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Summary Of Once Hip Hop Culture Is Invisible By Questlove

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Questlove presents an interesting, and authoritative, argument in his essay series. It’s a discussion of the evolution of hip-hop, its roots and future directions and the impact of both of these. Not only is the essay series a discussion of hip-hop, but it is a discussion of art as a whole, the hip-hop culture and the culture of black America. For me, the first essay served as a great general introduction to the overarching theme of Questlove’s work and the current status of hip-hop as both an art form and culture. His statement that “Once hip-hop culture is ubiquitous, it is also invisible” makes so much sense. This concept can be applied to a number of things—once something is popular, it is also somehow meaningless—but it applies to hip-hop especially, which was formed in its very essence as a response, exemplification of “the other” and “the different.” …show more content…

These kinds of messages are much more appealing for me, as a (still) novice listener. Other genres with these same kinds of themes are more appealing to me personally than the mainstream hip-hop vibe, because they are relatable. I think, at its core, music is about people and coming together—for a cause or a jam session or just a good time. Questlove talks about that a little in his final installment: we should focus on the ritualistic aspect of music first, rather than the commercial “product” that is music. I completely agree. Questlove’s focus in the final essay on music as a cultural force leads me to wonder: do all cultures need some kind of unifying force? As hip-hop served this for black culture, what is the unifying force for other cultures? Is it cultural traditions, like Día de los Muertos? Or is it food, like latkes? Or some other genre of

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