In music world, what comes after hip-hop?

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, May 4, 2007

FOR THE LAST YEAR or so, I've been participating in talks and panels dealing with the state of hip-hop. Amid discussions of racism, sexism and materialism, one interesting question that's cropped up of late has been: "What's next?"

In other words, what comes after hip-hop?

As recorded rap music, hip-hop is already 28 years old and as street culture, it's even older. Whether you believe that cultural movements have built-in timelines or not, hip-hop's days as the upstart challenger have long been over. It so thoroughly insinuates itself into all layers of pop culture that any pretense to rebellion is mostly rhetorical. The revolution is over. Hip-hop "won," even though its victory has hardly been libratory.

What remains to be seen is whether there's the potential for a new form of youth culture, something heretofore unseen/unheard to challenge hip-hop for social and cultural dominance. Not surprisingly, some bristle at the idea that hip-hop's days are numbered -- I remember one young gentleman at UCLA insisting that "hip-hop would never die" and then leaving the proceedings, as if the suggestion bordered on

temerity.

However, if history is any guide, it's reasonable to expect something in the works. Rock'n' roll, R&B, jazz, blues -- the history of American popular music is one of quick rises and slow descents. But sooner or later, each previous movement eventually gives way to something more appealing to young people.

Note: The recent Don Imus-inspired controversies -- red herrings as they are -- may expose much latent ignorance and hatred of hip- hop, but no one I know genuinely thinks rap is in any danger over it. If hip-hop undergoes any major changes in content or attitude, it's likely to first come from within by those tired of everything from monopoly-generated playlists to overloaded masculine egos to irrational material exuberance.

I'm also not lending much credence to the overwrought "hip-hop is dead" debate that Nas sparked this past winter. Despite declining album sales, rap music is clearly as popular with teenagers today as it was when I was that age, back in the 1980s. However, my generation couldn't take hip-hop for granted since we could remember a time before it existed. For today's youth, it's entirely possible that a new subculture would prove sexier than a style that's been around since their birth.

If rap music was the beast from the East, pop culture's next shift is likely to originate from the South -- and I don't mean Houston or Atlanta. As America's Latino population swells, it's reasonable to think that some Latin-driven cultural form will cross over into the rest of America in a big way.

For the briefest of moments, some thought reggaeton might have been that golden child. That seems far less likely now, but its remarkable spread -- especially in dominating radio so quickly -- was a breathtaking phenomenon. It may go down as a momentary fad but it may also prove to be the first harbinger for a larger and more profound change in cultural influence.

The one force opposing such a shift isn't hip-hop's perseverance; it's changes in media distribution, aka the rise of the Internet, content-on-demand, and the general expansion of electronic entertainment that's created competition for popular music.

Without falling for "brave new world" cheerleading, the option for crafting an identity through pop culture is far more expansive today than it was 10 (let alone 20-30) years ago. It's hard to imagine another kind of cultural form that could be as pervasive as hip-hop and rock 'n' roll were for Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers, respectively. Even the hypest new style is going to have to elbow for room next to -- you name it. Today's YouTube and MySpace might be tomorrow's anachronisms.

Hip-hop isn't promised a future any more stable, but then again, neither is any other cultural form.

If, however, such a day should come to pass, I don't fear a future where rap music is displaced. Most likely, I'll still cling to hip-hop as my primary cultural cipher but I doubt I'll automatically hold enmity towards whatever overtakes it.

Popular culture is so resonant in our lives because of its ability to give pleasure and it's not for me to begrudge others from finding delight and joy in something other than what inspires those feelings in me.

If anything, I've been fortunate enough to live through several cultural revolutions in my lifetime -- hip-hop and the Internet foremost among them. To witness another would be a privilege we should all be willing to accept.

Oliver Wang's column on hip-hop runs the first Friday of the month. Contact Wang by visiting http://www.o-dub.com. Visit the Concert Blog at http://www.insidebayarea.com/music.>

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