"I'll keep doing my own thing /
Walkin' tall against the rain"
Hip hop is a funny thing. At its best, the genre speaks to a rich, complex, and storied cultural identity -- and manages to soar as one of the purest forms of self-expression in all of modern music. At its worst? The integrity of the verse collapses under the weight of nothing more than an inarticulate mess thug rap and gimmicks, and hip hop ends up becoming as mass-produced and disposable a commodity as you're likely to find.
More often than not, the genre seems to strike a fine balance between these two extremes: so a decent chunk of hip hop songs are equal parts inspiring and absurd, essentially raw yet inexplicably transcendent, and simultaneously powered by social upheaval and plagued self-parody. In short, there's a lotta' stuff going on in these little ditties.
Or as good old Charles Dickens might say:
Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
Today, we'll give Dickens a tale of two cities of our own (well okay, more like "two boroughs") -- namely, Brooklyn and Harlem.
For starters? We're headed to Brooklyn (STAND UP!):
"Run This Town" (2009) is born of a convention that is as old as the rap game itself. At its most basic level, the song is a statement track: a chance for the Brooklyn-born artist to represent his roots, rattle off his accomplishments, and announce his presence as king of the industry -- all while offering up a throwdown for any other sucka MCs who might dare to stand in his way.
Time and again, the refrain asks the question "who's gonna' run this town tonight?" And in emphatic fashion, the ridiculously talented J-Hova and his crew steps up to the plate and says:
"We are, yeah I say that we are."
But Jay-Z and company aren't just representing their 'hood -- they're forming a "Roc Nation:" a worldwide collective of like-minded soldiers who can "get [their] fatigues on" while "walkin' tall against the rain" regardless of the curveballs life might happen to throw their way. Their struggle is universal, and their battlefield extends far beyond the edge of the five boroughs. To that end, they are single-minded, battle-tested, and ready to confront whatever obstacles might lie ahead.
In other words: "they're not in Brooklyn anymore, Toto."
Kinda' like this guy:
Langston Hughes (1902-1067): Poet, activist, and voice of the Harlem Renaissance
Hova may well indeed be the Greatest Rapper Alive (just ask him), but the Brooklyn Boy from the Marcy Projects would barely be a blip on the radar were it not for the earlier efforts of game-changing poets like Langston Hughes and his Harlem Renaissance ilk.
Regardless of whether or not he actually lived in Harlem (hint: not so much), Langston Hughes certainly found a way to speak to the world in a way that summed up so many an urban American's experiences during this particular chapter of United States history.
Simply put, the guy knew what it felt like to be different.
He was black, he was poor, his critics called him a communist, and he was (in his own words) "queer" and "effeminate." But rather than caving to societal pressures and quietly fading into obscurity, Hughes stepped right up and churned out his own version of a "statement" track in the form of volume after volume of some of the greatest poetry in all of 20th century literature -- often times, using his poems as a vehicle to speak to the simple, broader human experience about just how it meant to feel and be different.
Here's my personal favorite Hughes poem of all time:
Still HereThe message is clear: life gets hard and throws a lot of crap your way, but you soldier on in spite of the setbacks and frustration. And going back to the second chorus of "Run This Town?" This Hughes poem sounds mighty familiar:
"I been scarred and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
Snow has friz' me
Sun has baked me.
Looks like between 'em, they done
Tried to make me
Stop laughin, stop lovin', stop livin' --
But i don't care!
I'm still here!"
"Life's a game but it's not fairOh I see what you did there, Jigga Man.
I break the rules so I don't care
I keep doin' my own thing
Walkin' tall against the rain.
Can't be scared when it goes down
Got a problem? Tell me now.
Only thing that's on my mind
Is who's gonna' run this town tonight"
I see it, alright.
