Common has written up ten ways to save hip hop. I’m always worried when I hear things like “Band Z is saving rock!” or “Rock is dead!” or “They’re reinvented genre X.” Always a bold statement, almost always off target. Common’s list, though, is really good. Here’s a highlight:
Make Your Music Look Like Your Life
“For one, we all didn’t grow up in the ghetto. And even if you did, there’s more to ghetto life than just violence and sex and getting money — there’s a lot of beauty in the community aspect of it. That needs to be reflected in the music. Most people I know from the ghetto don’t want to glorify ghetto life — ain’t nobody happy to have to sell dope, and most people don’t wanna talk about killing people and violence. As my father used to say, ‘Even gangster dudes go to church.’ ” (full story)
I don’t own any of Common’s music. Maybe I should.