Arts & Entertainment
 

Anthology of hip-hop's greats fails to represent

'Box' leaves many essentials behind

By Zach Lee
The Daily Cougar

The soundtracks to McDonaldsi newest commercials donit hurt hip-hop. The lyrics are simple, and the beats are rudimentary. But any art form will enjoy a time of immense popularity, and popularity comes with profit potential. Hip-hop will survive with or without the favor of the public. What truly does hurt hip-hop though is the blind ignorance of those who claim to represent it. Hip-O Records does just that.

The Hip Hop Box is a 4-disc set containing 51 songs, and the liner notes reveal the lofty ambition of "(bringing) together 51 of the genreis greatest turning points, highlights, landmarks and breakthroughs." But fans of hip-hop that would like to find such a definitive collection will have to continue looking.

Sure, the people over at Hip-O included classics like The 2 Live Crewis "Me So Horny," Naughty By Natureis "O.P.P.," and Warren G. and Nate Doggis smooth "Regulate." But other essentials like Snoop Doggy Doggis "Gin and Juice," and Dr. Dreis "Nothini but a "G" Thang" are conspicuously absent. The only hint of Dre or Snoop that is thrown into the set is "The Next Episode," a song that seems to be chosen as the last song on the fourth CD only for the vague symbolism of hip-hopis next evolution. 

The set also pays homage to important figures with less-than-important songs. M.C. Hammer is represented by "Turn This Mutha Out" - not a terrible song, but by no means on the same level as "U Canit Touch This" or "2 Legit 2 Quit." Salt-N-Pepais "Push It" is a sloppy choice when "Shoop" and "Whatta Man" brought the group to the peak of its success. 

The compilers at Hip-O also seem to tilt the playing field in favor of some artists while completely ignoring LL Cool J, Nas, Jay-Z and any rapper from the South. Say what you will about their music, but Ludacris, Lil Jon, Nelly, and countless others have changed the face of modern hip-hop. Of course, the single mistake that does the most to soil the good intentions of Hip-O Records is the compilationis blatant racism. 

Most people would agree that hip-hop started out as a completely black art form. 

Those same people would agree that artists like The Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice and Eminem have furthered the genreis success. The Beastie Boysi sophomoric, rudimentary rhymes did wonders for hip-hop on the radio and television. Vanilla Ice wasnit a great rapper, but youid be hard pressed to find any college student who didnit recognize "Ice Ice Baby" or "Ninja Rap."

Eminemis influence is apparent as 50 Cent is represented with "21 Questions," but Slim Shady himself is left out. Although 50 Cent is a respectable lyricist, heis a lot better at taking bullets than making quality songs. 

Itis reasonable to argue, however, that Eminem is responsible for much of hip-hopis mass appeal. His own songs aside, his production and collaborations with Dre, D12, Obie Trice, 50 Cent, and the success of 8 Mile are enough to earn him a song.

The creators of The Hip Hop Box had good intentions, but their representation of the last 25 years has more holes than 2pac and Notorious B.I.G. combined. Of course, thatis easy for Hip-O -- they even forgot to include Biggie. True hip-hop heads would do better to walk away from the $59.98 list price and burn their own version of hip-hop history.

Various artists

Hip Hop Box

Hip-O Records

Verdict: Itis a piece of history, a small, unorganized piece of history.

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