Trashed

“Hip-Hop is dead because we as music artists no longer have the power” (Nas 253).  “Music is subjective and it’s all opinion therefore, negatives outweigh positives” (J-Zone 254).  Not true.  You cannot please everybody.  So why try?  Good music and good albums are about the vibe they give off.  If you like what you hear, then what was produced was a success.

In light of Hip-Hop being dead, what’s that about?  “Rap is supposed to be a way to have fun and get away from everyday stress, while not limiting yourself,” stated J-Zone.  Has he not heard of other genres of music?  Such as Country, Punk, Rock, Pop, etc.  Is it all about Hip-Hop?  I sure hope not.  If so, what has our society come too?  Why does J-Zone choose to focus solely on Hip-Hop?  He chose to address his feelings by purposely breaking grammatical rules and using nonacademic language to support his purpose.

Was his point made?  To an extent, yes, but gave reason to argue his purpose.  “But sometimes things need to fall apart to give birth to greater things” (J-Zone 261).  How would recreating the art of music help, knowing that there are new technologies able to recognize a star quicker?  We are in a century of new technology and it will only become larger as time goes on.  How did the Internet kill rap’s number one asset?  Was it because you did not have the technology we possess now?  What is it that makes J-Zone so angry?  J-Zone states, “It’s virtually impossible to stand out.”  If you know the right people, it’s not.  Maybe it took longer for you to get recognized because technology is not where it was when you were first starting out.

When googling music blogs, many things came up.  I chose to focus on a country musician that I have become a huge fan of.  Winning my heart after Season 4 of American Idol, Carrie Underwood has taken country music to a different level.  She embodies what J-Zone feels is missing in Hip-Hop.  J-Zone spoke about Hip-Hop being dead.  His purpose was to get reactions from his comments and thoughts.  He mentions that, “Rap is supposed to be a way to have fun and get away from the everyday stress, while not limiting yourself.”  Yet, isn’t he limiting himself to what he is listening too?  Why not broaden your musical ear by branching out to other genre’s? Becoming focused on one genre of music limits you to your knowledge of the rest.  Could you explain if there are other genre’s “dying” as well?  Is it just Hip-Hop that surrounds itself with quantity over quality?  Is America really dead if Hip-Hop music isn’t as successful as it has been in the past?  I think not.

When reading one of Carrie Underwood’s blogs, as she has multiple, it was stated one of her songs was good, but not great.  That is hard to believe considering how well Carrie is as a musician and song writer.  The song being trashed was “Mama’s Song.”  Honestly, nothing than the best has ever been written about this song as it portrays a daughter helping her mother let go, thanking her mother for what she’s done, and praising the man she’s marrying to her mother.  Nothing short of what a mother needs to know as she finally lets go of her daughter.  No matter how a critic reacts to a song, performance, etc., should never underestimate how good of a song, performance, etc. really is.  Although what one person may write lingers, should not effect the future.  How one person thinks of something is completely different from, let’s say, how I think of it.  If I trashed J-Zone for a song he has just produced, and someone reads it, thinking the complete opposite, they form an opinion.  Everyone has opinions.  How we express them is completely different.  There is always a better way to approach something in a positive light.  How J-Zone approached how Hip-Hop was dying, was completely inappropriate.  There is an alternative way he should have reacted, that would not have stirred readers away from his points of view.

Blogs – Carrie Underwood

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2010/08/27/single-review-carrie-underwood-mamas-song/

http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/us/news

http://blog.cmt.com/tag/carrie-underwood/