hip-Hop or Hip -porn

Gloria Nyarko
Hip-hop or hip-porn ?
 History has it that African  Americans, especially those in the province of New York City and South Bronx, created  hip-hop  in the 1970s   to voice out  their frustrations  as minorities and how they intended  to break through. Hip-Hop typically is characterised by rap rhythms mostly difficult to dance with.
When it comes   to music, lyrics are  of essence to me, so with hip-hop, I listen to the likes of Kendrick and J. Cole. In Ghana, Reggie Rockstone is a name that always rings a bell. My one-time favourite has been R2BEES’ “Trap nakye bayla”.
  Now, there is a  tremendous change in hip-hop, most especially music videos. It is difficult to tell hip-hop from pornography, since almost all videos that come with hip-hop songs  have girls virtually nude.  One question that lingers on my mind is whether today’s hip-hop is incomplete without nudity?   Listeners  find themselves in a  dilemma of classifying such songs as hip-hop or pornography. There is  a cliché that if you want something to sell, put a woman by it; and although I agree that women are good marketers, I totally disagree with nudity.
Any good hip-hop video should be able to sell without nude girls doing all manner of things; otherwise it ceases to be hip-hop but pornography. For a typical hip-pop music lover, nudity does not play a role in their choice. “If I want to watch porn, I know where and how to get it, I love my hip-hop undiluted”, a friend told me. Since this encounter with my friend, I always wondered if he will in any case become extremely selective as I am when it comes to this genre of music. If yes, how many of us out there hold this notion and what does it mean for the hip-hop industry and the artists who flood their videos with pornography?
Certainly, I am aware  of the argument that these artists may have the intention of satisfying a targeted audience; not a problem. My worry, however, is the youth, especially those who are not yet at the age to discern  good from  bad. For these children,  the media  has become their  major  learning tool.  It is ,therefore, disheartening to watch them consume such pornography under the guise of hip-hop.
 The words used by  some rappers   will  be  a topic  for  discussion  for another day because as it stands now, certain swear words  have become normal to them.
The issue of pornography in hip-hop and all other genres of music is a big deal and industry players should wake up to this call and clean things up. Let us visit the roots of hip-hop and draw the lines where appropriate. Hip-hop should be purely hip-hop and pornography should also be treated as such. Let us not merge the two as it does not only create a conflict of interest  but a total loss of interest.