In my quest to become an accomplished Hip-Hop philosopher, I try to find artist comments that really make me think. Today, this one by Roots member Quest Love really has me going: "The new minstrel movement in hip-hop doesn't allow the audience to believe [the] artist is smart." I'm not sure if this is the quote in its entirety, so I cannot say much about the larger scope. However, I will say that there are a few definitions of minstrel: 1 - a poet or singer, 2 - a medieval poet or singer, 3 - white men, dressed in black face, telling jokes and singing songs. So this makes me think - is Quest Love saying that there are white men pulling the strings of black artists, and as a result these black artists are viewed as mindless puppets? If so, then I ask: Does the minstrel show stop there? It seems as though all artists, of all genres, are being pulled and pushed into different directions by the "man." These directions may be welcomed, or they may be a means to an end, but nonetheless, the puppet act is not limited to hip-hop or music. This also makes me wonder: Is this really new? Haven't there always been people telling others how to sell their creativity, how to market their passion, how to make money from their dreams? I find myself growing tired of the idea that this "audience" is made up of blind followers who refuse to think and choose music based on any other reason than "it sounds good." I think both the audience and the artist deserve more credit than that. But, I could be wrong. I'm still learning. Let me know what you think.
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