Separate article D.M.C. speaks hip-hop history at MU The artist discussed how older hip-hop provided power through creativity.
Hip-hop has moved away from the ideals invested in it by 80s rap group Run D.M.C., one of its founding members said.
Darryl "D.M.C" McDaniels of the influential 80s rap group Run D.M.C. spoke to a group of MU students about what he felt hip-hop really was.
The 45-year-old musician is considered a pioneer of the hip-hop community. His dynamic speech interspersed brief freestyles, clips of video interviews with McDaniels and opinionated forecasting of what will become hip-hop if current trends continue.
McDaniels began his presentation with a passionate retelling of his early life. He explained what got him into hip-hop.
McDaniels was intrigued by the scene, which originated in the parks down the street from his home in Queens, N.Y. Hearing nothing but a 30-second clip from a cassette player, McDaniels knew from an early age hip-hop was his calling.
"Hip-hop is a total representation of the total experience of the boy or girl, regardless of race, creed, color, height, weight or religion," McDaniels said. "It's a total expression of our existence."
McDaniels went on to say hip-hop was always about creativity that evolved to the point where people eat, sleep and live it.
"The way we delivered and presented it was way more creative than anyone before us," McDaniels said.
McDaniels said this was his primary reason for his dislike of the current hip-hop scene.
"When we rapped about what we had, you never heard that again," McDaniels said. "Rappers nowadays say the same thing every album."
He focused the bulk of his two-hour speech on his strong dislike for modern day hip-hop. McDaniels said very old rap and recent rap is like disco -- nothing more than sex, drugs, alcohol and fun.
"The hip-hop being presented to the masses is about 3 percent of what real hip-hop is," McDaniels said.
He went on to explain further differences between the current hip-hop scene and the one from the 80s that he helped bring to fruition.
"For us, it wasn't about the money," McDaniels said. "The difference between this generation and my generation is that we actually cared about the audience."
McDaniels said it is important for hip-hop musicians to watch what they do.
"Hip-hop is more powerful than politics and religion combined," McDaniels said. "Hip-hop was the only force that brought people together."
Event coordinator Ben Hansen said he worked to book McDaniels because he liked what the musician had to say at a National Association for Campus Activities conference he went to last year.
"I like the fact that he is a former hip-hop artist and he admits that he doesn't like what's going on in the hip-hop industry because of the derogatory lyrics and the materialism," Hansen said.
Graduate student Morgan Grey said McDaniels had an interesting view on the situation currently taking place in hip-hop.
"He made a good point that if things don't change then they die," Grey said.
McDaniels met with most of the students at the lecture, allowing them to take photos with him and receive autographs. McDaniels was also asked which rapper he preferred, Kanye West or Lil Wayne.
