Why would I say something like this when others appraising them as the forefathers of new music generation in Sri Lanka? It’s true that they did something, they changed the whole Sri Lankan mind set about the live performance and they did introduce us with a sound which was new to the ears of the Sri Lankans.
But what happened to the people’s ideology about this new art form which took the world by storm in the early 90’s to present day? Both B&S and Iraj made the big breakthroughs using this art form but they didn’t introduce the whole concept or the roots of the hip hop to the Sri Lankan younger generation who was eagerly followed and still following them. what happened thereafter was that all the guys tend to look like rappers even in their day to day lives and new “wannabe gangsters” rap bands became visible in every inch of this land and everybody tries to rap over the ass of a girl or just some gibberish without any sense over a catchy tune to get to stardom and then all the radio stations make their dough by placing them in the top positions of their charts.
The thing is that they all missed the point. They don’t know anything about The Sugar hill gang or Public Enemy, they don’t know how the disco died and the first rap hit rapper’s delight change the whole spectrum of world music. They don’t know anything about hell like life in projects or the reality of gangster’s life.
When Iraj was just emerging in the scene of music we got to hear good stuff like stop the virus, Sri Lanka 2030 and when he got in to the mainstream, track like J-town story which I think the best music video Sri Lanka has ever produced. But after that it happened other way round. The thing is that both of them; B&S and Iraj, didn’t go there to educate their younger generation about this new art form and didn’t try to use it for worthy causes to inform or to educate people about certain issues prevailing in the society.(they did but it’s not enough) If they did that, misunderstandings in the minds of the younger generation and Sri Lankans about hip hop culture and rap music would have been eradicated and we would have been able to see some rap bands who do music not to just make paper or to gain instant fame, but to use it for the betterment of the society and mankind.
But still I think all the hip hop lovers in Sri Lanka have a hope… in future…
“Music orientated When hip hop was originated”
Zack De La Rocha
Rage Against The Machine
Zack De La Rocha
Rage Against The Machine
