Why the internet is killing Hip Hop. I bet you never thought you'd see that said here did you?!? After all, I run an online magazine covering Hip Hop culture so wouldn't it be in my best interest not to bring attention to the concerns of the internet's negative effect on Hip Hop? However, when do y'all know me to worry about what people think? Strap yourselves in and hold on tight cause we're about to take off.

There is no denying the numerous positive effects that the internet has had on Hip Hop culture. We're able to network like never before, it's made inroads into leveling out the playing field in the music business and given artists an opportunity to have the entire world listen to their music. That's wonderful but we spend more than enough time trumpeting the splendor of the internet's role in new millennium Hip Hop. Let's talk about the damage that the internet has bought upon our culture.

While the opportunity to have your music heard by the world is a great thing, it has also spawned a negative cottage industry that we've never been confronted with before. Before the internet, when someone said they were a rapper or a DJ and had a record out, they really did. It meant something to have a record deal. Since we've all jumped online, scores of pimply faced kids with a computer mic, a software program and a burner have declared themselves independent artists who own their labels when in reality the only labels they own are the ones they stick on their CD-Rs. It's the dreaded arrival of the netcee, rappers who otherwise would have no voice in the game. We have "artists" in our own backyard who have had album release parties yet turn around and submit a CD-R scribbled with a Sharpie, accompanied by a piece of loose leaf paper with the track listings jotted down and "cover art" that's more in the shape of a door than a real album cover. Of course all of these acts consider themselves "the truth". The truth is that most of them make mistakes and act like fools because they are in over their heads and have no concept of how things work in the real world. The truth is that ninety percent of them suck. The truth is that outlets like PhillyHipHop.com are guilty of contributing to this trash by shining light on it. The dilemma from a journalistic standpoint is deciding where to draw the line between helping out a talented unknown and lending credibility to bums.

The internet means that you no longer have to have talent to put out a product. The internet means that you no longer have to leave your bedroom to make money selling your music. The internet means that you no longer have to rock a crowd to be heard. Worst of all is that the internet means that you no longer have to pay dues. This is a serious intrusion on time honored and proven tactics. A perfect example are the white kids who create songs laced with the N bomb from the security of their cul-de-sacs and outer city "hoods". Let's be real and say it: while it is not strictly a race issue and there are numerous full fledged, legitimate Hip Hoppers who are Caucasian, there is a phenomenon of young white kids who are clueless as to what Hip Hop is really about, don't care to know, but swear they think they're doing something. There is no way I'm the only one who wants to smack the ish out of the whiteboys walking thru the mall looking like bad cartoon versions of West Coast Gang bangers! Well guess what? It's often those same buffoons encroaching on our culture without understanding the ground rules, respecting the game and paying dues. Like I said, it ain't just the whiteboys cause lord knows we're saddled with more than enough cases African-American kids who are just as clueless about what Hip Hop really is. You know who I'm talking about, the kids they call Beanie Babies in Philly.

The flooding of the game with all these "online moguls" also hurts legit artists because it dilutes the talent pool and brings down a notch or two what it means to be an artist. Without paying dues or respecting the game, we're repeatedly and regrettably witness to nonsense like "artists" having online temper tantrums because a music critic suggested that they might not be the next KRS-ONE. Before the internet this type of behavior was unfathomable.

One thing is for sure. The internet is not going away. Like every other aspect of life, the internet will continue to play a part in Hip Hop. Among my many concerns is that those of us who have lived Hip Hop, bled Hip Hop and radiated Hip Hop will be overrun by those only claiming to represent Hip Hop.

Where do we go from here?

Share your feelings on the internet killing Hip Hop right here

Funk Wizard Snow
Editor- PhillyHipHop.com
December, 2002