Hip Hop Octopus Intelligent discourse for the curious and unpretentious

Top 10 Things to Be Thankful in Hip-Hop

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and I hope that everyone has a safe holiday with their families (as safe as you can get with the amount of food that some people are eating!) I thought that it would be fitting to list ten things that I am thankful for about hip-hop.

1) I am thankful for music that anyone can relate to, and has such a huge range of passion and creativity. The same can be said for any genre of music, but hip-hop is one that I connected with.

2) I am thankful for artists that make music for the love of making music. I'm sure Brother Ali did not release his new album for fame or glory.

3) In an industry where a complete lack of skill and originality can result in big profits, I'm thankful that many artists are taking huge risks with their art.

4) I am thankful that producers are now getting a lot of attention - you have to thank Timbaland and Kanye West for that. They are influencing a new generation of RZAs, Pete Rocks, and DJ Premiers.

5) I am thankful for the Internet - it fuels the vibrant underground scene and allows for massive distribution of mixtapes.

6) Speaking of mixtapes, I'm thankful for mixtapes helping artists increase visibility and getting their product directly to the streets.

7) I am thankful for the iPod and the Digital Revolution - instead of everyone consuming the same mass produced megahits, we can enjoy increasingly niche bites of what we really want.

8) I am thankful for the increasing mainstream coverage that hip-hop is getting - I was surprised at seeing the universal accolades for Only Built for Cuban Linx...II

9) I am thankful for the Internet blogging community and their intelligent, hard-hitting coverage of the hip-hop world.

10) I am thankful for all my readers!

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