Teach Me How to Doug E…
July 16, 2010 8 Comments
Welcome to another edition of Light Fridays
Hip Hop elitists are constantly complaining about the steep decline of hip hop as artists like Soulja Boy are on the rise. The dissonance grows louder now that there is a constant stream of dance music emerging out of the South. To them I say, get over yourself. While it is perfectly understandable if one style of music is not your personal preference, but to blame as the pitfall of hip-hop or dismiss it as it has no place in hip hop is both erroneous and unfounded.
The history of hip-hop has always been an outlet for both social commentary and a reflection of the fun mirrored in black community. Anyone who says hip-hop has no origin and dance, call-and-response, and catchy music doesn’t know what they are talking about. There was once a time when no one was murdered in hip-hop. There were no how-to guides of how to manufacture, distribute and profit off the drugs. It was just story telling and music made for the basement parties. The good ol days… So as I listen to current music, I can’t but think of the pioneers of the like Run DMC or Doug E. Fresh that are notorious for getting their crowd hyped and involved.
However, I am not delusional. I am fully aware that a lot of the new age performers lack the genius of many that came before like Slick Rick that painted a perfect picture in rhyme. My point is that not everything in hip-hop is heavy or profound. And as much as I love Jay-Z, Nas, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli, I don’t want to hear it at the club. No one goes out to just bob their head and contemplate life and social ills. They go to party. The basement parties have just moved to bigger venues.
So come on people, open up your hip-hop umbrellas. There is enough room for everybody.
Exhibit A
Seriously what is a La Di or Da Di? Go Head. I’ll Wait.
Really what is the difference??Not much!
The Mocha Café 
I blatantly disagree, and I think most dance music today is horrible… particularly soldier boy. The great’s you listed made songs for us to dance to. Most of the good people who made Hip Hop Dance songs of our era aren’t in the game as heavily… which allows such debauchery to grow… there isn’t a standard anymore… we get lucky when the “profound” minds give us something commercial with a dope beat. I don’t think we will ever see eye to eye on this due to North and South opinions but my community is having such a hard time saving Hip Hop and Hip Hop Dance…
The greats I listed didn’t make songs specifically for the hip hop dance genre, they made music for everyone- professional dancers or not. The equivalents in our era were the 69 boys, Luke, and Mc Hammer. Every generation has their own and of course are biased to what era they grow up in. But the response from the general population is the same. They get involved and dance (at their own level) and to me that is the whole point.
I agree that everyone of every level participates… it clearly requires no skill to do the kid n play… but those dances were fun and lively… these dance songs now don’t even have any thought or “routine” put behind them… swag and surf being another despicable example…
aww come on now Nay. They have about the same skill level required as the “whoop” or the “cabbage patch” or the “running man.” And most of the dances out the south require more skill than that and are in fact a routine and series of dances. (And I don’t consider VA the south.)
I equate swag and surf to going to a game and doing the Wave. It is something easy that everyone can do. Like the two step. Everybody can’t do full out routine at the club but they shouldn’t feel ostracized. lol!
I said they required no skill, but they were fun and lively. I don’t think the doug e and swag surfing are that. I’m not referring to anything that has to do with professionalism or skill or even rhythm lol. I’m 10 times more hype to do old school dances as opposed to new school, despite south or north… the jerk (which does require some skill) and getting light are included 🙂
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Its not so much that there are dance songs, or that they’re too simple or too hard or whatever. But the difference between the two eras is that many/most of the songs that you danced to back then still had SOME content or lyrics (Luke excluded, because he branched his own market). Soulja Boy basically repeats the name of the song 57 times then says OHHHHHHHHh and the song is over. Another major difference is that songs that you danced to back then weren’t necessarily made just to have a dance whereas now its a cookie-cutter formula to generate spins and airplay.
The one group I might be inclined to exclude, although I personally don’t like them, is The New Boyz. They have songs you dance to, but they aren’t just one song wonders, they got a few different songs, and they don’t all come with an instruction book. At the end of the day though, my club experience could probably be completely encased in music from 1992-2002 and I would have NO problem.
You and Nay are old! I am young and still got it! lol! But you are right, it is cookie cutter but so is a lot of music being labeled “real hip hop.” so i don’t think it means it has no place in hip-hop or music. *dougie-ing on exit*