November 27, 1978 hip hop birthed a rapper by the name of Mike Skinner known in to the public as “The Streets”. While working and pursuing a rap career while also attempting to start his own label, what once was a group soon became a solo act. Skinner is a middle class native who writes both hip hop and garage music. Although his career quickly took off as Skinner’s albums was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, best album, best urban act, and several others. But after reading about him I begin to question how his role in the hip hop culture affects the larger culture as a whole. He has been accused of using a false accent apart from the one of his native hometown of Birmingham. As many may know in the hip hop culture a big thing that is not condoned is putting on a front. Often pretending you are something you’re not to sell records or gain public attention; leading a double life just for the limelight. People look to something they can relate to, music that reflects what they go through on a daily basis, and they want to hear it from someone who was once in their situation. So the fact that he uses an accent other than that of his hometown to me makes it hard for him to be related to not only in Birmingham, England but outside of the UK. It’s very hard to make it nowadays in the rap industry and one of the key factors is maintaining loyalty to your roots, and fans. Being that he is a UK rapper its hard to say what affect he has on a larger culture outside of that. Here in the U.S. we seldom here of rappers or artists from other countries. Over recent years we’ve just begun to move into listening to other genres such as reggae. In the hip hop culture its kind of like different cliques everyone is content to stick to what they know and are familiar with so we have yet to see a time when rappers or rather hip hop artists can move into other territories. While Skinner is a major artist in the UK and have made numerous top charting hits he isn’t really known outside it.
1 comment:
I understand what your saying in your blog entry about Skinner. I believe it is a inspiration to become a rapper from another country because rap does not have to be at one specific place. For this occasion being proved, rap is world wide. I believe in rapping you get to express yourself or certain ideas through a lyrical rhyme or even through interpretations which catches the audience. I do agree that even though you rap about certain things that you actually do not go through can be bias and not right, and that many of the audience find similar occurences that the rapper is rapping about so they can relate more and get closer with the rapper on a down to earth level.
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