The Most Abused Word in Hip Hop: Classic

Thinking about what to write for an article, I was skimming through some youtube videos and articles and saw an interview where the word classic was used to describe upcoming work. Got me thinking. This is going to be a new series of posts on the Most Abused Words in hip hop. It's debut article? On the word "Classic"

I myself am a fan of hip hop. But there's a scary trend that has been happening in Hip hop recently. The overuse and straight abuse of the word "classic". It seems as though every artist claims that the album that they're currently working on is a classic. What exactly does that mean though? Dictionaries give the definition of classic as being something that's of the highest quality, that can act as a standard or a model. But how often do these albums get released and they fail to live up to these statements? I'm not saying that the artists themselves are horrible and suck, but maybe they should better phrase their thoughts before they speak. Freestyling interviews, probably not the best way to go. DJ Khaled is a great example, as is Rick Ross. Both use the word classic a lot. DJ Khaled far far more than Ross. When you sit and think about it, was We the Best Forever really a classic though? Is it something that's of the highest quality, a standard for future albums? The shine of Pro Tools that was applied to the album undoubtedly gives it a high production quality, but the album had its weak spots.

Khaled's already applying the same term to the upcoming Rick Ross God Forgives, I Don't album. I don't doubt that it's going to be a phenomenal, solid album. But a classic? Rick Ross is constantly getting better, but will that album be able to sit on the same shelf as albums like Reasonable Doubt? 2001? And dare I say it, one of Ross' nemesis' works, Get Rich or Die Tryin? I'm not too sure. There are albums that have come very close in past years. Mainstream ones, such as Thank Me Later, or My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. There have been underground albums that have approached classic status.

But in order for something to be a classic, it needs to be something that completely changes the game. It has to be something that heavily challenges preconceived notions on what Hip hop is, how music is created, and how we speak to people on the thoughts that come to us in our daily lives.

Maybe I'm a little too protective of words, but then again, Hip hop has always been about understanding the power and effect of words on people. Maybe I should change my definition of classic to what Ace Hood said in the first verse of "Get Money" from the Ruthless album, "I gave you a classic in my day".

Should I settle for that? Or should I expect more from the artists of my generation?

Hit me up on twitter ( @idoitforhiphop ) with your thoughts