Why?

Although the sentiment may be cliché, Hip Hop made me. Nostalgically similar to most Hip Hop fans immersed in the culture so long you can’t remember, the music became our spirituality.  Before I can remember writing my first story, reading my first book, I was banging out a KRS-1 beat.  KRS wasn’t my first introduction to Hip Hop, but his need to transpose the ironic nature of a poor and joyful culture in the South Bronx on every record he made gave me something to be proud of. I wasn’t old enough to articulate my affinity to the genre of lyrical soul music. However, as beats morphed into synthesized harmony, lyrics became more sophisticated, and more artists began to filter their ideas through the Hip Hop medium Hip Hop became a primary source for information in African American communities.  I wasn’t a very vocal child, but bopping to certain beats, reciting a certain lyric, or even sporting those new Airforce-1’s told those around me, “I’m down,” without saying a word.

Currently, it is amazing to see another generation of fans growing up in a Hip Hop dominated culture, but unable to identify with what’s so great about it, its roots.  There will always be hoards those nostalgic cats that denounce advances in music and deem new music less important when compared to music of their time. I am definitely not one of these people.  Modern music is just as valuable as the classics that comes before it. All of it should be appreciated.  This blog intends on making appropriate connections between the old and the new.  There needs to be a place in which Hip Hop heads can inquire about the artafacts.

The Name

The name ArtaFact is an obvious play on the word artifacts and suggests that Hip Hop pioneers are treasures perhaps rediscovered on this site. The name also signifies the need for appreciating the art and literature of Hip Hop while maintaining factual accuracy.  ArtaFacts is a forum aimed at uncovering the literature inside Hip Hop and strives to create social medium that analyzes aspects of the Hip Hop culture of the present and the past.