Social media was supposed to revolutionize our most basic principles: how we talk to people, how we find information, and how mainstream media covers hip hop.
Well, two out of three ain’t bad.
Drake was on a roll at the start of last week too, getting Twitter and Facebook acclaim for laying to rest the Macklemore/Kendrick text apology during an interview for Rolling Stone (Facebook status updates included “I finally agree with Drake on something”). But as soon as he took one step forward in earning the neutral’s goodwill, he took one step back by tweeting his disgust that Rolling Stone replaced him on the cover with Philip Seymour Hoffman.
He apologized on his blog the next day, and retired from interviews on Twitter, saying music was the only way his message “gets across accurately”. But that directness is Twitter’s appeal for the artist in the first place. Plus, he breaks news on his blog, and his music already takes on a confessional tone. So why was Drake giving an interview to Rolling Stone, anyway?
And that was before Valentine’s Day.
The next day (Valentine’s Day), Ernest Baker released his interview with Rick Ross titled “I Had to Stop Interviewing Rick Ross Because He Can’t Handle Hard Questions: Longreads of Whatever” in which he was cut off by Ross’ handlers for wading into Reebok territory, as Ross continued to affirm his boss status. In fact, combined with Tech N9ne’s interview on Combat Jack in which he discussed how critics never understood the history behind his facepaint, it was a banner week highlighting the uneasy balance between hip hop artists and mainstream media.
So what is media’s role in hip-hop, in 2014?
Nipsey Hussle vs. Complex: The Question of Culture
As hip-hop, we’re gonna boycott Complex. We don’t need that. We can write about ourselves. We could develop our own outlet and we can cover our own stories. It’s like “No thank you. We don’t need y’all opinion no more.”
But the Stone Cold vs. Vince McMahon of hip hop artist vs mainstream media was between Nipsey Hussle and Complex last fall. Nipsey was named on Complex’s “Top 10 Underachieving Rappers” list earlier in the year. When Complex reached out for an interview for Hussle’s $1000 mixtape project, he charged $10,000 for the interview (these tweets were free).
Nipsey ended up doing the Complex interview and articulated the inherent tension between hip hop and journalist: most journalists who cover hip hop are not from the culture. He asks, “who is an editor to have an opinion on [the streets]?”, and further clarifies the class divide, saying Complex covers hip hop “from the bourgeoisie perspective”. He uses the term “bourgeoisie” a couple times – the “bourgeoisie” analyze hip hop from a distance, using SoundScan numbers to determine what’s important. But those numbers don’t translate in Nipsey’s world.
The tension boils down to some basic principles of hip hop: authenticity and class struggle, with one eye towards the exploitation of rock and roll. It goes well beyond Complex vs. Nipsey Hussle, but the conflict was symbolized by (a lack of) musical output from Nipsey, which was the reason he was considered an underachieve in the first place. But his point does elucidate the symbolic importance of Drake on the cover of Rolling Stone. It was the reverse – hip hop on the cover of a rock and roll magazine.
Apologies Now
“Tough day at the office” – Drake
With no more tearful press conferences, apologizing in 2014 is much more intimate and personal. Macklemore apologized to Kendrick Lamar, and the world, through an Instagram pic. Drake apologized with a blog post. Straight from the artist to the audience (get rid of the middleman, as Nipsey would say).
Drake’s week didn’t stop there. He joined Terrence Ross on the court for Saturday’s All-Star Dunk Contest. And he announced (on his blog) that he and Outkast would co-headline OVO Fest in August. Mistakes are amplified on Twitter – but they only last for a moment, until the next tweet.
