The Failure of Hip-Hop Journalism: Rewritin’ Hip-Hop History
by Minister Paul Scott for BallerStatus.com
To hear some hip-hop journalists tell it, there was a time when hip-hop magazines were the vanguard of the revolution. Not since David Walker’s “Appeal” were there such powerful writings that shook the foundations of the system. Some believe that if it wasn’t for hip-hop journalists, slavery would have been back in effect after the Reagan administration.
However, contrary to popular belief, The Source was never “The Negro World,” nor was XXL ever the “The Messenger.”
This is not to say that hip-hop magazines have not had their shining moments. XXL’s first couple of issues showed promise that something new might have been on the horizon and The Source did give the early conscious rappers a voice in its early years. But that had more to do with the fact that hip-hop, itself, was going through a brief conscious era more so than The Source shaping the direction of hip-hop. The writers were merely reporting what was happening in hip-hop, not plotting a new “vainglorious” course.
Today The Source does have a few interesting articles, especially in its “Ear to the Street” section. However, this is an exception to the rule. For the most part, hip-hop journalists give the same rehashed stories over and over again regarding beefs, street credibility and the obligatory paragraph about a rappers love for weed.
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