Hollywood Divorce

Hollywood divorce (link to lyrics) has already been mentioned in this blog, but I think the song does a great job of entertaining and addressing a serious topic at the same time, and deserves some attention (of which I will give it right now).
To me the song with: Andre 3000, Lil’ Wayne, Big Boi and Snoop, though it might be stating the obvious to some, does a beautiful job of showing how trends (music, clothes or otherwise) start and are destroyed by Hollywood and $$$. In a way its capitalism and entrepreneurship, what our country was built on, rapped into one. (People/Businesses capitalizing on opportunity) It’s a cycle that can’t really be stopped, and explains why Hip-Hop as we knew it is gone forever and is constantly changing... Its trying to stay one step ahead of Hollywood.

Once a trend becomes popular enough in the streets, Hollywood will cash in on it…turn it into or incorporate it into their business…water it down so that it appeals to the masses, and destroy anything original or artistic that may have exsisted when the trend started… when that happens the trend (music, fashion or otherwise) becomes “wack” “played out” or “tish-tish” (pick your favorite.) But like andre3000 says “it's cool, we just keep it goin' make new shit.” And new trends arise.

Andre3000
“Hollywood divorce. All the fresh styles always start off as a good lil' hood thang. Look at Blues, Rock, Jazz, Rap. I ain't even talkin' about music, everything else too. By the time it reach Hollywood it's over. But it's cool, we just keep it goin' make new shit”

What is funny to me is the repetitiveness of it all. You can see it every year, and throughout the short history of Hip-Hop…But what you can’t do is blame anyone for making money on their music or name. What you have to understand is that Music is a business and everyone is trying to eat, so you can’t blame someone for cashing in on what they do to make money. If they don’t cash in on it, Hollywood will use it anyway, give you no credit and take all the money.

If there were no possibility of making it big and cashing in on the Rap Game, there wouldn’t be a Rap Game, or any fraction of the Rap Game we know today… and half the rappers you know of would be doing something else… If you want to know what they would be doing, listen to their songs.

Outro-Snoop
“Take our game, take our name, give us a little fame, and then they kick us to the curb that's a cold thang.”