'fare ye well' kind friends
fifty & Waning, witnessing rap’s Decimation
Fckr’s, they took Nippsey and left us with Drake
Some of us still grieving 2Pac
They always take our realest
Leave us with those flinching hollow pretenders
Profiteering by perpetuating violence
Thuggery and crime as a way of life
Generation after wasted generation
Indoctrinated in a degenerate mindset
Gang, gang make guns with your fingers, graduate
To inking veracity’s crimson rhymes
That the whole world connects with
Then watch them come for your greatness, Fckr’s.
Sellout’s!
Pushing a get rich or die trying toxic propaganda
Now, we have college dropouts as manufactured
RapGod fallacies selling out stadiums
Meanwhile 8 bar’s true kings & queens
Reduced to living legend, afterthoughts
Bouncing debts of ignorance mistakes
Dodging those jail or addiction industry trappings
Barely miles from the same ghetto’s they strived
to Escape!
We’ve got pathetic fakes talking about signing cheques
Because they’ve built a career
On the back of ghost writers
Parade their wealth in all their depraved video mirages
Teaching yet another false narrative
About how to be a talentless success
In a society devoid of morality, refuting merit’s necessity
Yeah, happy 50th birthday rap
Or is that ‘urban culture’ pop rhymes now?
Sad to admit, I’ll be surprised
If you’ll be celebrating any centenary feats!
Life’s a ditch, we dig six inches in every sigh
While witnessing life’s incessant absurdities
Trying to survive our moonless nights
So we can be scorched under sunlight
Smiling, to repress trepidation
Beneath every new sensation
Our good one’s, all die young
Explains why fools like me are left behind, cursed
To witness decimation & verse
© L. B. Mek
February 2023
-
Author:
L. B. Mek (
Offline) - Published: October 2nd, 2023 02:48
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 16
- Users favorite of this poem: LIZ, Teddy.15, aDarkerMind.
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Comments12
You already know how I feel about this....especially because you and I have the exact same playlist 😏
This is absolutely incredible! And the video goes perfectly with it!!!
"Fckr’s, they took Nippsey and left us with Drake"- A very bold statement....but you ain't lying! 🤷♀️ "The killing of rap"! This is why I gravitate towards..'back in the day' rap...or any type of music for that matter...when lyrics were based on real life situations. It was a way of life! Raw feelings. Real stories about the person's past...and struggles/circumstances.
Now we got fake shit! Everyone's CREATING a "hype" in order to get paid. And those who've truly lived the life, paved the way, and have struggled to survive are left behind...forgotten. Time has been overtaken by "RapGod fallacies"--false truths....just to rise to fame. Fuckers!! There's no true RAP (rhythm and poetry) anymore! Where it used to express a person's Identity and characteristics, it now shows someone's crave for a quick check.
MFs can't even own their own lyrics.
"they’ve built a career On the back of ghost writers" - You're not kidding!
I can hear the frustration in every word. It's unfortunate really...but it's reality.
Thank you so much for sharing this!
Let's keep the "real" ones alive! I love your mind!! 💫💫💫
'Let's keep the "real" ones alive!'
amen!
Play them loud in our living rooms
let the neighbours hear
There was a time when rap stood
for the realest sound of all!
Thank you cherished Poet
I'm in awe of your
empathetic genius!
Having been born close to Brixton in 1974 I know the culture of rap and what it means to be an artist of it, it's poetry in a different form and it only works if the words mean something.this is another amazing feast dear Mek. A culture that is a dying breed. We need to bring the education back because music of all types is incredibly important. I grew up with breakdance and I really appreciate this fact. ❤️ a wonderful poet you are. Now I miss London.
London misses its favourite Poetess daughter
but Dante's essence is keeping your artistry fed
So you're doing just fine! London won't go anywhere
be here when you're good n ready..
(I really appreciate how many diverse things
we share from our past cherished friend)
Thank you!
I have been biased in the past with a generally all inclusive love for music except for rap. Sure there were a few pieces I liked but generally I steered clear. Until recently I discovered Ren a non commercial (until his recent internet success) rapper, singer, actor, guitar player and message giver, against violence, against suicide, against large pharmaceutical corporations, greed etc. There are always exceptions I guess. Oh he's English too. Nice write L.B.
yeah Mr 'Hi Ren'
is well know to me, my friend
(have you read lyrics to his genesis?
he is a well read individual
did his homework before he inked
his first rhythmic thought)
But i recommend
you try Talib Kweli's work
One of the realest to ever do it
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knz26sNBvwo
)
But yes I understand your perspective
although there really are true geniuses being muffled
by all the bulsht debris piled high by the money men..
