By George Varga, The San Diego Union-Tribune
As hip-hop celebrates its first half-century, it’s an opportune time to have performers in the field reflect on the genre, its evolution and its strengths and weaknesses.
The following quotes are from interviews with San Diego Union-Tribune music critic George Varga.
Kanye West (2005)
“I talk about very serious issues (in my songs), and hide them behind similes and metaphors. My mother always taught me about the kings and queens of Africa, and about the sacrifices and the accomplishments of the people in the civil rights movement. My dad told me about many songs in the African-American community, and what they addressed and meant. He broke down how it was for me, when I was 12. When it was time for me to rap, a lot of that came out.”
De La Soul’s David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, who died early this year (1989)
“We figured the more puzzling or humorous our music sounds, the more people will want to get into it. You don’t have to have a hard tone; the music can be soft and smooth. And it’s important for us to say a lot, and have people listen and not just dance.”
Wyclef Jean (2000)
“Hip-hop is creativity. I’m a showman; I’m like Cab Calloway When I was in high school, I watched all these old films Cab was in. He had a big impact on audiences, and he was someone I looked up to. And I was fortunate to know him, just through his music, because he was way, way before my time.”
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s Melle Mel (2007)
“Most hip-hop now is just image-driven. They have to re-teach people what true hip-hop is, so that they can have a realistic vision of what the music is about. Because now it’s not about the music. It’s about the cars and girls and everything the music isn’t about.”
Guru, a former substitute teacher and caseworker for foster children (1995)
“I’ve always been a message-oriented rapper. Because of my experience in those occupations, there’s no way I can pick up a microphone and not say something I felt was relevant. Rap can be used as a tool, and I feel compelled to do that. But I don’t like it when rappers can’t articulate what their lyrics are about.”
Coolio (1996)
“There are a lot of governments around the world that are oppressive. The people they’re oppressing — whether they’re Black, brown or green — are poor. And I’m down with the have-nots. One day the have-nots may rise up. I may be a ‘have’ by then. But I’ll still be down with the have-nots.”
Mos Def (2002)
“There’s nothing wrong with using music as a diversion, as long as it’s a useful one. At the end of the day, people want to feel good and be reminded that life should be enjoyed. But it is a serious endeavor, because the things you say (in song) can affect people’s lives and perceptions. So you should be mindful of it.”
Queen Latifah (2004)
“I can sing forever. I don’t know if I can rap forever and stay as sharp as the sharpest girl in the game, or if the more positive messages I deliver (in rap) will be (well) received.”
Nick Cannon (2016)
“I grew up in the hip-hop community, and I was one of the very few to take it as far as I did. I looked up to quite a few people at the time. From Southeast One to Mickey Slick, there are people to this day in that (San Diego) community I still have fellowship with. We came up in this together, and they passed the torch to me.”
Public Enemy’s Minister of Information James Norman Jr. (1990)
“We’re into this for a specific purpose, and it’s not to be so-called ‘entertainers.’ We’re into it to deliver a message and raise the level of consciousness of, first, Black Americans, and, then, all those (others) who listen to us. So, our dedication is solely to making this a better place for everybody.”
Us3’s Mel Simpson (1994)
“We wanted to apply hip-hop principles to jazz and jazz principles to hip-hop. We wanted to do the world’s first polyrhythmic hip-hop track and subvert the norm.”
Common (2003)
“There are some things I really don’t like about hip-hop. I don’t like the regurgitation of music — everybody using the same formula, the same producers. The lack of creativity, the fear of not being free and taking chances, that’s what I don’t like … I also don’t like the limitations in the subject matter in a lot of hip-hop. But I’m starting to see improvement.”
The Roots band leader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (2002)
“The Roots have survived because we go to other places. We know the value of going to Asia, South America and places you wouldn’t think hip-hop wasn’t popular, like Prague and Moscow. Man, they have more respect for the history of hip-hop than we do. I’m talking 14-year-old kids in Moscow who know who (rap pioneer) Afrika Bambaataa is and asked us about him. You ask a young Black kid here today who Afrika Bambaataa is, and they think it’s a country.”
Rakaa Taylor of Dilated Peoples (2006)
“Rap music, especially with the way a lot of rappers present themselves, reinforces stereotypes on one level. But it erases stereotypes on the other hand. The best thing about hip-hop is that it’s a common denominator that has brought the world together. The worst thing about hip-hop is the parasitic elements that feed off it, without giving back to it.”
Lupe Fiasco (2008)
“A band can become a crutch. If you look back through the history of hip-hop, in the beginning it was just you and a microphone, and the challenge was: ‘How do you rock the crowd when you don’t have any music?’ So, it’s like training and actually learning how to entertain a crowd with the most minimal amount of tools. … If you don’t know how to entertain with just you and a DJ, first, a band won’t help you.”
Breakdance champion Omar Delgado Macias who performs as RoxRite (2013)
“We go to Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, South Africa, you name it, all these different places where you wouldn’t expect people to break. We teach, judge contests and do demonstrations and media appearances, where we talk and teach about hip-hop and breaking. It’s a way to educate and give back to communities around the world.”
San Diego Union-Tribune music critic George Varga began drumming in rock bands at 12 and writing professionally about music at 15. A Louisiana native who grew up mostly in Germany, Varga has earned three Pulitzer Prize nominations for his writing at the U-T and is a voting member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to providing live coverage of the Grammy Awards and festivals from Coachella and KAABOO to the 1994 edition of Woodstock, he has interviewed everyone from Miles Davis, Britney Spears and (over a game of chess) Ray Charles to Willie Nelson, Kanye West and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis. A triple first-prize winner for criticism and arts writing at the 2022 San Diego Press Club awards, Varga is also a contributing writer for Jazz Times magazine and has written for Billboard, Spin and other publications. After attending San Diego City College and San Diego State University, he created and taught the 2002 UC San Diego Extension course, “Jazz in a Post-Ken-Burns World.” Varga has written liner notes for more than a dozen albums, including by jazz sax greats James Moody and Michael Brecker, and contributed two chapters to the book, “Dylan: Disc By Disc.”
