What is hiphop? Why do I need it personally? Here it is merely a link, the type of movement that bridges youths in the States to those in London to those in Japan, just by being its own self-perpetuating culture. As for its personal relevance, where there exist mental vortexes that you cant discuss much and conversation is null, you can bridge the gap in conversation by talking rap and whos the hottest and whose beats are the most grimy or grooving. And how shallow those prioritized conversations? Not so because rap is a seed that is capable of transforming an angst ridden teen into a laid back lyricist with organization to their thoughts.

Hidden in the culture, hidden in the slang, hidden behind the all to visible gangsta life it too often professes is the root of rap, the element that nothing can bar or edit, the element that is subtler than you may think. The voice brings word bring lyrics bring verses bring song, aka verbal mastery of expression. The tongue the brush, the vocabulary the paint, the ear the canvas. Masked and transformed by the drum, the lyric carries on its own life, like a word spoken that can never be taken back, but once escapes the lips, must live its life until its vibrations cease. And who doubts the power of words? Thusly, in rap, which is word, who doubts the power of expression?

A great emcee to me is someone whos verbal output can paint an image in my mind, much like a story teller, whos verbal image is well balanced and of the right content, and does not neglect its responsibility of enlightening someone instead of tearing them down. This is not all hiphop of course, just as not all Christians are truly concerned with Christ. Hiphop survives today at its peak after its creation 3 decades ago not because it is about black people or aggression (as its stereotype would tell us), but because it has the ability to rise above such trivial concerns.

Just as a good book enlightens but junk magazines fill your mind full of delusions. Good emcees using good words are capable of this. Dont be fooled by the structure, everything with a beat or someone rhyming is not hiphop. Musicians are audible artists. Some are Sunday painters, some are in it for money or recognition, some are in it for the nude models and then like all art, there are those who take it seriously and say something valid, comprehendible, and important, and are able to explore themselves and open others minds in the process.

And since I know its potential, I have to support it. And by its open-ended structure, I can apply myself, feeding and building off others that I admire. And when I pop my cd into a lost friends mind, it can tell them what I think in an indirect yet equally potent way. Its like saying, here listen, this is what I think is important to talk about, and important to know. My music is a story from my life page by page. It just so happens that I like bass. Thusly beats are my guitar, and watch me sing stories to these surroundings to enlighten and inspire and promote exploration. Friends who need to revise their considerations (like im one to talk) can see more options and more variety by listening to me. By listening to others. By listening to hiphop.