From the inception of Hip Hop, lyricism has been integral in the spread of our culture. Search the catacombs of your memories and teleport yourself to the very first  Hip Hop track that you ever laid your ears on. Do you recall the exhilaration?  Can you remember the adrenaline? You can quote the lyrics in  their entirety can't  you?

Any performer from any genre can recall their first encounter with their true passions. Mine happened to be “Rapper's Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang. Prior  to this, I was just like everyone else that would merely listen to music as more or  less background music to carry out my day with. I was truly ignorant to the power of lyricism and the importance of literary arrangement as it pertains to emotional and spiritual connection to an audience or listener.

As I reminisce, I can't help but to examine the evolution of lyricism in Hip Hop. Largely because I am a huge geek when it comes to Hip Hop culture and history.

I was 9 years old when the power of lyric hit me. Believe it or not, it was not a Hip Hop track that attracted me to lyrics but, it was the song “Hotel California” by the supergroup “The Eagles” that hooked me into wanting to write songs.

I remember taking my dad's typewriter (Yes, typewriter) and sitting at the kitchen table near the phonograph (yes, record player or turn table to Millennials... lol) and playing “Hotel California”. Bar-for-Bar I typed it out so that I could have a visual representation of   how to write the song. It was “Rapper's Delight” that showed me I could do it without having or being able to sing.

As I look back and view the evolution of lyrical presentation, content and structure, I remember a lot of the earlier Hip Hop jams were simplistic in formula commercially. Largely, the hooks were directions... IE... “clap your hands everybody”... “somebody, anybody, everybody, SCREEEEAAAM!!!!”... “check this out”... “jump on it” etc.

Even though the hooks were simplistic the verses were usually of heavy subject matter and reflections of surroundings. For as complex as the content was, the presentation and performance of the thoughts were limited by the stiffness om cadence and delivery (commonly referred to as “flow”).

Everything that was coming out musically was descriptive of environmental surroundings in relation to socioeconomic environment and inequalities. Historically, it was the ending of the Carter administration in American history and the beginning of the Reagan era. We had recently come out of Vietnam, there was a hippie culture, there were gasoline shortages, there was inflation, there was the ever present racism, there was the “Cold War”... The scenery was completely different than it is now, yet, it is also very eerily similar to today.

It was easier for the media to manipulate the public through the monitoring or what they released and no social media was present other than music and entertainment. Unless you knew people from other areas you were left to rely on national media outlets to receive your news and information on local issues from other parts of the country.

So in this aspect, many occurrences whether positive or negative were not publicized. Being unrecognized is nearly the exact same thing as non-occurence at this period of American history. Largely, if you could pay attention and had the IQ to decipher what was being thrown at us musically, much of your “real news” was coming from the Arts and Entertainment industry, comedians, movies and song.  

It was the late 70's transitioning into the 80's. Entertainers were beginning to more vociferously display the inequalities of the establishment and the “Non Viables” through the content in their music.

Those that were major label artists were creatively weaving it into their music and those that were “Underground” (Us, the independents) were blatantly making it the focus of our music. It was the perfect cultivating circumstances for our culture to not only exist but, to flourish and thrive.

That being said, let's break down some lyrics from a Hip Hop classic of that era. “The Message” by Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five featuring the legendary Melle Mel and Duke Bootee.

It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under
It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under

[Verse 1: Melle Mel]
Broken glass everywhere
People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don't care
I can't take the smell, can't take the noise
Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat
I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far
'Cause a man with a tow truck repossessed my car

[Chorus: Melle Mel]
Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge
I'm trying not to lose my head
Ah-huh-huh-huh-huh
It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under

[Verse 2: Melle Mel]
Standing on the front stoop, hanging out the window
Watching all the cars go by, roaring as the breezes blow
A crazy lady livin' in a bag
Eating out of garbage pails, used to be a fag hag
Said she'll dance the tango, skip the light fandango
A zircon princess, seemed to lost her senses
Down at the peep show watching all the creeps
So she can tell her stories to the girls back home
She went to the city and got so, so saditty
She had to get a pimp, she couldn't make it on her own

[Chorus: Melle Mel]
Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head Ah-huh-huh-huh-huhIt's like a jungle sometimesIt makes me wonder how I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimesIt makes me wonder how I keep from going under

The verses depict a state of frustration, anger, poverty and a declining sense of empathy combined with a growing crime rate and no government help and intervention to alleviate the inequality. Yet, this is one of the most celebrated songs in Hip Hop history simply because it was a depiction of a circumstance that everyone could relate to.

The atmosphere of the inner cities and destitute rural communities was embattled due to the unending struggle to exist let alone attain equality in a time of American decadence and imperialism rom those whom were considered “Elite”. Truthfully, Hip Hop had become the mass media social wall for the impoverished and exploited communities.

“The Message”, released commercially in 1982 was in circulation underground through DJ promotional pools in 1980-1981 and went on to become one of the holy grails of conscious Hip Hop. It became prophetic in the way that it predicted the flow of the American thought process for the next few years thereafter! Historically this musical production was far more than a mere song and became an anthem of the lower economic tax bracket and economically exploited throughout the globe #LYRICS_MATTER