Singer or emcee, Holt’s got nothing but love
By Derrick Holt | Sep. 7, 2001I'm sitting here in my homie's dorm room listening to The Blueprint and thinking about some of the things that passed through my mind over the course of the summer. It's amazing how hip-hop has gone from what was supposed to be a fad that ended in less than five years to one of the United States' most lucrative money-making machines. The music is only 25 or 30 years old, depending on who you ask. Nowadays, your music isn't pop unless you have visible elements of hip-hop in it. A truly gifted hip-hop artist can make it into constant rotation on the mutually owned MTV or BET, and 'true hip-hoppers' refuse to give respect to the artist. Even worse, they refuse to respect the music. What's that? Comedy, that's what that is. Another thing, what's the deal with all the emcees and rappers we are losing to R&B and soul? As you can see, my mind wandered a lot this summer. So let's talk about some of this.