R.I.P. Storytellers

To recover from the depressing blog entry from earlier this week (I had what some would call a mental breakdown...I'm fine guys! Calm down, calm down....) I would love to speak on something that I think is going to effect the Hip Hop Community.

On November 8, 2011 at 1:00pm, Rap artist Heavy D passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was only 44 years old.
Heavy D was born on May 24,1967 in Mandeville, Jamaica. He moved to New York for a better living, like many do. He was the lead of the rap group Heavy D and the Boyz and they were the first group signed by Uptown Records. Their debut album, Living Large, launched in 1987. He was last seen on the 2011 movie, Tower Heist and on the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards, he did first (and last) performance in 15 years,

Now, I'm not going to flex and say I knew Heavy D personally. But I will say that his death saddens me. Heavy D is a inspiration to many rappers and aspiring rappers and he is also one of the few HipHop artists who didn't constantly have degrading lyrics, or lyrics about doing/selling drugs. He didn't rap about "swag" all the time, nor did he make a dance. (Though we all have enjoyed his dancing very much!) He was one of the few rappers who told stories. Sad stories, happy stories, crazy stories. He told stories through his music, and I feel this is missing in today's Hip Hop.

Nowadays, we listen to "Ho this" and "Bitch that" and "Loud this" and "Ass that". Don't get me wrong; I listen to these songs, and when they come on, I will hit the dance floor like it's no problem. But the point I'm making is the fact that this is all that Hip Hop is right now.

We've lost storytellers like Tupac and Biggie, and soul singers like Aaliyah and Teena Marie, and now we've lost another. I believe artists should re-examine their music. Tell more stories instead of trying to create the next biggest twerk song. Tell more stories instead of speaking about how much loud you smoke, how high you are, or how many women you've slept with. There's nothing wrong with these songs, but we constantly hear the same thing, and we hear the same voices.

I appreciate artists like B.O.B., Eminem, T.I., Kanye West, and the like. They have their club bangers, but they also have their inspirational songs, (i.e. "Airplanes", B.O.B.) and storytelling. I feel these types of artists are trying to save Hip Hop. Without them, the genre would continue to go downhill.

Heavy D will live on as one of the great storytellers that were gone too soon. And with that being said, I would like to end this with one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite Heavy D songs:

You've got to forgive and forget

Let hate, let hate be your enemy

Aah, through the love

And only love will set your spirit free

R.I.P. Heavy D

1967-2011