It’s 1980; the sun is shining. Kids were either chatting with their friends or walking home from school. Music was classified as either “bad” or “cheesy.” Women were “bodacious” and men tried hard to be “bad to the bone.” Art was made by “bohos” and clubs were full of “party-hardy” people.
Enough of setting the scene, let’s get to the style of the '80s. The women were dressed in legwarmers and off-shoulder tops; their hair was either ultra teased or crimped. They wore glittery makeup and rocked giant bows in their hair. They strutted around in Reebok sneakers and waited on line for the roller-skating rink to open. The men had either mohawks or grew their hair out; they rocked Ray Ban glasses with rock band t-shirts. They had corduroy pants and Adidas high tops and spent all of their time either in the arcade or at the skateboarding rink. Everybody seemed to be comfortable. No real competition, no pressure, just everybody living their lives.
The present day, the sun is still shining. Kids are cursing each other out and staying out until the streetlights come on. Music is classified as “crap” or “live.” Women are “sexual objects” and men are classified as “useless.” Art is made by regular people and clubs are filled with teenagers or young adults.
The style you ask? Well ... women are wearing booty shorts and ripped jeans. They’re hair has weave, extensions, or clip-ins. They’re wearing heavy makeup and can’t wait to go to the club. The men are sagging their pants with their “snapbacks” on. They have either Jordans or Nikes on, and they can’t wait for Saturday for the new Jordans. Everybody is on the edge with the economy, and the pressure is rising continuously.
Do you see the difference? Night and day right? People’s values are changing and not for the better. I don’t believe that people were killing each other for headphones or sneakers back in the '80s. Sneakers were just sneakers, and headphones were headphones. The same mentality does not seem to apply to the people of today, and all I can say is, “What happened?” What happened to stuff being just material items? When did people strive to be better than others and make that their main goal in life? When has style become such a big part in our lives that we constantly hear on the news that a boy has died because of the new Jordans? Maybe we should tone it down, make it so that style is just style again and not a reason to take someone’s life. This change of mentality should start immediately because soon enough, it’ll be normal for someone to die over sneakers and the shock will slowly wear off.
The comment box is open, as always. Leave a comment, and I’ll be sure to reply.
A popular hairstyle from the '80s.
Today's fashion.
Picture it:1990, twenty-two years ago, rappers are dressed in loose-fitting clothing. Yes, some of them did have chains, such as Biggie Smalls, TuPac, and others, but it is kept to a minimum. Their lyrics are about life and making it in America or their successes. They talked about women with respect, and appreciated them as a whole. The female singers of that day, like Queen Latifah, Ashanti, & Aaliyah, wore clothes that were barely revealing. They actually had a talent for singing, and when they performed live, it was the same as on their CD. They made you realize that you must know how to sing to be a pop star.
How is it now you ask? Rappers still dress the same, but their lyrics are about exploiting women and making money as well as getting high. They think women are there for sex and to cater their every wish. They seem to forget that they came from a woman and that each of them deserves the same respect as if it were their mother. The female singers nowadays? They wear clothing so tight you can practically see their veins. Most of their singing is autotuned and when they sing live your ears start to bleed (excluding the following: Alicia Keys, Adele, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, etc). They make you think that you don’t really need talent to become a star anymore, you just have to be really pretty.
Why does this matter you ask? Well for one, our generation’s men are steadily having a decline of respect towards women and girls. They throw rude comments toward them and disrespect them. If this “accepted” change continues, it will only get worse. Our “celebrities” will increasingly be people who have no real talent in the first place. The term “role model” will have no meaning and the wrong people will be categorized as “role models”. Our generation and future generations will start to fall apart, but we can save them if we change all of these “accepted” tendencies. So who’s with me? Again I say the comment box is open and I will read all comments.
Quick show of hands, who knows the whole song or even the first verse of Biggie Small's song “Juicy”? For those of you who don't even know the first verse, much less the whole song, it goes a little something like this...
It was all a dream
I used to read Word Up magazine
Salt 'n' Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine
Hangin pictures on my wall
Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl
I let my tape rock til my tape popped
Don't the lyrics sound like poetry? I know it's not the most conventional form of poetry, but still it’s a piece of literary art. It sounds way better than the rap music nowadays- at least to me it does. This was written in 1994, 18 years ago. How about 2Chainz, you ask? Well, here's the first verse of his song "No Lie":
I am smoking on that gas, life should be on Cinemax
Who he’s, not I, I smoke strong, that Popeye
I take ya girl and kidnap her, feed her to my mattress
Not at all poetic, am I right? And let me not get started with the "who he's, not I, I smoke strong, that Popeye". Doesn't this guy know proper English? Let's get back on track though. The reason why I think certain rap lyrics are like this today is because most rap artists aren't writing their own songs anymore. You think if 2Chainz wrote this himself he'd put "who he, not I"? I don't think so-nobody wants to sound like a fool to millions of people. In my opinion, producers should let rappers write their own music again, or maybe they should at least hire rappers who have good grammar. I'm sure they'll come up with great songs- just look at Biggie's lyrics. Maybe producers should trust their artists to make smash hits with their own lyrics and not the lyrics of strangers. Anyone agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? The comment "door" is always open. Write your opinion, and I promise to reply. Goodbye for now!
