By Tawanda Chari
Zim Hip Hop kingship has
become an oft-debated topic in the present. More so given how even dancehall
artists and comedians are catching the wave. It's good exposure for the game,
definitely, but is it really hip-hop?
It seems that even certain
quarters of artists who rap do not fully understand what they claim to
represent. Fans like to make lists rating such artists. But the divergences and
contradictions manifested in these lists are enormous because there is no clear
understanding of what hip-hop truly encompasses.
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| The likes of Holy Ten have sparked and intensified conversations around Zim Hip Hop kingship |
The Difference Between Hip Hop & Rap
There is a palpable
disconnect as regards the multi-faceted outlook of contemporary rap music and
the real-world memories of the responsible artists – and it’s this disconnect
and absence of authenticity that distinguishes various strands of hip-hop
music.
But in terms of
breakdowns, not all rap is hip-hop, and not all hip-hop is rap. And that may
sound ethereal. This invaluable distinction is indispensably important for the
hip-hop voices of tomorrow, and fans in search of music that speaks to their
preferences and stories.
Quite often rap music
tends to have a more depressing, realistic outlook than hip-hop music. With
commercialization, the two terms have suffered infinite interchangeability so
much in modern times that it becomes gruelling to decode the real difference.
It is rather difficult to pinpoint one particular difference that unequivocally
differentiates rap and hip-hop?
One thing to keep in
mind: this is where rap and hip-hop exist in the contemporary. But things are
constantly evolving.
What Is Hip-Hop?
The vast phenomenon
called hip-hop, as it originated from the United States’ poor black communities,
affects everything that it touches. Hip-Hop has a culture with four elements* –
deejaying, emceeing, graffiti, and dance.
Existential ideas
revolving around the issues of identity, community responsibility,
self-discipline and personal expression are fundamental to hip-hop culture.
Moreover, as a cultural practice, hip-hop tends to manifest itself as a
community activity. That makes it an immensely useful tool for bringing people
together, because it is defined by the people who are participating at that
moment. It gives people a sense of being and collective identity.
Hip-Hop doesn’t always
have the most honest or real lyrics but the person who is creating the hip-hop
has a unique style and/or content that will be able to affect culture/society.
Hip-hop aims to encourage
its listeners to look forward to a brighter tomorrow in tackling and overcoming
the existential threats in the present. And this is done by the convergence and
expression of the four elements highlighted above.
What is Rap?
We can generally sum this as an artful conflation of rhyming and poetry to a musical instrumental/beat.
To be completely honest,
anyone can rap. Maybe not exactly anyone but the degree of skill used or possessed
is what makes the difference. Even if anyone could be a rapper, not everyone
can be a good rapper. There are levels to this, just like with any other art
form or profession. It’s not hard to rhyme words and learn rhyme patterns and
start rapping. But such rappers are not necessarily artists, in the full sense
of the word. They are not pieces of culture that influence the way people live
their lives or think.
Rap was and still is more
concerned with what is going on in popular culture. Rap covers the prevalence
of crime, political issues that they disagree with, or general elements of
irregularity happening in the now. Rap music involves a group or individual
striving to “tell it like it is”. Rap carries connotations of “lyricism.” That
is if one is a rapper within the context of being an excellent artist. Rap is an
expression of the hip-hop culture.
But for the purposes of
easing the direction of this piece, it is a generally acceptable norm that the
terms rap and hip-hop are interchangeable to the extent that the differences mentioned
above are blurred. Because it is what it is.
Is there a Hip-Hop/Rap
King Or a GOAT list in Order?
There's no such thing,
and here's why: There's simply a lot to dissect.
It is in fact a complex issue. One can draft a
favorite top 20 list and get away with saying those twenty are the greatest
ever to do it. Every artist has their different style, background and voice/vocal
projection. Complex doesn't mean impossible. There are ways of giving some
structure to that conversation. This maybe just one of them.
