what we’ve come to know as hip-hop culture in order to have legitimacy and authenticity?

Hip-hop artist Buck 65 is white. He started out as a DJ, later developing into an MC. He has a low, gravelly voice that many have compared to Tom Waits. His lyrics do not talk about growing up poor or struggling to be accepted in a predominantly black musical community. He tells stories. Craftsmanship is about a shoe shiner trying to make it in an increasingly business casual world. Cries a Girl is about an incest victim. Although the beats and turntables are there, the delivery and content are not what we would normally defined as hip-hop.

Hip-hop artist k-os is black. Unlike Buck 65, his vocal style and physical appearance match what we expect from a hip-hop artist. But when it comes to his lyrics, k-os rejects the so-called hip-hop culture. In many of his songs, he criticizes other rappers for being too focused on money and success and not caring about the music. When he talks about growing up, he doesn’t mention being poor or struggling against any dominant hegemony. k-os looks and sounds like a hip-hop artist, but the lyrics of his songs are not what we expect.



So, are Buck 65 and k-os real hip-hop artists? I think they are, so I guess my definition of hip-hop is based more on how the music sounds than what it is saying. You might feel differently.