You just can’t please everyone!

I always say in a matter of opinion, no one is right or wrong. Now sometimes things are just too complex to be just clear cut and simple. Sometimes you cannot please everyone. You will not have everyone agree with you, and that applies generally.

The hip hop community is very outspoken. I have come to realise that they are very vocal, especially when they are not happy with/about something. They will easily voice it out. 

The first controversy in the Hip Hop Community was when Hype Magazine released what they call the “Top50mcs” list, in their 50^th edition bumper issue. This naturally got people talking, and everyone voiced out their opinion. Fred (Hype Columnist) and a panel consisting of Slikour, Amu, Morale, L-Tido and Rashid went up on FULLCLIP with Siz, Scoop on Yfm. There were discussions, things were explained, questions were asked, arguments were had, they talked and apologies were offered. Now that was just the gist of how this topic rocked the hip hop community because it looks like everyone did not agree with the list.

Twitter and Facebook went bizzark, everyone was lashing at Hype, Rashid even wrote an open letter stating his disapproval of the list and how Hype has deteriorated over the years. The Magazine has been around for years now; giving to the Community and helping give exposure to many, helping them get a foot in the game. Many can say Hype has being a sphere of influence in the game. Not taking away from that and what they have done for local hip hop over the years. The thing with the list is its credibility and whether they messed up or rather how much.

 Could the public have been more understanding and open minded? Were we too hard in placing our opinions? Did we diss Hype for trying to take the game to another level? Did we miss the point of what they were trying to do? Was Hype’s idea too scattered and not well thought out? Did they fail in what they were trying to do? Did we congratulate those who made the list? Did we overlook a lot of things as Hype did? I think we did.

Because if we were just out to attack and say the list should be scrapped and thrown out, what are we saying to game players who made the list, what are we saying about their art, about their role and contribution to the game? Are we really not holding back change, are we denying ourselves the chance to move forward. Could we have not being accommodating to the idea and be constructive in our opinions? Hype tried to do something for the game but our opinions, thoughts and ideas on that initiative got the better of us. In something like this you really cannot win. People will always feel their opinion is better than the other because it is theirs. We all have that top list in our heads and hearts. We know who is best and number 1 in our heads.

We might feel that some were cheated because they were left out and feel some did not deserve to be up on the list, but in that are we right in our opinions or are we not as wrong as we feel Hype is? Well of course, Hype is a credible publication and should not be messing up as it has done, but what are taking away from it? Was it all about having Hype admit fault and that is it? Was it all about being right in saying the list was crappy? Was it all about wanting to be right because you were not consulted? And that because you feel you are a big person of influence in the game and Hype did not consult with you that makes the list wrong? It is really about you, or me or us? Isn’t it about the game and where it is headed? Shouldn’t we be, more concerned about that than our opinions?

Hype could have done a better job in putting the list together, and explaining what it was all about and how they compiled it the way that they did. Yeah, it don’t make sense not to have Skwatta Kamp on the list, but this is their first attempt, it was something new for them and they probably got too excited about the idea, got lost and forgot about the structures and guidelines, there are also criteria’s and guidelines that Hype could have but did not follow, a certain structure or criteria or guidelines, in compiling the list before publicly putting it out as they did.

The “impact” story did not sell and was not clear to everybody and even though it made sense it was not understood. They admitted the error and admitted that they messed up. There was not much consultation done, the public was not involved, there was no public participation and these resulted in the reaction that they got from the public. This could easily be their biggest blunder to date. 

The more recent event in hip hop community that got people voicing their opinions was the 1^st ever South African Hip Hop Awards (SAHHAs). They happened on the 21^st of November but the critics were already at work way before that. Besides some stupid people who think they are all that, boycotting the awards and what shit, I saw a lot of negativity from the very on set, public outbreaks of opinions and blinded misjudgements. Some winners were celebrated and some were questioned, that is just how the hip hop community is, that is just how generally people are.

 We always want to have a say and be right. People can easily diss than give credit. It’s easy to point out the bad, to knock an idea down than to support it. They discourage innovation than to applaud it, than to salute a cause. People who are idea thinkers and conviction are the bravest than those who are critics, because they are all about action.

The SAHHAs saw their first inception. The organisers got a lot of flack. A lot of room for improvement is set. A lot of errors were made but is that what we should be focusing on0? Is that what we should be posting all over and talking about, putting out there, especially game players? Why is it so flipping easy to be negative about shit?

Do we not value our artists enough to just respect them and salute them? Give a little and not always just be about taking away.

The awards happened and everyone has had their say. I just think we sometimes get too critical and in that we fail to appreciate efforts made by those trying to lift the game to new heights. People should see the bigger picture and realise it is all not about them, they may be a part of this but they do not make it what it is and even though some people value their input and opinion others do not take them as highly.

Matters of opinions are just too complex.  Let’s have opinions but let’s not fail to appreciate. If hype did not put out a list, when could we have ever had it? If anyone else had put it out would we have hated it any less or even rebuked it completely?  If the SAHHA’s were not launched this year, when could we have ever had them? It’s amazing how we hold down our own and easily knock it down.

We need to look at things from a bigger picture than our own. That blocks out many things that we could have the chance to experience and see. We need to stop being bias. We know our market more than anyone and we also the ones holding back growth in so many ways. When we get the opportunity to hold our own and run our shit, we should just salute the progress and support it.

I’m just saying step back for a minute and look at what every step and initiative and every project is doing for the game! Coz while you sitting there judging, people are making potentially history making moves. They know there are nay Sayers out there but that isn’t a thing coz their vision matters more than critics that are only good at running their mouth.

If the idea was not introduced because we still thought we were not ready and we did not have a big enough market to have awards, where would that take the community?  What would it mean for our progress? What if nothing and anything was ever done? Where could we be? What would the community be? would we be allowed to cry foul to the rest of the industry and say we are overlooked and not appreciated and taken serious and left behind and shut out and undermined and blocked out and not given a chance and not given a platform and being forgotten...and all that other crap. Would we be allowed to do that if we not doing anything about it ourselves, I think not.