Hip hop culture (at least here in America) has influenced not only our musical preferences but also our language, clothing, movies, and car styling. But you won’t see much of it online. The websites for hip hop artists resemble those for other artists, and the more innovative things are mostly done by us geeky white kids.
Why is this, and will it change? I asked my friend Elizabeth who’s familiar with both the online scene and hip hop. She says,
i’m not sure if the problem is available tools or simply culture and education. there are many tools available on the web. it may also be a difference in priorities. most of the people I know associated with “hip-hop” culture are more active/interested in making relationships in person and going to events vs. spending time online. online is just somewhere to sell things and post pictures and event invitations… maybe there is some web-evolution that cultures have to go to to adapt themselves to the web…?
I’m fascinated by the possibilities of hip hop infecting the web. And frankly I think the technology is a barrier to many low-income students. Rather than merely educate low-income students on tech issues, framing the offer as hip hop online — starting with what’s being done now like amplifying the functionality of event invites — could be more attractive and generative.
Responses
Hi Victor. What a surprise to find hip hop on your blog!! I’m a huge fan, which might be surprising for those that know that I am a private banking strategy consultant. I particularly like French-African Hip Hop, because of the intelligent texts illustrating the life of African immigrants in Europe… E.g. “Abd Al Malik”…
As to the topic Web and Hip Hop, I find that the biggest contributions & innovations have been indirect. Through online communities and innovative music sites/vendors such as AimeeStreet.com I have been able to discover incredibly good new hip hop online. Particularly the niche styles that I prefer…
But indeed there seems to remain a huge potential for direct innovation, which you would expect from a rather innovative branch of music that is used to mixing up things…
Cheers from Europe,
Alex
This post strikes me as strange primarily because I deal with online hip hop culture more than anything else.
Blogging’s a big part of it and there are blogs by hip hop heads all over the country.
There’s all sorts of stuff going on.
Here’s one place to start:
http://www.worldcypher.com
Here’s another:
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/user/16337626620036443949/state/com.google/broadcast
Feel free to be in touch.
Peace,
Clyde
Did you know that there is a course that teaches you how to write and record rap music at home?
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Muthu
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