It really irks me to no end to hear old people say, “When I was young such and such happened”. I know that groceries used to cost less than two dollars, I know school used to be a 30 mile walk each way and I know that clothes used to be cheaper. All of this I know, yet I still have to give my elders their just due. Their stories keep me in touch with my present if that makes any sense. The wisdom that elders pass on to me might seem very useless and redundant at times because it sounds like that cassette tape that you’re mother plays every time she cleans up the house. As I mature in age and experience I realize that their advice is helpful. In society there has always been a clash between old and young, innovation against tradition and so forth. The young feel like the older generation doesn’t let them create new traditions and feel oppressed by their ranting and raving about respect. The older generation feels like the younger generation doesn’t have any sense of history or respect for their generation. Both sides have equally valid points, but who’s right?
I wasn’t around 23 plus years ago, but I can tell there has been a disconnect somewhere along the path. KRS-One, rapper, scholar, activist, is constantly reminding the younger generation to know their roots because history repeats itself. The idea of reverence for the past has come up a lot in hip-hop as most of the older artists feel like the new school artists don’t give them their praise for their. I agree with the older rappers because most of the stuff on the radio is a reverberation of older music. Newer artists have put their fresh spins on it but it’s still old. 50 Cent’s smash hit “I Get Money” was highly successful because it used a sample from Audio Two’s “Top Billing”. Rapper Nelly is nothing more than a modern day LL Cool J, rappers Foxy Brown and Lil Kim are borrowing a lot of the swagger of female counterparts MC Lyte and Salt-N-Pepa. These artists are certainly ORIGINAL but history does play apart in the present lives of these artists.
If we look at history there have always been clashes between generations. This idea hasn’t started with the addition of this generation. One thing I have learned is that the game doesn’t change, but the players do. I used to think that the things that I was listening to or the way I dressed was newer and hipper but in reality I was a throwback to the older generation. I used to try and emulate Kanye West’ preppy fashion and I thought it was so original and fresh. Then I learned that he borrowed a lot of his style from suburban white kids. There is a lot of originality in every generation. History keeps us all connected. Every generation builds upon the next. Lebron James had to learn from his predecessors just like Michael Jordan had to learn from his.
In order to keep our generations from clashing we must always realize that no idea is original and nothing’s new under the sun. We must learn to be tolerant of the old and new and have respect for each other. Keep the lines of communication open and most importantly learn to love your history.
I wasn’t around 23 plus years ago, but I can tell there has been a disconnect somewhere along the path. KRS-One, rapper, scholar, activist, is constantly reminding the younger generation to know their roots because history repeats itself. The idea of reverence for the past has come up a lot in hip-hop as most of the older artists feel like the new school artists don’t give them their praise for their. I agree with the older rappers because most of the stuff on the radio is a reverberation of older music. Newer artists have put their fresh spins on it but it’s still old. 50 Cent’s smash hit “I Get Money” was highly successful because it used a sample from Audio Two’s “Top Billing”. Rapper Nelly is nothing more than a modern day LL Cool J, rappers Foxy Brown and Lil Kim are borrowing a lot of the swagger of female counterparts MC Lyte and Salt-N-Pepa. These artists are certainly ORIGINAL but history does play apart in the present lives of these artists.
If we look at history there have always been clashes between generations. This idea hasn’t started with the addition of this generation. One thing I have learned is that the game doesn’t change, but the players do. I used to think that the things that I was listening to or the way I dressed was newer and hipper but in reality I was a throwback to the older generation. I used to try and emulate Kanye West’ preppy fashion and I thought it was so original and fresh. Then I learned that he borrowed a lot of his style from suburban white kids. There is a lot of originality in every generation. History keeps us all connected. Every generation builds upon the next. Lebron James had to learn from his predecessors just like Michael Jordan had to learn from his.
In order to keep our generations from clashing we must always realize that no idea is original and nothing’s new under the sun. We must learn to be tolerant of the old and new and have respect for each other. Keep the lines of communication open and most importantly learn to love your history.
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