Reporting back from last November’s post when Mos came over to foggy ol’ Blighty to present his Ecstatic album to fans at Kentish Town’s Forum, he also took it upon himself to do a lil’ venting to the people of the BBC (namely Tim Westwood) about the way hip-hop is currently being mis-represented on the 1Xtra show. Having a respectable figure in the game express his disappointment to the so-called ‘UK hip-hop evangelist’ is certainly not to be taken lightly; especially when there isn’t any other figure as well-known as Westwood that has the opportunity to represent the genre to such a wide demographic in this country.
Tim Westwood has forever remained the controversial hip-hop ambassador of the UK. His suburban, upper middle class upbringing, yet contrasting stateside Ali G-esque accent and bomb-dropping “ghetto” sound effects, some may say, make him the antithesis of true hip-hop. For many people over the age of 12, Westwood is one of those characters we love to hate. However, despite this, we must respect the fact that he has (for a more than a minute) been responsible for championing both home-grown talent and bringing credible overseas hip-hop artists across the Atlantic to the UK masses.
There are many topical debates we could delve into regarding the nature of hip-hop in relation to the DJs, the UK audience and the powers that be, however I will let the 1Xtra videos speak for themselves.
Its good to see that there are still people around who are prepared to rock the boat and be courageous enough to speak up to challenge the status quo. In saying this, I also sincerely believe that it is moments like these that will continue to push the movement forward. There is hope for the future of hip-hop.
We salute you, Mos Def.
P.S. Fairplay to Westwood for posting this up anyway.
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