PLEASE HAMMER, DON'T HURT THEM!

As the entertainment industry focuses on the early days of the hip hop scene from the late eighties and the early nineties (ie. "Straight Outta Compton", "Dope", and The new VH 1 movie "The Breaks"), many are dissing the so called "clean rappers" of the era such as MC Hammer and Will Smith (aka Fresh Prince). It has become a running joke that these rappers from that time played to the hands of mainstream America and didn't represent the true happenings of the inner city and urban culture and, thus, were not substantial artists. Well, from the opinion of this writer, so what? Music is suppose to invoke a full range of emotions, from joy and happiness to stress and misery. MC Hammer's style and dance moves were the biggest wave in 1990. His music was positive and he was probably the biggest artist to bring rap to the mainstream. The hip hop artist that came after should pay homage to him for paving the way for their careers rather that poking fun. And so what if he didn't sing about drugs, murder, and sex? Further, how does extreme misogyny and violence substantiate credibility and make one "legit"? So entertainment and music industry please take note. Some of us like rap that does not promote violence and that make us feel good and dance. Long live Curtis Blow!