Today's Jes Grew: Hip-hop

In my response paper for Mumbo Jumbo, I talked about the state of Jes Grew in today’s world and how our society has changed dramatically from Reed’s in how we appreciate African American music like hip-hop. Even though there are some hip-hop groups like Odd Future who have been criticized for their inappropriate and offensive lyrics, there is very little of the oppression of African American music that Reed describes in Mumbo Jumbo.

I would like to embellish my discussion on Jes Grew further by first touching upon hip-hop in its early years. When talking to Mr. Mitchell about Jes Grew in today’s society, I brought up hip-hop groups like N.W.A, a music group that redefined what hip-hop is today. Like Odd Future, N.W.A was just as controversial during its time, rapping about cop-killing and the dangers and violence in the Compton ghetto. Unlike Odd Future though, while the group members in the N.W.A have their own personal experiences in the ghetto to back up their lyrics, Odd Future’s group members are just teenagers with no self-control in what they say.

Contrasting N.W.A and Odd Future, we can see how hip-hop has changed. With hip-hop artists like MC Hammer, Kanye West, and Jay-Z, not only has hip-hop become much more commercialized, lyrics have also changed significantly. Rappers talk less about the dangers of the ghetto and more about the ups and downs of celebrity life and the unprecendented wealth they have accumulated (as seen in albums like Watch the Throne). Even though  the content of lyrics has changed, the use of the English language has not changed at all. As described by Reed, “slang is also Jes Grew”. Rap is, and will always be, about playing with words to create clever rhymes in order to convey a certain message.

Rap lyrics are not the only thing that has changed within hip-hop. Another significant factor that has changed the game of hip-hop is the Internet. I mentioned briefly in my response paper about how Odd Future rose to popularity thanks to Itunes and Youtube. With so many social media sites about, similar to the idea of Jes Grew just popping out of nowhere, even the most anonymous rapper can spread his name and music out through Facebook and Youtube to the point where he/she has a huge fan following. It gives anyone the chance and freedom to create their own music and share it with the world. That is what Jes Grew is all about: exciting amounts of energy and freedom. Jes Grew is about being brash and wild because artists have the very freedom to do so. No matter how the system tries to oppress, Jes Grew simply cannot be stopped.