Hip-hop. Sandwiched somewhere between gangsta rap and R&B, this art form, appreciated by the microphone wielding youth that have cultivated it, comes in a super sized meal of beats, lyrics, and diversity, a trio that now includes money. What does the elevation of hip hop from a street life to a penthouse life subject the future of this music to? As we march into a new millennium equipped with Virsace suits and paychecks, hip-hop could be looking toward an easier pathway. One where inner city youth are given the chance to express themselves on stage and off in fits of violence and aggression with no respect for authority. Or one where people continue to reach for a past that offered not only artistry and lyricism, but also respect and devotion.

As far as we are concerned, hip hop began in the early 70's when Cool Herc brought out his turntable set and began the culture we know today. Groups like The Treacherous Three, the Cold Crush Brothers, The Fantastic Romantic 5, and The Furious Five all took it upon themselves to syncopate and manipulate etry. Filling heavy drum tracks to blow through the speakers at your local house party, emcees and DJ's alike began speaking on the troubles they were faces growing up in urban America. And even though eople eren't buying it at the local record shop, hip hoppers kept going. They elevated the standards necessary for success and respect by administering battles. In a battle, two emcees, or two groups of emcees were pinned together on stage. Armed with only two turntables and a microphone, kids would prove their skills by insulting their opponents. After flinging chorus and verse alike, one group or emcee would come out victorious. The grand prize? Respect. Winner takes all, and leaves his opponent without a career. Famous battles like the Cold Crush Brothers Vs. The Fantastic Romantic Five, and Boogie Down Productions vs. Mc Shan,proved to the hip hop community that, in the early 80's, if you didn't have skill, you were sent back to your basement with no chance of making it big.

Today, things have changed. Hardly ever do we hear the word battle, or the word skill. We don't even hear the word freestyle. Freestyling being the act of creation at the drop of a hat. Emcees put words together and rhyme with the stuff they have on the top of their head at that given moment. The Industry that we have come to know today is built on money, power and respect. Hip hoppers as role models. parental advisory stickers. Putting not only pressure on the hip-hop community in Denver, but on hip-hop communities all over the nation. Walk into Tower records today and chances are you will hear the latest Puff Daddy single, but how many of us go into Blockbuster and hear something like J-Live or ED O.G.? Not man people even know who they are. Is it wrong that we aren't exposed to everything? Shouldn't we think for ourselves, and buy what sounds good, not what the industry feeds us? Emcees speak the truth, but they aren't always to blame. Most of the time it's the record executives feeding the money hungry, roken down puppets the reality of a hip hop where you really don't have to have skills to make it big (wha?). But not long after the emcee goes platinum, he starts his own record label. Signing up a few of his old friends, he feeds them the same bullshit the industry fed him. It seems like a never-ending chain. What has this culture grown to? Where your next door neighbor makes more money than you with his James brown sample and a party beat. You can't make a dime speaking with your heart from behind a pair of turntables bumping an original beat.

Times change. It seems like every woman and man wants to emcee nowadays. But money makes a man strange. Compare the flow that made puffy millions and millions of dollars to the freestyle that KRS-one did on the wake up show for probably nothing. Without the sampled beat and fly dancers, can you tell which of these things is not like the other? Puff Daddy: Quit that / you a big cat? / where your chicks at? / where your whips at? / Wherever you get stacks, I'm gonna fix that / everything that's big dreams, I did that / don't knock me cause you're boring / record sales soaring / straight touring/ simply/ a lot of men be wanting to hear me/ cause their words just don't offend me/ we spend cheese / in the west Indies / then come home to penti cream Bentleys / You name it / I could claim it / young black and famous / with money hangin out the anus / and when you need a bet / who you go and get? / bet against us / that's no bet / we make hits that'll rearrange your whole set / and got a Benz that I ain't even drove yet / KRS-One : Snitch ass / here's a quick class / I'm the blastmaster cause I blast you with some shit so It'll be over fast / keep mixin it / spinnin it / bendin it / bendin it like juice with gin in it / click click click pop we winnin it / You talk that shit but you're really illiterate / talkin shit like he he he, ss ss ss / sound out the word / connect the nouns and the verbs / stick with b b bird bird / cause the battles absurd / don't let these young kids yell " soup that ass up " / you'll get gassed up "you gassed up?

You puttin his ass up really?" / I don't even see you in the new Milleni UM / I see you on VH1 with Milli Vinilli and UM / Talking about what you used to have / your abusive dad / oh it's so so sad / cause I'm so so death defying / mesmerizing / every time you say you're dope that's false advertising / but it's not surprising / you lying / you ain't no battle hog / what you got? One demo against my 12 year catalog? / back up, this is the Bronx in them house / Representing LA without no doubt / Funny thing: Puff Daddy, with his status as a chart topping, multi-million dollar emcee is so famous, he is looked upon by his small fans as a role model. The same wealthy man who was arrested after a shooting in a club when cops found him with a stolen gun. Hmmm. KRS-One on the other hand, a 12-year veteran of the hip-hop world, is not as widely known. Chances are you won't hear his latest single on KS 107.5. But if you can't hear his single, maybe you can pick up some of the books he's written, or listen to the poetry he's written or speeches he's given. Maybe you could take a look at all the money he's donated to funds around the nation. But ask a 6th grader who he'd rather be like, and 9 times out of ten, he's say Puff Daddy, cause the mouth goes where the money is.

What we really have to look at is what we're doing for the hip-hop community by supporting wack emcees. Should we be listening to the emcee straight from the ghetto, or the emcee straight from the university? Hip-hop parents educate your kids, and hip-hop kids, exercise your minds, not your commercial radio dial.