Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Everybody put your hands up

Why is there a new obsession for pop artists, especially hip hop artists, to compulsively put their hands up? Not only do they have their hands up probably all of the time, but they demand that you do the same. What is the significance of throwing your hands up? Does it mean you are letting loose? Because the few times I have been to dance clubs I have seldom seen anybody with their hands up. Are these people not down, if their hands are not up? Hip hop has lost all of it's originality. What was an underground scene with a legitimate message, has turned into something virtually without meaning. Hip hop has transformed to hip-pop with the lyrics being about being rich, dancing, and getting fucked up. The music behind it conceals the idiocracy of itself with virtually what the hip pop scene is about flash. Simple beats with new age sounds and meaningless lyrics lead to a new style of music that gives an ignorance is bliss vibe. When exposed to this music, the simplicity makes it very hard not to enjoy. You feel like the man. I particularly enjoy this music when I am not thinking, but when I take into detail the mediocrity of the lyrics and the effortless composing of the beat, the music is exposed for what it is flash. Hip hop music is no longer an art, people rap for money rather than meaning. With no meaning they fall back to one thing, throwing your goddamn hands up. The top countdown right now consists of songs like "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. The lyrics being "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes", and other songs like "DJ got us fallin' in love" by Usher with lyrics like "Hands up, when the music stops we both put our hands up" and last, but not limited to Nelly's new song "Just a dream", with lyrics like "If you've ever loved somebody put your hands up". I am not impressed by unoriginality. If I ever did have the sudden urge to put my hands up, I would not because then I would be Taio Cruz, Usher, and Nelly's bitch. Instead of throwing my hands up I am going to keep my head up high in hopes that someday rap will be about something truly meaningful again, rather than getting drunk and dancing.