Last night I went to the Mac Miller show in Fort Lauderdale, FL, which featured Rapsody: a truly talented and passionate individual. She is a 28-year-old MC "that happens to be a female," as she puts it, and she represents artists like Lauryn Hill, MC Lyte and Latifah.
As a 21-year-old "white girl," I deal with adversity on a daily basis, with people not taking me seriously, and someone like Rapsody, who characterizes leadership, talent and independence, inspires me.
When I spoke with Rapsody last night, we briefly discussed the music industry, substance, and lack thereof.
When Rapsody went on stage, she wore a green long sleeve top, jeans, and sneakers. She didn't wear anything accentuating her slim, petite body. She simply came out as Rapsody. Her motive was to move her audience with her music. When she performed, she represented talent and passion. Her appearance immediately became irrelevant when you heard the words that were coming out of her mouth. It wasn't noise, it wasn't words. It was poetry, it was real. She is so confident in what she is capable of, that she did not have to rely on her beauty (which is obvious, even without make up) and femininity to aid her performance. Image is secondary to her. I cannot name ONE male OR female that has the ability to do that.
There is a lot of irony in the term "image." The image is a visual picture. However, the image tends to blind people of the truth. The power of the image can cause one to lose sight of what is real.
Sometimes, people forget what hip hop is. Hip hop is a culture and an art form originating in the South Bronx, dating back to the 1970s. Hip Hop was initially a way for young, underprivileged kids to express themselves by dance (break dancing), art (graffiti) and battling (MCing). In times of struggle, people would utilize these art forms as means of outlets to express their emotions. Instead of crime and violence, togetherness and communities were created to rechannel their adversity into something positive.
As Ms. Rapsody likes to say, "Culture Over Everything."
Thank you for preserving the culture of Hip Hop and proving that substance overpowers image. One's image is short lived and ever changing. Talent and passion is lifelong. People are often too shallow and unsure of themselves to embrace that.
Check her out:
http://www.rapsodyonline.com/
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