Up until my early days of high school I believed that hip-hop was a motley assortment of foul language, misogyny and drug references by the less than talented misfits of our dwindling artistically inclined culture. “Personal Journals,” by Sage Francis made me realize my ignorance towards hip-hop and rap music.
To judge hip-hop by solely focusing on the likes of Lil’ Wayne and 50 cent is like judging punk music by referencing your experience with Good Charlotte or determining what constitutes good country music when your only frame of reference is Carrie Underwood. They don’t represent the origins of the music, but more exploit the popularized aspects of each genre.
Hip-hop didn’t start as a way to brag about money or to delegitimize the importance of women. It started as a way for a subverted culture to come together and share their interest and love for art and movement. Sage Francis re-introduces this aesthetic and finds his own footing in the vast garbage pile of all too common, ready-made music.
The importance of family and the idea that we have to take care of our own is present through the entirety of the album but rears its head most noticeably through the song, “Inherited Scars.” The song is a tribute to his younger sister who turns to self-mutilation as a cathartic experience. “If there’s a vacancy as far as room in your life goes, say it to me but don’t do it with a knife under your clothes.” The depth of his concern for his sister’s addiction to harming herself is paralled by the guilt he feels surrounding the idea of their deadbeat, less than available father. He wants to be the go-to male figure in her life but often times finds himself falling short of his own expectations, “My feeble attempt at being a strong big brother doing father figure 8’s,” just scratches the surface of his overwhelming concern for one of the people that means so much to him.
Hip-hop isn’t female friendly music unless you’re down to shake your ass and be an object rather than a real person, right? I had this idea about hip-hop until I was introduced to Sage Francis. His song, “Broken Wings” is devoted to highlighting the endless talent of a particular woman who is constantly regarded as an object, not an actual capable and gifted woman. “I’d like to see her take flight into the stars, instead of letting her fly free they keep her in jars.” It’s a pretty daring task for a hip-hop artist to shed his uber masculinity in order to humanize a woman. He doesn’t see her as a less than capablefemale, but a talented person who has been beaten down by the men around her. He comments on why this particular woman isn’t treated as an equal, “It isn’t hard to see why they keep her captive, she’s naturally attractive, speaks with adlibs, she’s uncommonly talented.” This comes off as more of a personal commentary towards the roles of women in general, not just the woman he wrote the song about.
Another aspect of typical hip-hop music missing from “Personal Journals” and the entirety of the Sage Francis’ discography is the emphasis on drugs and alcohol. Sage puts himself out on the line when admitting that he doesn’t drink any alcohol, ever, nor does he use drugs which are staples of popularized culture. “I had no dead homes to honor while pouring out the liquor I don’t drink, you can flash your shiny objects in front of my eyes and I won’t blink.” This comes off as a satirical response to the frivolities of popularized hip-hop music. He states pretty boldly that he won’t conform to the standards set out for him; he’s going to pave his own path and avoid distractions. He also poses the idea to his audience that you can only get as far in life as you expect from yourself, “If you’re a poor man’s version of anything it’s your self-perception.”
Not everyone cares all that much about what is infiltrating the air waves and burrowing its way into the skulls of the masses. It’s really not a widely accepted idea that the media surrounding us does have actual direct implications on our culture and how we assimilate into the world surrounding us. Until women are regarded as more than objects by our pop-icon idols they’ll continue to be treated accordingly. When hip-hop artists on TV start focusing on the importance of self-worth and not their cars and excessive amount of “bling” our culture is infinitely more likely to follow suit.
Media shapes our ideas of reality. To think that art imitates life is way off. Life tends towards following the trends of our successful entertainers in attempt to emulate them. Artists like Sage Francis infuse their music with life lessons and personality in the hopes that maybe it will rub off on a few people and in turn maybe even slightly change the perspective of our culture.
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