New York, NY (May 19, 2008) – Chris Faraone (who also coincidentally penned the piece about N.E.R.D. the other day) dropped this doozy on Allhiphop.com today. With all the backlash they’ve received, it’s a wonder MTV refuses to get their “Brain Trust” together and have a 2008 Most Talented MC version, too. That would then satiate fans like Faraone (and me) who are calling for heads to roll. Blah. Read:
…According to the notoriously mannequin-like MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway, who himself is a member of the so-called “Brain Trust,” the group is comprised of the “smartest, most knowledgeable hip-hop minds at MTV News.” I know – that’s on some smartest retard/coolest nerd shit to begin with – but it gets worse.
These are the puppets who smile as Wayne and T-Pain monopolize airwaves, and who benefit when record labels fill MTV coffers with payola. They’re the swine who push deplorable materialistic tomfoolery on near-captive audiences and then claim that they’re quelling popular demand; not since that painting of dogs playing poker have so many bitches gathered around one table.
I hate to dig too vehemently into the individual “Brain Trustees”; as a whole, they’re a team of shills who shamelessly perpetuate ignorant trends, but as fans, I believe that most of them, at least at one point in their lives, valued rap music over hip-hop hype and image.
Ouch. And it gets worse. Aha yet I found myself nodding my head in agreement as I read down each paragraph. However, I do have to back up my man Sway in this instance; I’ve met the dude, and he is without a doubt, one of THE most hip-hop dudes I’ve ever met. That said, though…
The thing you have to unfortunately remember, is that the “Brain Trust” simply did what they were told; they were instructed to come up with a list of the hottest, most “now” emcees. And maybe that’s where Faraone really has his argument. Hip-hop is no longer what it was in the 1990s with diverse groups coexisting on the same radio dial. If anything, this list is just evidence. That an artist like Lupe Fiasco was even included is actually pretty staggering; even though Common made the list last year, Lu’s profile is no where near as high as Common’s was. So, to stay positive, something right was at play for his name to be mentioned.
I think the real problem inherent with a list like this is that it reinforces the bullshit most "real” hip-hop heads despise. In effect, MTV is rewarding wack music because, while it might be embraced and pushed by labels/entertainment outfits, their list acts as if there aren’t any suitable alternatives available. People will consume what they are given, but the same types of people once thought A Tribe Called Quest deserved the right to be No. 1 on the Top 9 at 9 Countdown, too; when, or more specifically, who, said after 1996 that they couldn’t, I wonder? What brought about that decision? Why, all of a sudden, did simple, soulless rap deserve to be mainstream? In retrospect, it’s as if someone literally flipped a switch.
With sales flagging like they are, I would be hard pressed to expect executives go out on a limb and revisit that old-is-the-new-new formula. It makes me sick to think about, but it’s the truth: innovation, for the moment, is dead. Which is pretty shocking considering how much of a state of flux music is in right now. You’d think it would be the opposite.
How do we get around it? Well, I think first of all, someone powerful will step up, someone with some clout and a vision. Second, a group of artists, diverse in culture but united in their purpose and content will have to figure out how to get the public dancing AND thinking. And third, independent artists and labels will become mainstream. Whether the major labels divide themselves into smaller subsidiaries or what, I don’t know, but it looks like that’s the way the industry is headed. It would be a perfect storm if all three factors lined up and came together simultaneously, but for now, all anyone can do is push the pieces closer together…
