Should rap/hip-hop be 100% authentic?

[The Curmudgeon]

Apologies for this, but I'm going to have to ask you to watch a video by someone called "Slim Jesus" for the purpose of this discussion. I know, I know. Humour me.

So "Drill Time" by Slim Jesus has caused quite a stir online, and it's created all kinds of controversy and debate over what real rap music is, who should be doing it and what they should be saying in their songs. Take a listen.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRo48zg2iyU

Now, that isn't some kid rapping about blunts and bitches. That is a guy talking about literal, casual murder. I read up on the video and the "reason" they're using fake guns is because they weren't allowed to film them with real guns because some of the kids in the video are minors. I don't know whats more troubling about that sentence.

Anyway, Slim Jesus himself said that even though he raps about it, he doesn't live like that, that he's "not an idiot." And people really took that hard, like "how DARE you not be a murderer?" Other rappers like the Game have went online saying he needs to be careful, that people will "test" him on the things he raps about, and that they'll know if he's not legit he'll pay for it.

It also lead to a lot of discussion about, of course, the fact that he's white. That if he was black there wouldn't be so much immediate scrutiny of his lyrics and background, but if he was black and came out saying that what he's rapping about isn't 100% authentic then he would be doomed. The other argument is because he's white more people are willing to look the other way and say that its just "entertainment."

There's no real answer to any of these, of course, which is why every video he's in has got thousands of comments and most of them are insults aimed at other posters. A bit like every YouTube video ever, really.

So, regardless of the song itself, what do you think hip-hop should be? Does it HAVE to be 100% real life? And if so, how do these idiots rapping about owning jets and boats when they've got one album out compare? How does 50 Cent get to admit that a lot of the cars in his videos are rentals? That's not reality.

And outside of hip-hop, guys like Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and Alice Cooper present something in their music away from their real lives, yet that never gets brought up. Bon Jovi, for want of a better example, sings about losing a girl in his life when he's been married for thirty years.

So, does hip-hop have to be 100% real to be legitimate? Or are lyrics, wordplay and message just as important?

[Ben]

I'm glad you mentioned some rock artists at the end because the first thing I was going to say was that I can only think of a couple of metal bands where members have actually killed people (!) and yet close to half of thrash, death, and black metal is about devil worship and mass murder. The lead singer of Slayer- you know, that Satanic thrash band who's been blamed for inspiring murder like 8 different times- is Catholic, for crying out loud.

As far as that affects the listener, it's a case-by-case basis for me. Slayer has always been way to cheesy for me to really love them, and in the realm of rap, I don't think I've ever believed that Ice Cube only has good days when he doesn't have to use his AK, or any of that shit. For better or worse, most music ISN'T reality. Our lives are all too fucking boring or redundant to build a career on sharing our experiences. That's why people write songs about comic books and movies and other fictional stuff, like partying err night and shootin' pigs.

I've honestly never understood the mass amounts of hate that rappers spew at each other for being "fake" because they're all fucking poseurs to one degree or another. I mean, when I listen to the Chronic I'm willing to believe that bong you hear in the background is actually Dre getting ripped, but when him and Snoop talk about killing undercover cops? Yeah... somehow I doubt it.

And thank God it is fake, right? Like you said, Curmudgeon: "How DARE you not be a murderer!"

[trashcanman]

What he said. Music is entertainment. It's cool to talk about real life if that's your thing, but I don't think that Johnny Cash is a fraud because he didn't actually shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die. It's a badass line designed to give you insight into a character being portrayed by the singer. Should actors be torn apart because they don't actually do the things they do in movies and TV shows in real life? And seriously, only Tumblr-dwelling losers and bigots give a shit about skin color. Yeah, I'm going to stop listening to Bad Brains because they appropriated white punk culture into their sound.

[The Curmudgeon]

Scrolling through Youtube comments for rap videos is a bit like pouring bleach into your eyes. Dear God, the lazy homophobia. The casual racism. And dear God the grammar. But what's notable is the non-stop "how real are u" mentality, virtually unknown in any other medium. The fact this dumb kid rapping about guns and murder could legit BE killed because he's not really like that..and people are actually calling for it.. is just.. wow.