Heads are getting stabbed in the underground. Indie hip hop ciphers are a dangerous place sometimes. But why is underground independent hip hop music so combative? How can a D-I-Y punk scene thrive in the same city where cats get in a scrap over a freestyle battle?
You go into the battle knowing the other guy is going to insult you, repeatedly. Yet afterwards, outside, after there was a clear winner, there is a scuffle over what was said between two cheeseballs who lost in the first and second round. Punks are tough motherfuckers, but the indie rock scene in this city collaborates endlessly with anyone who is interested in joining them.
It’s as easy as posting on a message board. Bands will promote each other, find shows for one another and exchange contacts in different cities. This collaborative effort severely differs from the piss to mark your territory attitude of the indie hip hop music scene. You won’t see a battle of the bands end up in a bar-clearing brawl.
The underground indie hip hop music scene ends up being various little clusters, divided by seemingly nothing other than a look-out-for-number-one mentality. I was recently in a punk band and we were asked to be on a compilation featuring Ottawa garage and punk acts. Again, unheard of in indie hip hop. Think of how helpful that would be to up-and-coming acts that can’t afford to book a studio, let alone pay for pressing. Twenty performers can pitch together $100 each and volunteer some studio time and you’d have yourself a collaborative inde hip hop effort that would not only showcase your talents to the community, if not the world, but also how strong our underground indie hip hop music scene is.
Of course I would not initiate this revolution because I am far too lazy, although I do plan on making it my New Year’s resolution to at least help out. Ok … you got me. It’s not because I’m lazy. It’s due to the fact that at the end of the day, the journey to actually getting your album out with no help is a beautiful struggle. You want to keep it to yourself because that way you are the one who has final say on what happens. There is a huge reward after the endless time and effort invested in your craft.
But keep in mind, there is nothing stopping us from working just as hard, in unison, towards the same end. Just imagine the result if all the Ottawa heads put their heads together to get ahead.
