Does Hip Hop Still Exist?

Yes

Hip Hop does exist, but you have to know where to look to find it. By the end of this article, you should have an idea of where it is lurking. It has been totally removed from the urban radio playlists. If you are anything like me, the first thing you do whenever you go into a new city is scan the radio dial for the station playing rap music; that is if you don't have satellite radio. You may hear something that resembles a long lost cousin of Hip Hop, but it probably won't be the same thing. You will probably hear what's hot in that particular region. But it still won't be Hip Hop. Let me first differentiate the between Hip Hop and Rap. KRS-One said it best with the lyrics "Rap is something you do, Hip Hop is something you live". 

There you are, I finally found you
The secret hiding place of Hip Hop is in the college radio. This is really not a secret, but many people still don't know of its existence. You see, a requirement of many colleges is to have their own radio station. The goal of these stations is not to make a profit, therefore, the programming tends to be a lot more honest. What I mean is that, substance is held to a higher priority than swag, which dominates commercial radio. There is a higher emphasis placed on lyrics and topics. Growing up in Atlanta in the late 80s and early 90s, I discovered this secret. There were at least 4 stations that played Hip Hop, but you had to stay up very late at night to hear it. Now the programming can be listened to online, so that is not much of a barrier.

One great example of college radio at its best is WREK(91.1), Georgia Tech's station in Atlanta, Ga. Along with playing almost all genres of music, on Thursday nights, between 9pm and 11pm, you can hear real Hip Hop on the WREKroom Renaissance show. This is where you can hear Hip Hop from the 70s through now. You will hear artists such as STRICKNINE CURARE. If you are a true student, be sure to have your pen and pad handy to take notes. My favorite segment of the show is when they play a song, then play the original track that it was sampled from. You would not believe how many old school R&B and Funk acts that gave birth to a generation. More examples of those tracks can be heard on Electric Boogaloo, the Funk-based show that comes on directly afterwards.

Thank me later

Now that you know the secret to finding Hip Hop, make sure you apply it. I gave an example of the Atlanta scene, however, this is true for any major city. Do a google search for "college radio in[your city goes here]". You shouldn't be disappointed. Shoot me an email if you want to know even more secret locations of where Hip Hop is hiding.

The HUSTLONIAN is a Hip Hop Know-it-all, Urban Culture Historian, and Master Blogger.
You can reach him at hustlonian@gmail.com
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