Revolutionary...Scary!

Three weeks in, and this year is full of indie and mainstream releases. My inbox has reached a new level of being full. Please keep sending your material to alesliemacevent@gmail.com, and know that we are always listening. In the next week you will see a new #MacAttack with an in depth look into the DJs, producers, and artists who make our lists every week. Thanks to the collaborative efforts with @n_rotation The DJ Magazine, we are happy to bring you more than just music, we talk to every feature!

Now this portion of the blog may shake up a few of you. But truth be told the fun days of Hip-Hop are long gone or at the least the fun music is swept into the virtual trash can. 

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five "The Message" was groundbreaking and insightful to the struggle of inner city living, but now it's not how to "overcome", it's about how to "get over" and that's by any means necessary. Let me pause and state that this is about the revolution of music and nothing else! Todays “Message” isn’t far off course of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, but its aimed at the destructive nature of society. NWA talked about the streets of Compton and the music no doubt mirrored neighborhoods across the country. Promoting violence was never the intention of the group who began the “Straight Outta Compton” track with, “You’re now about to witness the Strength of Street Knowledge”. Somewhere in the days of Slick Rick & Eric B and Rakim the industry decided to focus on the downward spiral of the community and not the fun party tracks of Heavy D or Kwame’. Now, I'm a huge fan of Jeezy, T.I., The Game and Kendrick Lamar, and truly believe there's a place for them on our mobile devices and bumping them through our Beats headphones. People we can’t keep letting mindless entertainment control the outlook of the culture. Being in love with the “Coco”…Not one of Hip-Hops greatest contributions, but it finds its way into the clubs and radio... SMH! 

Meanwhile the core Hip-Hop artistry has been getting replaced by pop culture music that infuses rap talent with the catchy club tunes that don’t relate to Hip-Hop or its roots. Last year Billboard made a historical milestone. After 55 years of keeping track of what we listen to, it showed us that Hip-Hop and its culture has met its fate on the chart. There were NO black artists on top of the Hot 100 chart. And yes, the jury is still out on Macklemore claiming the #1 spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Not to mention that 1 album sold platinum last year…Taylor Swift. Revolution of Hip-Hop music is scary. This only proves that the market, the “public market” that is, is asking for the happy rap; which is not from its native origins. They want rap but not from the street poets or the righteous thinkers. 

For these facts and these facts alone, independent artists should be embraced and supported, provided the content is worth it. 

#LeslieMac