'Progress' in HH
This is an issue that has been grappled with for some time now in hip hop. A lot of artists have given up on the ideal of progress, choosing simply to remain complacent with dishing out the same sounds, beats and lyrics that have 'bumped' for years. Take anything you hear on MTV or the radio, and it's evident that there has not been a notable mainstream evolution is some time.
Fortunately, hip hop has diversified to the point of near-unrecognizabilty. True Hip Hop, specifically. Artists that take chances, that break the mold - not for the sake of doing so, but with a specific intention, that to create art - keep the movement alive, and that is what progress is about.
I feel that the direction of hip hop as of late is one definitely geared toward progress, substantially in a more 'acceptant' or inclusive capacity. Lyricists are separated from rappers, and include tomes on philosophy, depth, sensitivity and abstraction. Vast Aire, Aesop Rock, J-Live, Sole...these are examples of current lyricists that are not afraid to push the limits of mental contemplation and integration within the genre.
And kudos to Mos Def, Common, the Roots and Outkast for bringing a different element of this progress to the hip hop masses. These artists have developed a fusion of live instrumentation, melody and heart, evident in the emotion conveyed throughout their respective albums.
Bottom line - progress is the breaking down of barriers, and opening the eyes, minds and hearts of an audience or fanbase.
