A dominate theme that spread across many hip-hop blogs in 2005 was the discussion of a generational gap in hip-hop culture. Now that hip-hop is over 30 years old, it seems that fans in their mid-twneties and younger have different tastes and expectations for the music than the older fans who witnessed hip-hop during the so-called golden years of the early nineties.
Are the younger fans suffering from youthful ignorance? Are the older fans falling into fogey bitterness?
These tangled issues were dissected from multiple angles by hip-hop bloggers. The conversation is still new and has not yet graduated out of the music blog circle. So feel free to add to the discussion by leaving a comment on of the linked posts, or carry on the meme to your own blog.
Greg Tate's "Hip-Hop Turns 30" Village Voice Cover Story
- Hip-Hop Turns 30: Whatcha celebratin' for?
- Tate's article which bemoaned the lack of social consciousness in hip-hop served as a frame of reference for the blog discussions about the generation gap.
Reactions to Greg Tate's Article
- Greg Tate is an Old Man
- I argue that Tate's age has diconnected him from hip-hop and he's begun to judge the music on social merit first, instead of art.
- Greg Tate vs Greg Tate
- To further prove the generation gap, I dig up a Greg Tate piece he wrote when younger that reads opposite to his feelings about hip-hop today.
- Hip-Hop Is Dead
- Jeff Chang sides with Tate on the state of hip-hop, but then wonders if he himself is seperated from the music by a generation gap.
- Facing Hip-hop Love Addiction
- Jay Smooth compares the bitterness felt by older hip-hop heads to the symptoms of "Love Addiction".
- <$Hip Hop$>
- Sam Chennault argues that hip-hop is too big and decentralized to be pinned down as dead or alive.
- CYNICAL BEATDOWN
- Oliver Wang interprets the nuance in Tate's essay that I thought was missing from his argument.
Thoughts on the Hip-Hop Generation Gap
- Facing Hip-hop Love Addiction
- Jay Smooth compares the bitterness felt by older hip-hop heads to the symptoms of "Love Addiction".
- The Problem with Hashim
- Hip-Hop journalist Jimi Izrael uses me as an example of a young hip-hop fan who doesn't know enough about the culture to critique it.
- Jimi Izreal is an Old Man (and I'm Young)
- I rebut Jimi and explain that my youth allows me to experience the music as it was meant to be, not with heavy social expectations many of the older fans apply to it.
- More on the Hip-Hop Generation Gap
- This post and the thoughtful comments afterward serve as a good summary of the issues of the generation gap. For me the conclusion is that the gap exists, and all critics of hip-hop need to be aware of the role their age may play in clouding their perception of the music today.
Books on the Hip-Hop Generation
The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture
Release Date: 04/29/2003
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