I just recently got the word that two icons of hip-hop's true Golden Era are about to face off in a Verzuz Battle. This is something totally different than Dipset vs The Lox, Fat Joe vs Ja Rule, DMX vs. Snoop. This is different than any Verzuz battle that we have seen up until now. Why is it different? Because these are two icons of Hip-Hop'sTrue Golden Era which is the late 80s to early 90s, the era when Knowledge Reigned Supreme. That just happens to be also the acronym for one of the icons in the upcoming Verzuz Battle, KRS-1 (Knowledge Reins Supreme over Everyone) and His opponent, Big Daddy Kane has one too (King Asiatic Nobody's Equal) . You can hear it in the names alone that these two are from a totally different era, Hip Hop's true Golden Era, the era that the corporations want the world to forget about, the era that black people should never forget about and should be quickly returning to. Corporate money did not back the artists of this era like they do the mumbling, pant saggin trap and drill artists of today. The Rappers of today are doing what the Rappers of Hip Hops True Golden Era warned against in their records. They are headed for self-destruction.
For the older heads who forgot and the younguns who have no clue because you weren't here then or were too young to remember, I have to do this because the cowards that be are constantly misrepresenting the late 90s and early millennium as the Golden Age of hip-hop. False. The Eras of Gangsta Rap and The Club cannot compare to the Era of Knowledge of Self, Black Consiousness, Black Awakening and Revolution. During the True Golden era we were calling ourselves Kings, Queens, Gods and Goddesses followed by the Gangata Rap, The Streets and The Club era where we started calling ourselves Real Niggaz and Bitches. Don't let people who don't know what they're talkin about and people who were around but were not paying attention blurr the lines. There is a definite distinction between Hip Hop's true Golden Era from all of the other phases of Hip Hop that came before or after. Let the African medallions that we used to wear ( if you can find one) serve as a material marker and memorabilia of how absolutely different we thought, looked and sounded before the corporations and builders of private prisons flooded the industry with billions of dollars with the expressed intent to send us in the opposite direction.
Let the images of Arrested Development, a group who referred to an elder, Baba Oje as the groups leader and the family vibe that the group gave off and how they touched the world with those special songs. Let the fact that men and women could be in the same group at that time but today they no longer can. Let that serve as a marker of how far down the abyss we have fallen. Let images of Public Enemies S1W (Security Of The 1st World) led by Professor Griff wielding Uzis and the fact that those were the only images of guns that were displayed but also the fact that they were wielded in a disciplined manner by the S1Ws not as a threat to our people but in defense of our people. Think about that in contrast to today's Reckless gun-wielding fuck boy rappers threatening to kill us while revealing the crack of their asses at the same time. The irony is that today they call this crap "Drill" when it was in fact the S1Ws that were actually performing Military drills.
Don't let so-called connoisseurs of Hip Hop tell you that consciousness is corny. The music of Poor Righteous Teachers, X Clan, Brand Nubian and so many others disprove that lie but that is the lie many old heads who still work in the industry today will push because their paychecks depend on today's music even if it is pop slop. These old heads know better but have to pretend like they like this crap. They know damn well that there was a time when guns were not even in the picture at all. They definitely remember Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Salt n Pepa and other female rappers who earned their stripes fully clothed. With a few exceptions Guns didn't appear on anyone's album cover. Ironically it was the teacher KRS-1 along with Scott LaRock who wielded one on the cover of Criminal minded. Ice Ts wife Darlene had one on the cover of Ice Ts album "Power" but the shit show really began with NWAs Straight Outta Compton ". This one album single-handedly introduced all of the negative images and stereotypes at once. Guns, dope dealing, 40 oz malt liquor, senseless violence, reckless shit talking and frequent usage of the words "Bitch" and "Nigga". I will not be the one to tell a lie and say that this album was not sonically good. It was. Dr. Dre's production and Ice Cube's lyrics were the driving factors and this is not to take anything away from Eazy-E and MC Ren. To me MC Ren delivered a Solo cut which was one of the dopest tracks on the album," If it aint Ruff". "Fuck The Police", "Express Yourself " and "Dopeman" could actually fit in with Hip Hop's golden age because despite the rough language they did contain social commentary. Up until then we had never heard a rap group talk that much raw shit on records. Like Public Enemys "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" there was nothing like it and it was a phenomenal success. It's not so much the album "Straight Outta Compton" itself but the barrage of negative things that came behind it. The wicked cabals that run the music industry latched onto the negativity and decided to let that be the primary element that would take over the industry. All at once they just stopped pushing the beautiful black conscious artists all together. Chicago Rap extraordinaire , Common artistically articulated it so well in "I Used To Love Her". Yes in the song he was in love with this girl named Hip Hop who came of age in the late 80s and early 90s. As much as I like Tupac I would never say that his era of Thug Life is the Golden Era. When I say Golden I mean the best. What could be better than us black people reading and learning about ourselves, gaining self-esteem and pride.
" teach a man how to be a father
To never tell a woman he can't bother.
You can't say you don't know what I'm talkin bout
Cause one day
Brothers Gonna Work it Out!
--‐‐ Public Enemy
In whose interest is it to say that the Golden Age of hip-hop is the era of gangsterism ,Thuggin, pimpin, playin, hustling and being a criminal? Not ours. To get to that truth you have to filter through the noise that the mainstream media bombards you with. They want to start the conversation about hip hops golden age and tell you that the gems from that golden age are dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop Dogg's doggystyle, Tupac and Biggie. Those albums and artists are sonically good to listen to but they are nowhere nearly as good for us as Poor Righteous Teachers, Holy Intellect, The Intelligent hoodlum, To the East Blackwards, All For One, Gang Starr, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Stetsasonic, Arrested Development
Don't let nobody take you from knowledge of self and push you back out into the street, hustling, sellin dope and into the club stripping ,
.........and tell you that that is the Golden Age of hip-hop. As a Black Man I reserve for myself THE BEST.
The D Block vs Dipset verzuz balttle illustrated the period those groups came from. It included trashy insults and threats and so did Fat Joe and Ja Rules battle. I guarantee you will not see that from KRS-1 and Big Daddy Kane because they are ambassadors and representatives of Hip Hop's Golden Age. So you expect from them a much higher standard. What you will get from them is a display of skills, lyrical dexterity and classic songs. Yes hip hop battles have an element of dis but I guarantee you these two men we'll keep that classy and not trashy. I can put money on that. Hip Hop's true golden age is a short but explosive period. As an artist myself I still live at that address.
In this present Dark age it seems like a rapper dies every week. Now is a good time for us to consider going back to rapping with a message and a purpose Beyond fulfilling base desires and feeding our Reptilian Brain with raps about the Fs
Fuck, Flee, Fight, Fornicate. I am urging us to come up by way of self-determination. Yes. I am talking about a return to Hip Hops True Golden Age. We can start with Sa Roc, The Goddess MC and DJ Sol Messiah. They still live at that address also. Get her latest album "Sharecroppers Daughter" so we can jumpstart our journey back to The Golden Age of Hip Hop. I will end this PART ONE with the original mission of Hip Hop. Peace-Unity-Love-and Havin Fun! Part 2 is comin. Yall meet me back up at The Crown Chakra. Peace.
Written By Ba'Ron Foxworth (Khamisi Fox)
Cash App $KHAMFOX