From Jay-Z to Wiz Khalifa: Is domestic bliss now 'dope' in hip-hop?
OPINION - Hip-hop has become much more of a balanced genre. It’s like hip-hop went from being that teenage boy going through puberty to that late 20-something looking to settle down...
Growing up listening to rap in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was an amazing period for the genre.
You could turn on the radio and hear hits from artists ranging in geography and sounds. Although the diversity of artists was at an all-time high, the topics and content within the music were very narrow in scope. There was a period in the early 2000’s where hip-hop as a culture had a heavy focus on the sexual misconduct of men.
This focus led to an Oprah town hall on hip-hip and a BET series titled “Hip-Hop vs. America.” Songs like Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’,” 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” and Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz’s “Get Low” were Billboard chart-toppers. Music videos for “The Whisper Song,” “Suck It or Not,” and “Salt Shaker” featured scantily-clad women as props with misogynistic lyrics to match.
It didn’t just stop at the music, it was all a part of a larger lifestyle. Snoop Dogg crystallized this with his controversial red carpet appearance in 2003, when he attended that year’s MTV Movie Awards with two women wearing dog collars around their necks attached to leashes held by the West Coast rap icon.
The Obama effect
Over the past five years, hip-hop has become much more of a balanced genre. It’s like hip-hop went from being that teenage boy going through puberty to that late 20-something looking to settle down.
We’ve seen a cultural shift over the past few years in the black community. The emergence of Barack and Michelle Obama in 2008 has played a large role in this. For many young black women, Michelle Obama became an instant role model – a beautiful, educated, and strong black woman who has a man that adores her and tells the world that every chance he gets.
They symbolize the definition of black love and unity. Furthermore, outside of them being the first black first couple, what made the Obamas different is that they aren’t just black, they are black and cool. We haven’t seen this type of black family regularly appearing on our TVs arguably since The Cosby Show which went off the air in 1992.
My parents who are in their 50’s constantly refer to the Obamas as the “real-life versions of Cliff and Clair Huxtable.” They make love cool.
Being in love is ‘cool’
Jay-Z has become one of the biggest cultural influencers of our time.
When Jay said he was trading in his jerseys for button ups, the world followed suit. When he said Reeboks were cool, the world followed suit. When he started drinking Ace of Spades over Cristal, the world followed suit. So it was no surprise that when he started talking about his love for Beyonce through his music that others took notice and yearned for that type of love.
On his latest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, Jay has eleven references to Beyonce, some subliminal and some more clear. On the track “Part II (On The Run)” Jay-Z raps:
“… Deeper than words, beyond right. Die for your love, beyond life… They ain’t see potential in me girl, but you see it. If it’s me and you against the world, then so be it.”
Jay isn’t the only hip-hop artist talking about love through his music.
Nas, who many consider to be the “conscience of hip-hop,” not only talks about marriage on his latest album (Life Is Good) but ridicules men who decide to keep “playing the game.”
In one of his most introspective tracks, “Bye Baby,” Nas talks about the highs of his marriage with Kelis and the heartbreak of divorce.
But on the last verse he takes a shot at all the men who ridiculed him for getting married by saying:
“… And all I seen was selfish cowards, under their breath saying why did Nas trust her but speak louder bro. You live with your babymoms and scared to make an honest woman out of her and make her your bride. Fake pimps you ain’t even alive.”