Hip Hop & Rap
If a particular artist is
impacting a particular community, can rap, can sing, can dance and is
fashionable, that artist is likely to top of any hip-hop kings list. There is
already a definition of what being hip-hop is so that should be a bit easier. Consider
the following names in the wide context of the hip-hop culture:
Ti Gonzi
Pro Beatz
Asaph
Holy Ten
King Cal Vin (RIP)
KingPinn (RIP)
Mudiwa
The names are just
examples, there wasn't any malicious intent. People can say what they want
about Mudiwa but he's definitely hip-hop. Internet users as well as many other
sections of music consumers may not enjoy his music but hip-hop isn't just
music so that's justified.
Sidenote: Hip-Hop artists
can also be rappers!
Ranking rappers however
is something entirely different. There aren't a lot of rappers that will have
it all so we probably have to stick to a particular attribute perhaps.
Tangibles in Rap Music
These are the attributes
we can quantify – technical ability (scheming, bars, flow, cadence, delivery etc.),
sales, longevity, hits, beat selection, overall quality, among others of like
nature.
Consider these few names (in
no particular order of course) as examples:
Noble Stylz
Mu Netsi
AWA
Jungle Loco
Jnr Brown
Calvin (RIP)
Malcom Mufunde
Asaph
Reap3r
T.Shoc
Syko Tech
RayKaz
Ti Gonzi
Indigo Saint
Tulk Munny
GZE
Masimba
Holy Ten
R Peels
They are tangible emcees.
However, maybe one or two might have everything in their locker but some
rappers are way better in specific areas. Mu Netsi is great at the art of
rapping, so is Jungle, Malcom and Noble. They will rank high on a list like
that.
Asaph and Holy Ten would
rank high on a hit list. Make no mistake, Asaph can rap with the best of them.
Just trying to make a point.
GZE has been around long
enough to be on number 1 on a longevity list. Again, this is just an example
because GZE can do about anything.
Intangibles
These are rap attributes
you cannot exactly quantify but one could rank emcees off that. Power, influence,
credibility, spouses, swag and monetary value.
Mudiwa and Stunner would
rank high on the swag list. Perhaps the influence list too, arguable as
it may be. They have the audience for that, and probably monied enough for that
too. They are obviously the only ones who can make a list like that but it is
important to make that point.
Factoring in tangibles
and intangibles
By now it's evident how
complex the issue of Zim Hip Hop kingship is. There's no way an all-time great
list can be long. Nor can it be short. Twenty names seem like a lot because not
every rapper has it all. It is not a stretch to think that a top 3 GOAT
list is even difficult to get to.
The endgame
Some rappers are top-tier.
And some are great at the art of rapping but may not be as great in other
areas. Perhaps it's the Zimbabwean music industry that masks some things.
Then you have your GOAT's
across the board and then good, average and bad rappers.
Collaborations and
Feature Verses
As music consumers, we inadvertently
incline towards comparing artists. It comes with the territory and lyricists
are the most obvious victims of this. Rapper A has a better verse than rapper B
and vice versa. But more often than not fans rarely ever take a step back and
try to understand why the artist wrote or said some things in that particular
way. Sometimes the artist is not trying to out-rap the next artist at all.
Sometimes it's simply trying to put a message across. This does not apply to
features alone; some rappers do what they do because that's what they want to
do and fans conventionally have problems with that. Then a disconnect is
created.
That means when we say
artist B had a better verse it's not necessarily the same as saying artist B is
the better rapper. It is a lot more complicated than that.
There is no perfect list,
or one overall king of Zim Hip Hop
There is no sole, overall
king of Zim Hip Hop. That one is a cumbersome exercise because every artist in
the realm of hip-hop as a whole is exceptional in their own right. There is
never going to be a perfect list for whatever attribute there is to rank. One
that can make sense and provide context is possible, but nothing is absolute. We
compare artists and everything else because it's inherently embedded in human
nature and also because we enjoy it. But there are no hard and fast rules in
this game.
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