(Sidewalk in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Taken by Lesia Fedorak.)

I wasn’t really sure how to begin this post, so I thought I’d open with a definition. I searched “hip hop” on the internet’s most reliable source, Urban Dictionary, and found that most of the results share a common conclusion: hip hop just isn’t what it used to be – hip hop has sold out to be mainstream. While Urban Dictionary may be somewhat of a joke 90% of the time, it’s much like our IAWTsubmissions@gmail.com account. You’ve got to weed through all the garbage but eventually you’ll find some gems, or, in this case, someone that takes defining a word seriously and does so accurately.

Hip hop, like any genre, has evolved dramatically. This disheartens many who grew up on A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, KRS-One, etc. The subject matter has switched from rebellious anthems protesting social norms to self-proclamations of one’s worth. I’m not here to say hip hop has gone to shit. I’m just here pointing out that it’s deviated from its roots more than its pioneers could have ever imagined and to many, that’s very upsetting. Music, while entirely subjective, shouldn’t be about making radio hits. I personally find a place in my iPod for every era of the genre and the evolution fascinates me. What I don’t have time for, though, are artists that follow a formula. They’re the ones that are blips on the radar. Artists like Soulja Boy absolutely disgust me, but I accept Jay-Z’s shallow rhymes and self-glamorization because he’s a hip hop artist of today and he does it damn well. Too many artists, though, feel there’s a formula to success and embodying a persona will get them on the radio. These artists are who compromise the genre and their lack of true artistry and passion is obvious. Ahem, Soulja Boy.

Nowadays, however, we get too many so-called hip hop artists who are so overly concerned with achieving great fame and extravagant fortune that they’ve forgotten the true roots of the genre: music, love, protest, and other such sources of passion. According to one user-submitted definition, “what was once a cool underground movement has now mutated into corporate sexist garbage.” This breaks my heart. Sure, we as today’s youth can listen to old-school hip hop from back in the day when the genre was still emerging, but we don’t have the opportunity to experience the movement, the lifestyle, and the culture associated with the early stages of true hip hop.

This brings me to the question, where was the breaking point? When did everything change? Who began the pattern of selling out to be mainstream? The lines are so blurred and all possible arguments are so biased that it’s impossible to point a finger at whom to blame. That’s all irrelevant at this point now, though. There’s no going back to the origins of hip hop because of society’s evolutionary nature, but artists can try to embody the foundation of hip hop in today’s culture.

That being said, I’d like to point out that not all of today’s hip hop music falls under that preconceived notion of being sellout garbage. There are so many incredibly talented artists out there that stay true to themselves and what they stand for. These are the artists who make passion-fueled music for the sake of self-expression. These are the respected artists whose music has integrity. These are the artists we try to support and showcase here at In Audio We Trust. Just check out our list of IAWT’s Top 5 Hip Hop Albums of 2011 for a few examples. We’re essentially the glass trophy case that displays the artists who prove hip hop is indeed not dead. It doesn’t necessarily need saving – maybe just a priority check.

Whether or not you care about my aforementioned opinions, whether or not you agree with what I have to say, and whether or not you believe hip hop is dead, I hope you read the following 100 Ways To Save Hip Hop. Henry Adaso compiled this list which basically calls mainstream America out on its bullshit. It’s a refreshing must-read for all hip hop music fans. With the new year just around the corner, I wanted to bring a light to the current state of hip hop. Screw New Years resolutions; keep year-round resolutions. Keep year-round resolutions to stay true to yourself and what you’re passionate about. Don’t sell out, no matter who you are or what you do.

Passion vs. Fashion. Which side are you on?

