J-Zone's Nostalgia

   As good as J-Zone's points are and as astute as is observations of the modern day Hip Hop day climate may be, he is merely a spectator of an inevitable paradigm shift within his art form. The internet, as J-Zone says, has been a blessing and a curse for Hip Hop. One the one hand new up and coming artists have found a means of easily making and distributing music. But on the other hand this means that the scene is inundated with tons upon tons of absolute crap. As J-Zone put it in his blog:
   
   "Limited distribution isn't as big a problem as before. Everybody is almost equal, shit we all have myspace pages. But look at the flipside. Everybody is almost equal, shit we all have myspace pages. There is so much shit out and the internet lurks with a million people doing the same thing, its virtually impossible to stand out" 
     
   Reading this point brought to mind an interesting parallel from chapter 2 of Storey's book. One quote from Leavis stood out in particular: "What has changed is the status of the majority. No longer can it command cultural deference, no longer is its cultural authority unchallenged." This is what happened in Hip Hop and is one of the things that J-Zone is most disappointed in. Following the advent of the internet the majority took over Hip Hop and started setting the trends as opposed to the small minority of incredibly talented and hard working individuals who laid the groundwork before them.

    Taste? Taste to me is an individual's subjective opinion on what they find aesthetically pleasing or intellectually stimulating across a broad range of mediums. Pop Culture is made of arts, entertainment, and people that (on purpose or by accident) appeal to the tastes of the masses. Below is something that I feel is impossible to dislike regardless of your personal preferences and tastes.