(appreciate you trying to connect
with this polarising content cherished friend)
Thank you!
We are what we eat.
a diverse menu is needed
or else we're just what we
believe
which, however comforting
is a shallow lake to hide-in
while ignoring the wisdom fish
in that depressing sea of reality
well Mek, the gloves were off for this masterpiece, and oh my! straight to the point - strong as an ox -;
not one word out of place, and here am I....100% behind you.
this is why i cherish your guidance kind Poet
your work screams 'veracity in its rich imagery'
reading geniuses like you sculpted my ink
So i'm humbled by your generous support
Thank you!
I have a confession to make and because I know that this is going to be seen by minions of folk out there am prepared to take some flack .. I have never been that much into rap but my son grew up with Tupac and we have had many discussions about the merits of rap and I am happy to accept the poetic merits so much of it contains .. I still think Dylan was the original rapist .. with Johnnie's in the basement .. I also caught the news about Tupac's killer finally being caught .. I'm a bit out of my depth here but as always found todays offering thoroughly enjoyable and again take my trilby off to you brother .. Neville
ha! destiny has aligned me with your family
a fan of Tupac's words, is instantly a poetic kin to me
(have you both read his poetry book,
that might help bridge the gap of any
disconnect)
but yes Rap, in its current state
I have little time for as well
but there was day, when a lady
could be in a rap video without being naked
or having been a stripper before being 'found'
and the guys
had some genuine connection
to the words they were 'shouting'
not just living their ACT
and calling it 'real' life...
(always grateful for how much
transparency and essential trust
you imbue in-to our friendship
Hyung)
I read and learn, and appreciate
more than my feeble words
could ever express, thank you!
I love this topic and can go on forever. Indeed the rap and hip hop industry is mutating into more commercialism and for a wider audiences. At the same time, I have personally seen it is still unapologetic, oppositional, and full of contradiction, at its core. I have hope for the generation of very special talent and invention. It is a cultural phenomenon so it changes as the American values (and those of the world) change. You may not get shot at but people can forget you, no matter the talent, in all the noise that is in the cloud space. I think that gangster rap is 50 but the offspring can have great potential. Thanks for the well penned poem as always.
Amen!
(In your words of hope
Every fan of rap, chooses
To hold-on and believe
Waiting for that evolution
So we can reclaim
That music and artform
we once connected with
like nothing else..!)
Thank you wise Poet
I choose to share
In your hope fuelled
perspective
Than my own cynical
outlook..
I feel like it's by design. So much knowledge was laced within rhymes and now it's all bs and lies.
Great write!
very much so, wise Poet
that modernity push
to dumb-down available content
and our schools
is very much a work of 'design'..
they knew they had our minds
before they unleashed
that search engine access
to overwhelm us
with all the knowledge
we could ever want and need..
indeed, all by design
but what to end I am too limited
to fathom..
(still, at least a few
see 'their' machinations
even if our rage
is impotent and incapable
of preventing
what is seemingly a widespread culling
of individuality
and capacity for thought, free
of corruptive influence..
a world
watching zombie movies
without realising
that subtle suggestive lobotomy
being inflicted on us
generation after wasted generation..)
Woah a hardhitting ranting slam like poem expressing criticism eloquently. Kudos!!
thank you! kind poet
glad you could relate and enjoyed the read
I must confess I know very little about rap, but I can understand the compelling nature of it, and the need of expression for those who began by talking about life in the streets, real life events. You spurred me to do some googling and I learned quite a bit. It is a remarkable genre of music, and I can appreciate your feeling of loss for the genuine article. A great write my friend!
yes, you've revealed a truth about my own words
yet again, my wise friend
these words are a cry of 'loss'
because I do feel like, a large part of the world
has 'lost' out by the commercial demise
of a genre that once
imbued that radical spirit
of rock n roll
combing it, with rhythm and soul
of jazz and blues
and the ancestral drum beat legacies
they kept alive..
(thank you! cherished friend and respected Poet)
I read and learn
You nailed it.
thanks, very kind of you dear Poet
wow, that was FANTASTIC
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