One aspect of authenticity that cannot be overlooked is the idea of being true to one’s own experience. Nearly every artist I interviewed indicated that there is no one version of Hip-Hop authenticity. Rather, representing honestly one’s own experience and identity is the most powerful source of authenticity. Furthermore, I propose that ‘connecting to a collective rhythm—a concept I have touched on and that I discuss at greater length in the following section—is only possible when an emcee is being true to him or herself. The following interview excerpts may serve as an open mic discussion of Hip-Hop authenticity. All eight artists were asked the same question: What makes an emcee authentic?
B-girl Mia: An emcee is authentic if they speak from their heart using their own words, ideas, and experiences. If they are repping it, do they live that way? Do they believe in it, or are they just glorifying the stereotypes perpetuated in mass media socialization programs?
Ab-Original: I consider myself as authentic as I could possibly be ‘cause I only rhyme about what’s true to me and what I know. My story. And, as far as I’m concerned, your race, your class, your ethnicity, whatever, none of that matters, unless you’re not bein' true to yourself.
Braille: I think honesty, and love and appreciation for the music, make you authentic. That doesn't mean that you’re good, but I'm not going to call you fake. If your being honest about who you are, and you love doing what you do.... then your authentic.NuSonRize: Once you get into the topic of authenticity, you start excluding more people than you’re including, which is not what Hip-Hop is all about. I don’t think there’s a standard of authenticity, but there are definitely people who are inauthentic – those who come about, building an image that’s not who they are.
DJ Eurok: To me, being an authentic D.C. Hip-Hop artist means being authentic to the experience of D.C. Hip-Hop… If you’re a D.C. hiphoppa and you’re not doin’ anything about the disenfranchisement of the D.C. people with their vote, then you fuckin' up. I’m not sayin' everyone has to be—like, if you have an album, it has to have all songs about D.C., but tell an authentic story about where you came up and what you deal with in the District, whether you a thugged-out cat talkin' about how much the cops fuck with you and how you get arrested and shit, whether you a student at George Washington, whether you an emcee from the suburbs. You have to talk about how that affects you and your experience.
Ceschi: At this stage in Hip-Hop's evolution, authenticity has been altered. Contrary to many older academic presumptions, I don’t believe that an emcee has to be "street" -- from the projects or a Compton Blood or something -- to be an authentic voice in Hip Hop. Although Hip Hop music is an urban phenomenon that originated in the bowels of post-industrial New York ghettos, I do not believe that origin single-handedly equates to authenticity. The "De La Soul" example is quick and easy to see. This group's first album (3 feet high and rising) was embraced by the streets and marked their place as one of the best Hip Hop groups of the early 90s, yet De La Soul were quick to point out that they were from middle class Long Island: "not from the Po’s, but I still got something to say." A group like that was saying that they were just as real as a group like NWA and that all types of people could utilize the outlet of Hip Hop as an expressive form. To make a long story short, rapping, at its core, is a very human way of expressing oneself. To me, an emcee's authenticity is directly correlated with honesty.
Jade Foxx: I don't think someone has to necessarily be from the hood to be considered "real hip hop". Even though Hip Hop started in the hood, it has grown into a universal style. You can be white and rich, and still be authentic if you are real with yours and have love for the game and love for the culture.
Zion: Saul Williams, on his new album, has a dope quote. He said ‘when Hip Hop started, Black people and Latino people were rappin about anger and oppression. White kids, he said, were rappin about guilt and depression.’… It’s a different modality of ideas, ‘cause we come from different places, but you’re still expressin' your experience. Life is hard, you know what I’m sayin, so it’s really getting through life and seeing what you see. And try to come to terms with it, within yourself - regardless of where that comes from. So emceein' is about being you, speaking from yourself and your heart.
Despite the strong arguments these artists make for universality in Hip-Hop, many would still argue that authenticity is bestowed upon an emcee by those who behold the emcee. Thinking back to what I have discussed regarding street cred and authenticity, I pose the following question: Is it possible that a group of people could decide that an emcee—though she may be entirely true to her own personality, spirit, and character—is, in fact, inauthentic because she does not embody the image or character that this group expects of her? Or of Hip-Hop? Assuming that the answer is ‘yes,’ I propose that we redefine Hip-Hop authenticity to place more emphasis on the honesty of a creative performance than on the degree to which an emcee “conforms to an original” image.
Interview Excerpt: Zion
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