First off, what's hip-hop culture? What do we mean by “hip-hop is alive” & “hip-hop is dead”? If we had a time machine, we could go back to 1970s and see the roots of the culture: the block parties & on-the-corner performances, people who spoke their minds cuz hip-hop was their only way to escape the rough reality of the ghetto. Hip-hop was that special place in the universe that you could call home; place where you could reach the craziest dreams and be safe & sound. Hip-hop was a ghetto secret… a secret code young hip-hop nation lived by. And now, let's go back to 2010. Has anything changed? Has HIP-HOP changed? …to be more exact. Nah, it’s still the same. The only problem is that people are looking for it in all the wrong places. Who told y'all to look for hip-hop in the music industry? The word “industry” can’t have anything to do w/ hip-hop cuz hip-hop is art and art can’t be a manufactured product. Any industry works according a certain scheme making its product, but is there any scheme one can use in order to create an art masterpiece? Na-a-aaah! Every masterpiece is unique, it’s something unseen or unhearda. So how come fans are looking for hip-hop watching MTV, BET or listening to the radio? The industry clones each & every successful move and turns it into a joke. 

If you take a look at the greatest artists’ life-stories (and I’m talking about the greatest artists of all times… not only ‘bout hip-hop people), you'll see that the greatest of the greatest lived underground life. They all struggled for a right to express themselves. They became recognized, famous, & successful posthumously. So why do people consider their artworks to be masterpieces? What makes their heritage so special? The feeling. The universal, real feeling their works carried through centuries. They were the people who hit the bottom & their only option was to succeed. But since they lived in a “caste society”, they created another reality … they lived art. The same goes for hip-hop. Do you remember DMX's “To live is to suffer, but to survive, well, that's to find meaning in the suffering”? Real hip-hop cats didn’t talk about “money, cash, hoes”; they dug a lot deeper. They were rebels without pause. Their each step made a difference. And then big money came & killed artists’ longevity.  Usually an artist's first album is raw and dope, but after a few albums all this artist has to say is “money, cash, hoes”. But is it hip-hop? Nah! It has no feeling in it. It ain’t art anymore. 

So is hip-hop dead? Nope. It’s still alive. Then where is it? Right where it’s supposed to be … it’s rocking its underground mic. From the p.o.v. of culturology, one of the main features of art is “elitism”. Pure art is supposed to be understood by a few, not by mass. Perception of art requires special training. So if they failed Prof. G.O.D.’s & Prof. Life’s classes, they ain’t ready for hip-hop realness. This form of art is only for the members of elite society called hip-hop nation… society of people who don’t simply bob their heads to a hot beat… they dig hip-hop on a deeper level. Their heart can create a beat of its own, cuz hip-hop runs through their veins. Hip-hop is the truth & the truth is immortal. And just because the mass doesn’t see the underground movement that carries on tradition, it doesn’t mean that hip-hop is dead. Who's dying then? The music industry. Should we be sad about it? Nah, cuz the moment it dies, underground movement will come out of the industry's shadow. This is a take ova; no Jay Hova….