Hip-hop legend Melle Mel is one of the more outspoken OGs in the rap game, showing no issue with sharing his two cents on topics that are central to the culture. For the last week, parts of his latest interview with VladTV have been trickling out, including portions where he explains why he thinks Jay-Z is “overrated”, why he would beat Eminem in a rap battle, and why The Notorious B.I.G. wouldn’t be successful in the earlier days of hip-hop. Clearly, Melle Mel isn’t concerned about rubbing people the wrong way.
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In the latest section from his talk with the publication, Melle Mel speaks about how hip-hop can’t be considered the music of the streets, explaining why he thinks so.
“I heard this being said the other day, which I don’t agree with, they said hip-hop is the music of the streets. It’s not. Hip-hop is the people’s music,” he said. “It’s not the music of the streets. It’s the music of the streets if you want it to be the music of the streets but that statement in itself, it doesn’t say a lot about hip-hop. Because you ain’t supposed to promote that. Everybody says, ‘that’s how we live’. You live how you wanted to live. That’s what you do. I’m 59-years-old. I’ve never shot or stabbed nobody. I walked away from way more fights than what I got into. And why? Because that’s the right thing to do. And anybody out there, you can make a choice. You can be 59 and accomplish something or you can go burn bright and get killed at the age of 25. And the lucky ones will be the ones that die. The unlucky ones will go to jail.”
What are your thoughts on Melle Mel’s recent comments? Do you think hip-hop is the music of the streets?