Hip Hip recently had a birthday. It is now 40 years old. It has evolved, mutated, and grown over the years. Hip Hop isn’t just music, it’s a culture and has become such a dominant force that its influences can be seen in many products and services. I grew up in the Golden age of Hip Hop. I can remember vividly songs and videos from Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, Roxanne Shante, Biz Markee, Yo-Yo to name a few. I attempted to make rap songs and was glued to the television when new videos were released. I recently attended Mic Fest at Subterranean for the second time. It’s a cool venue, they have  decent food and a chill atmosphere. I had to opportunity to hear a couple of artists perform with different styles and deliveries.   I always lean toward music that takes me back to the era of when there was more story telling in hip hop but I realize that there are different styles. I tend to stray away from anything that is too cliche, or is the normal I have money, cars, women and there was a little of that there. There were a few gems in the line up as well as a couple of songs where I said I’ve heard this same kind of song a million times just by different people. What was missing from the set was a female artist. I’d like to see some female artist vibe with the men like they did in the golden years.   Overall I enjoyed the set.  I would encourage anyone throwing their hat into the ring to stay away from what everyone is doing, its been done over an over again and people want something different. Time to breathe new life into hip hop and that can only happen by steering clear of the norms.   That’s my 2 cents.

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