100 Ways To Save Hip Hop

1. Stop playing the same 5 songs on the radio.
2. Stop listening to radio stations that play the same 5 songs.
3. Stop blaming Diddy.
4. Stop Diddy.
5. Stop dubbing every new jack “the next great” this and that.
6. Stop charging body parts for shows.
7. Stop fabricating feuds to sell records.
8. Stop putting Lil Wayne on every song.
9. Stop saying hip-hop is dead.
10. Stop hating Kanye for being weird.
11. More battles, less beef.
12. Stop biting Jay-Z’s flow.
13. Stop biting Biggie’s ad libs.
14. Stop putting weed carriers on your album.
15. Stop trying to please everyone.
16. Stop leaking entire albums song by song.
17. Stop making posthumous collaborations.
18. Stop getting arrested for dumb things.
19. Stop being homophobic.
20. Stop blaming record labels.
21. Stop whining about how much you miss the golden age of hip-hop.
22. Stop cluttering albums with corny skits, unless you’re Prince Paul.
23. Support creativity with your wallet.
24. Stop making 50-song albums with 90% filler.
25. Stop faking the funk.
26. Stop calling people who disagree with you “haters.”
27. Stop hating.
28. Stop kissing ass for favors.
29. Stop saying you miss “real” hip-hop.
30. Stop hating Jay-Z.
31. Stop saying you’re carrying ___ city on your back. That’s not even possible.
32. Stop acting too cool for school at concerts.
33. Stop rapping about the same three topics.
34. Stop rapping about UFOs.
35. Stop promoting sexual violence under the guise of hood reportage.
36. Stop defending misogyny.
37. Stop being a Twitter groupie.
38. Stop taking contrarian views for the sake of being different.
39. Stop hating people who disagree with you.
40. Stop dissing Soulja Boy.
41. Stop Soulja Boy.
42. Stop dissing people who make dance-tastic rap. It’s been around forever.
43. Support innovative DJs.
44. Actually make the effort to move the crowd.
45. Stop radio payola.
46. Stop blog payola.
47. Push the envelope.
48. Stop biting.
49. Stop yelling on mixtapes.
50. Stop blaming bloggers.
51. Make meaningful music.
52. Stop obsessing over airplay (or lack thereof).
53. Stop showering undeserving veterans with blind praise.
54. Stop sleeping on unsigned talent.
55. Stop hopping on trends.
56. Stop making everything a race issue.
57. Stop being so gimmicky.
58. Stop calling everything a concept album.
59. Stop making tinkerbell beats.
60. Stop blaming skinny jeans.
61. Stop blaming hipsters.
62. Stop explaining your art.
63. Let your music speak for itself.
64. Stop playing it safe.
65. Invest in better artwork and packaging.
66. Stop promoting ignorance.
67. Stop burning bridges over stupid things.
68. Stop bragging about sales.
69. Stop showing up six hours late to your own shows.
70. Stop blaming the South.
71. Stop putting people in a box.
72. Stop tossing “classic” around.
73. Stop congratulating yourself on every other song.
74. Stop trying to sell the same album twice.
75. Stop looking for the next 50 Cent.
76. Stop hating people who color outside the lines.
77. More rapping, less singing.
78. Stop wasting your budget on video hos.
79. Do tell me, how do you get in those jeans.
80. Stop getting murdered by Eminem on your songs.
81. Stop telling me to “bring that sh-t back!”
82. More improvised freestyles, less written freestyles.
83. More originality, less biting.
84. More RZA, less Bobby Digital.
85. More effort, less ghostwriting.
86. More albums, less mixtapes.
87. Stop using auto-tune to mask a lack of singing talent.
88. Stop making contrived girl songs.
89. Stop wearing obnoxious gold chains.
90. Stop calling everything a movement. Civil Rights = movement; Bugatti Boys = not a movement.
91. Stop shooting up the clubs.
92. Stop wearing jackets that look like LV handbags.
93. Stop nominating idiots for Hip-Hop Honors.
94. Stop handing out awards to the same 5 people every year.
95. Stop sending impostors to your show (I’m looking at you, DOOM).
96. Ban Diddy from Twitter.
97. Stop putting baby pictures on your album cover.
98. Be aware that the roof is not literally on fire.
99. Retire the word “swag.”
100. Stop trying to save hip-hop. It doesn’t need saving.

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