Smart & Angry

A lot of people around the Blogosphere are asking "What is Hipster Rap?" I did a little bit of research on what people are saying:

"Hipster rap (aka emo rap) is hip-hop with lyrics similar to that of emo music. It is seen as a racist and biased form of rap, as most emo rap artists are white and suggest that blach rappers are unemotional and shallow. Emo is in itself tough to define, but it generally shows strong displays of emotion, often anger and vengeance. Atmosphere, Anticon, Cuete Yeska, Cannibal OX, Closed Heart Surgery, Crack Jack, Dead Artists, Eyedea, MC Paul Barman, Pigeon John P.O.S., Social Deviantz, MC Serginho, Sole, Hollywood Undead and B.I.G.Benni are some examples of hipster rap artists and record labels." -Yahoo Answers from a user

The first comment I really don't agree with. People would call this genre “Conscious Rap” that Talib Kweli and Common successfully do, speaking their minds and having their emotions in the songs. However I can see why it would be labeled like this because the hipsers listen to emo music.

It’s a sub culture of rap that has been bubbling under the surface for a while now, but in the last year and a half has been getting a lot of shine. Artists like the Cool Kids, Wale, The Knux and Kid Sister are key in this scene that combines an affinity for expensive streetwear (think Supreme, Stussy, Alife, etc.) and innovative beat selections that flirt with electronica all rolled up in a 80’s throwback aesthetic. You could even look to your boys Pharrell and Kanye as the old men of the hipster rap scene if you will. Although they probably wouldn’t want to admit it.
Peace Mag

This is a bit closer to what the definition is used to define today. However let’s roll back to where all this came from.

To me if you want to spot the first “Oddball” rap group to go against the grain from “Gangsta Rap” would be Outkast. They were the first ones to successfully have their own sound and Andre 3000 was the first one to have the zany colors and wigs. So if you want to label someone as “Hipster Rap” then Outkast would be the founders.

Pharell, Kanye, and Lupe would be next in line as they incorporated the unique pastels and rapping so fly about themselves.

Fast forward to now as you have: Jay Electronica, The Cool Kids, Kid Cudi, Wale, The Knux, and Izza Kizza. These acts are making their digital rotations on the internet and since they are all buzzing around the same time, people must classify them as its human nature to put things into categories.

With the ease of accessing any type of music on the internet, artists can now expand their music palette other than anything from the Motown catalog (which is getting exhausted) with music that is more recent and relevant to today. Techno and the electronic genre hasn’t been tapped yet as it makes sense for hip-hop to start sampling, which Kanye successfully did with “Stronger.”

As for labeling them “Hipster Rap,” I don’t really like labeling them as that. I feel that they are as Hip-Hop as their other counterparts in Virgin Record stores. Like Chuck D says “Corporations like to divide and conquer the public by separating people into focus markets and putting them in labels and categories.” Putting stupid labels like Hipster Rap on it will only attract people trying to be down with what’s the new trend, rather than attract people that want to hear something new.

I hope this confusion what to label them still lingers. I feel Hip-Hop acts are still forcing themselves to be “Gangster,” “Concious,” and “Underground” as they pigeonhole themselves based what the “Hip-Hop Elitists” categorize them. While the internetz is still trying to put this definition in Urban Dictionary, I can’t wait to hear the next new thing before the old white men in suites start creating their own cookie cutter “hipster rap” acts.

The best part of this Hip-Hop Revolution is the music genre borders being blurred. Wale went to go perform at Noise Pop, which was heavy on indie rock raps. The Cool Kids went on Tour with M.I.A. and even did a collabo with an Indie group “The Carps.” This is a benefit as rap fans and non-rap fans can merge together on stage and appreciate other music, as we all know music is the bridging gap to bring people together.