Essay: Real Hip-Hop, is that still a thing?

Depending on who you talk to, either Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg or Nicki Minaj stirred up a controversy this week over what is real Hip-Hop and more importantly, is it worth pulling out of a concert for.

Here’s what happened.

• The annual Hot 97 Summer Jam was held in New Jersey over the weekend with 55,000 people attending
• DJ Peter Rosenberg told the crowd that ‘I know some of y’all are waiting to hear ‘Starships’, but I want to talk those who are here for real Hip-Hop’, insinuating that Minaj was not Hip-Hop.
• DJ Funkmaster Flex backed that up, strangely while he was playing Chris Brown and Rihanna’s ‘Birthday Cake’, which is not a Hip-Hop track.
• Minaj, supposedly under direction from Lil Wayne, pulled out of the concert.
• Minaj called in to Hot 97 and had an extremely unenlightening argument with Funkmaster Flex that lasted for 45 minutes.

There are no winners here.  Certainly the large portion of the crowd who were expecting to see a Nicki Minaj set were pissed off, and were those who came to see Drake or Lil Wayne (who also did not perform).

Flex and Rosenberg both came off as backwards thinking Hip-Hop purists who apparently didn’t realise that a lot didn’t come to the concert to listen to purely Hip-Hop.

Minaj looks foolish for packing it in under the advice of Wayne (or was it his ‘daddy’ Birdman pulling the strings?).

Flex came off like a bully in his radio interview, barely giving Minaj time to talk.

That’s what happened and everyone looks bad, but how did it come about?  What is real Hip-Hop, and why isn’t Minaj allowed to be a part of it?

The Hip-Hop Rosenberg and Flex are talking about is exactly the type of Hip-Hop that Minaj makes.  However, she also makes bland, repetitive radio hits (and the awesome Superbass), and the Hot 97 DJ’s don’t take kindly to artists playing bland, repetitive radio hits at the Summer Jam. 

Look, Minaj isn’t the only Hip-Hop artist to make crappy commercial tracks in search of sales.  In this era of smaller sales, listeners are expecting a wider variety of sounds, and being straight-up Hip-Hop just don’t pay like it used to.

Besides, everyone’s done it, even gutter MC’s like Jay-Z and Nas have made dodgy commercial tracks. 

The fact Nicki has had more success with her pop tracks than her Hip-Hop tracks probably didn't help, but that is more of a reflection of the music landscape than Nicki’s abilities as an MC (which are considerable).

Can you define real Hip-Hop?  Yes, you can, even in today’s world.  Unfortunately, when Hot 97 books Nicki Minaj, she’s singing ‘Starships’ at her show.  Hot 97 knew that upfront, and shouldn’t get pissed about it after they booked her (though I’m sure the DJ’s had nothing to do with the booking).

Here’s the deal – don’t slag off a performer your employers have booked for your show, even if it is over a crap pop song.  You have your radio show, your DJ nights, but you don’t own that crowd, and I’m sure they would tell you if you asked.

So is Minaj Hip-Hop?  Yes.  Is she Pop?  Yes.  It just depends on the track. 

She doesn’t represent the four elements, but neither does Jay-Z or Kanye.  Respect the past, enjoy the old records, then embrace the present and enjoy the new ones.

Jay-Z put it best… “On to the next one, on to the next one”