Queens rapper Pharoahe Monch was recently asked to share his thoughts on comments fellow artist Lord Jamar made about white rappers’ place in Hip Hop. While speaking with Vlad TV in September of last year, Jamar stated that white rappers “are guests in the house of Hip Hop.”
In response to the Brand Nubian emcee’s remarks, Pharoahe Monch commented on Hip Hop consisting of too many layers to be divided by race. He also recalled watching rappers and deejays in his neighborhood cut records from artists from other races, including Billy Squier’s “The Big Beat” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”
“For me, the dynamics of Hip Hop is just too layered,” Pharoahe Monch said during an interview with Vlad TV. “Like I came up where cats at the park and jams and shyt were cutting up Billy Squier and I got ‘The Big Beat’ and ‘We Will Rock You.’ And cats was rapping over that. So, I understand in some aspect the cultural. But I never put a color on it from my mindset, from my standpoint…I think you’re just seeing a reflection of how mixed the culture is and how global Hip Hop is right now as well.”
After speaking on Lord Jamar’s remarks, Pharoahe Monch was then asked if he would be surprised if years from now Hip Hop was dominated by white artists. He also took note of the fact that today’s Hip Hop is lacking the grit and grime previously present in the genre.
“Nah, I wouldn’t be surprised at all,” he said. “But I think what you’re seeing is a reflection of what’s happened—what’s happening culturally as it expands and more people get influenced by it and more people try their hand at it. It’s gonna change and it’s gonna cycle again. You know? I think a lot of what was taken from Blues, Rhythm & Blues, original Rhythm & Blues, and transformed into Rock N’ Roll. It changed it. And it changed again…For all of the artists that’s popular, mostly popular right now, it’s more of a popular form of Hip Hop music. It doesn’t have the same soul and grit and grime that it did years ago. And that’s culturally.”
Pharoahe Monch’s interview with Vlad TV comes days after the rapper released the cover art and album trailer to his upcoming album, P.T.S.D. (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The album is currently slated for release on April15
http://www.hiphopdx.com/m/index.php?s=news&id=28004
In response to the Brand Nubian emcee’s remarks, Pharoahe Monch commented on Hip Hop consisting of too many layers to be divided by race. He also recalled watching rappers and deejays in his neighborhood cut records from artists from other races, including Billy Squier’s “The Big Beat” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”
“For me, the dynamics of Hip Hop is just too layered,” Pharoahe Monch said during an interview with Vlad TV. “Like I came up where cats at the park and jams and shyt were cutting up Billy Squier and I got ‘The Big Beat’ and ‘We Will Rock You.’ And cats was rapping over that. So, I understand in some aspect the cultural. But I never put a color on it from my mindset, from my standpoint…I think you’re just seeing a reflection of how mixed the culture is and how global Hip Hop is right now as well.”
After speaking on Lord Jamar’s remarks, Pharoahe Monch was then asked if he would be surprised if years from now Hip Hop was dominated by white artists. He also took note of the fact that today’s Hip Hop is lacking the grit and grime previously present in the genre.
“Nah, I wouldn’t be surprised at all,” he said. “But I think what you’re seeing is a reflection of what’s happened—what’s happening culturally as it expands and more people get influenced by it and more people try their hand at it. It’s gonna change and it’s gonna cycle again. You know? I think a lot of what was taken from Blues, Rhythm & Blues, original Rhythm & Blues, and transformed into Rock N’ Roll. It changed it. And it changed again…For all of the artists that’s popular, mostly popular right now, it’s more of a popular form of Hip Hop music. It doesn’t have the same soul and grit and grime that it did years ago. And that’s culturally.”
Pharoahe Monch’s interview with Vlad TV comes days after the rapper released the cover art and album trailer to his upcoming album, P.T.S.D. (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The album is currently slated for release on April15
http://www.hiphopdx.com/m/index.php?s=news&id=28004
