Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.
By: King-Anyi Howell
It's no secret that hip-hop and rap music are launching points for many artists' careers beyond the genre. Queen Latifah and Will Smith were first major forces in hip-hop before becoming Academy-Award nominated actors.
The members of the groups Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris, and Bow Wow have all but followed in their footsteps in going from the vocal booth to the actor's trailer. Is the heavy criticism heaped on hip-hop so suffocating that musicians feel forced to flee like evacuees from a burning building? Or is it something else?
Take Lil Wayne, the highest-selling rap artist of 2008, as an example. Ten years after his first album Tha Block is Hot went platinum when he was 16 years old, Lil Wayne (born Dwayne Carter) has announced that he is pursuing a career in rock music. Those being introduced to the artist through his first rock single "Prom Queen" may be doing a double take when they see his act, but followers of Wayne's career may have seen this transition coming.
Since 2007-2008 stage performances and music videos, Lil Wayne has been seen practicing and performing his guitar skills. While many are predicting the success of Lil Wayne's debut rock album, "Rebirth," Bay Area DJ Sake 1, said looking at figures like Lil Wayne not through the lenses of "art," but of marketing, will save them a lot of trouble and heartache.
Sake 1 said, "I think he will be moderately successful, I anticipate his first 'crossover' album to be a sales high for him, but I don't see longevity for him as a pop artist. I do see longevity for him as a pop figure."
Some feel this is a great move for Wayne, because rap was too limiting a genre for him, forcing him to rap about the same materialistic sexually frivolous gangster lyrics of his teen years.
Sake 1 disagrees, "There are no limits to any genre other than those imposed from those who don't actually do it. We should save time by not forcing underground forms to stay underground, but rather develop new and emerging forms and allow them to be viable expressions of grassroots culture (pop music by definition cannot be that). It has nothing to do with hip-hop as a music or art form, and everything to do with pop culture and the limitations placed on black artists and entertainers."
Sake 1 says artists like Madonna and Justin Timberlake don't have to "cross over" to the mainstream because as white Americans they are already seen as such.
And while folks like Lil Wayne and Kanye West are hoping to be known as something more than "rappers," there are plenty of "non-rappers," like R&B singer Trey Songz, actor Joaquin Phoenix, and comedian Katt Williams, looking to release hip-hop records.
Outsider interest in hip-hop reinforces Sake 1's point, that the genre continues to offer room for exploration and expression. So while Lil Wayne and others are closing the door on their rap careers, the house of hip-hop will leave windows open for those looking to break into the genre.
Youth Radio/Youth Media International (YMI) is youth-driven converged media production company that delivers the best youth news, culture and undiscovered talent to a cross section of audiences. To read more youth news from around the globe and explore high quality audio and video features, visit Youthradio.org