Friday, August 17, 2012

Hopsin - Ill Mind of Hopsin 5: Review

Hopsin - Ill Mind of Hopsin 5.
With the constant decline in the significance of Hip-Hop lyrics, usually being a witty statement referring to the amount of cash they have sorted into multiple stacks evened out by how many hoes they have to a group, one can wonder if there are any good artists left out there.

When I sat down and turned on Hopsin's new single, Ill Mind of Hopsin 5, I regained the slimmer of hope for this generation that I had been looking for.  The song starts off with a somewhat eerie beat that really plays into Hopsin's style.  The beat itself, is great.  It has that old school Hip-Hop feel to it, while keeping an interesting creepily addicting bass line.

Hopsin's lyrics start off with,
"Man I hate rap, but if the shoe fits, wear it."
expressing his distaste for the way rap has become.  I was already getting into the song before it started.  The remainder of the intro basically details Hopsin expressing discomfort for feeding the morals rap music delivers, even going as far as to say that he's embarrassed to be a part of it.  The next verse starts out describing your average teenager these days and the twisted ideas of entertainment people have come to be a part of.  Disrespecting fan favorites such as weed, drinking, money, women and the all popular SWAG.  This entire verse picking apart trends we face in America these days and why rap music is one of the biggest influences on them, breaking down this "we do it because rappers do it" logic. 

Once he's got a fair amount of sore-anus spread out across America, he starts to address the women of this generation who claim, "they want a nice guy".  He starts off explaining to these confused women that they say they want a real man, yet they refuse to stop going after the fake ones.  With lyrics such as,
"Twice a week you put on your makeup and damn bracelets
And head to the club half-naked with your ass shaking
Pulling a lowlife nigga who claim he cash making
Til you let him hit and find out he work at the gas station",
Hopsin nails this one DEAD on the head.  Going on to explain that as long as you go after the "tough guy" act, you're going to find it. 


We finally arrive at the last verse in which Hopsin asks what the term "real nigga" means.  He questions the audience what a "real nigga" is supposed to be, saying the phrase has him very confused.  His impression being someone who handles their business and stays out of trouble so that they can make something out of themselves.  Basically, he speaks the truth.  I mean really, it's not a hard concept to grasp.  Anyway, he goes on to say "A real nigga don't brag about being real as long as he knows it.", meaning if you are who you say you are, you wouldn't have to say it. 
To end this surprising explosion of genius, he addresses the rappers of today, telling them that they inspire the issues he had previously mentioned.  Even going as far to say that they are one of the major reasons we are in the shape we are right now.  While every human being DOES have a choice, he does make a valid point.  Without the added pressure of the media and music of this generation, children may be a little better off.  I suggest everyone listen to this song and REALLY think about the lyricism he brings.

Bottom line.
Hopsin put an extraordinary amount of meaning in this song, and this is the type of music we need to see more of. 

That's it for today.
sayonara, mina-san.

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