Hip-Hop

I hated hip-hop when I was younger. The stuff that was on the radio when I was 13-14 didn't make me want to dig deeper into the genre, it made me want to change the channel. It wasn't until I was 16 that I developed an interest in hip-hop, and even at that, it was only by chance.

Long story short: When I was 15, I started attending concerts regularly at a venue downtown called The Icon. My dad and I became friends with the owner and helped out anywhere we could. One night, the owner called my dad because they needed a bartender. I hadn't planned on going to the show that night... it was a hip-hop show.

Anyway, Del tha Funkee Homosapien performed that night and, in a matter of 3 hours, my thoughts on hip-hop completely changed. He wasn't rapping about the usual money/drugs/women/etc, he actually had something of substance to say. Del made me appreciate hip-hop in a way that the popular artists at the time couldn't. I don't need every hip-hop album I listen to to have a message, but it would be nice if the mainstream had more to offer than just shallow, superficial club hits.