Damn good question. Hip-Hop today is soaked in an ultra-hardcore aesthetic which screams that the more money/power/bitches you have, the more "real" you are -- even though the 99% of us with an income under $1 mil know pretty much JACK SQUAT about the high-fat lifestyle of "three course meals, spaghetti fettucini and veal" of Sean 'Puffy' Combs.
So what's the average kid on the block to do? On the one hand there is something essentially noble about inspiring people to achieve the American Dream of big money and big cars, on the other hand there is something ludicrous with equating big money and big cars with being happy and making it in the world. It's good to aspire for better from life, but keeping it real should also include LIVING it real and understanding that even if you don't have all the material goods it doesn't make you less of a person or less satisfied with life.
That's why I propose Hip-Hop Economics 101, and it starts right at your local Sam Goody. Wanna keep it real? Buy a tape instead of a CD -- they cost more to make but they actually charge you LESS. And when you buy that tape, buy that tape with the artist you can relate to - somebody who knows about quarter waters and ramen six for a dollar; not Puff Daddy and his Cristal sipping friends.
Easier said than done, Dunn, you say to me. You got the purists on one side and the pop artists on the other. If you say something towards one side you got ALL the people on the other ready to take off yo' head. "Keeping it real" has gone way overboard; which I think ironically enough is why I started feeling the Timbaland and Magoo album. You can go too far overboard hating everything materialistic; and the reminder that America itself is materialistic puts some of the more high-profile rap in perspective. In fact when you boil down the simplistic raps of Tim and Magoo, they're basically about money and women - but they're also fun to listen to and dance to. Still, you're caught in a bind; admit liking it and be a fraud, try to live it like they do and you're a fraud.
"I feel elated, that keep it real is outdated"
Thanks Magoo, couldn't have put it better myself. If you're not totally confused and lost by now, here's my point: keepin it real is doin your OWN thing. You don't have to be a player or a pimp nor do you have to buy their records if you don't like it; and you don't have to be broke and starving and love Company Flow either.
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