Hell Rell believes that “conscious” Hip Hop has been practically “wiped out,” and he has an idea why.
The former Dipset rapper recently stopped by Circle Da Block Radio and offered his thoughts on what he sees as a lack of “positive” influences in the current rap game.
Suggesting a conspiracy theory in the industry is to blame, he said: “We always had the Kid ‘N Plays, the Will Smiths, the Poor Righteous Teachers, the positive shit. I think [music companies] targeted that element because it was raising the frequency in the community.
“They got rid of that whole genre. Who’s the new Common Sense, Talib Kweli or Mos Def? You got a few of ’em that’s trying to get in, but their genre has just been totally wiped the fuck out.
“We always worked with that genre; we never looked down on the backpackers and the positive n-ggas. We collab’d with them. JAY-Z did songs with them. That genre kinda got wiped out ’cause I think they knew that shit was making n-ggas become more conscious.”
See his comments at the 35:10 mark below.
Despite Rell’s comments, there are a plethora of rappers who have seen success in recent years while focusing on socially-minded concepts, such as Chance The Rapper, Rapsody, Joey Bada$$, Vince Staples, JID, Logic, Cordae and more.
In fact, two of Hip Hop’s “Big Three,” Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, have long been applauded for tackling societal issues like racism, police brutality and drug addiction in their music.
In other Dipset-related news, Cam’ron‘s feud with Melyssa Ford was reignited last week after the model and podcaster hit back at the rapper’s recent freestyle.
While rapping over Black Rob’s “Whoa!” on his sports show It Is What It Is last week, Killa Cam claimed that Ford called music executives Kevin Liles and Steve Stoute for support in their spat.
“Melyssa Ford called Kevin Liles/ Then Steve Stoute, what they gonna do? I’m Mr. Giles/ We good, boo, Killa feeling better now/ But don’t ever put my name near the word,” he rapped, omitting the word “pedophile” at the end of his rhyme.
Ford refuting Cam’s claim, firing back on X (formerly Twitter): “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth even gets out of bed and puts its pants on.”
She added: “That [ninja emoji] is lying. I didn’t call anyone to deal with that bullsh** And he’s still talking about it 6 months later. It’s giving… [thinking emojis].”
The pair’s issues started late last year after the Joe Budden Podcast co-host insinuated that Cam’ron solicited underage prostitutes.
After the Harlem native told a story on It Is What It Is about visiting a brothel, Ford said on Budden’s podcast: “Is there a distinct possibility that there may have been underage girls in that whore house?”
The controversial suggestion prompted a furious response from Cam, who warned the Canadian: “Tread lightly. Be careful ’cause I’ll tell you one thing: I know a lot of people at ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. I’ll have you escorted back up across the border.”
Ford later apologized for her comments, admitting that she “should never have made that insinuation.”
