Written By: @CopaseticSoulz
This city is so full of talent, yet I am often asked “What is holding us back?”, “How can so much incredible music go unrecognized?”
It’s an old and tired question for our culture to which there are many possible answers, but one of the major issues we’re faced with is an almost palpable negativity surrounding the work of our artists. Hip-hop, like other great forms of expression, is born of struggle and adversity, and this difficulty helps forge an artists ambitions from overeager naivete into wily battle tested experience. Harsh criticism can be a powerful filter, weeding out those unable to handle the stressful political nature of the business, but when it gets out of hand, it stifles the development of our performers and audiences who become mired in an ugly mudslinging atmosphere of cynicism and judgment.
I’m not saying we should avoid being critical, but I envision a community like ours creating much greater success that stems from approaching any criticism with compassion and honesty… to focus on building together rather than ripping each other apart.
Here are a few videos by some Vancouver artists with under 10,000 views. This is your community, this is your city, and it’s only a small sample of what’s out there. If you want to see our true potential realized, check your intention, because your support is the most powerful way to affect change.
The Red Gold & Green Machine – The Look of Love
Ashleigh Eymann – Physical Form
Marzipan – The Basement
Northwest Division – R.B.P.H. (Rap Better Party Harder)
Panther & The Supafly – Real Men
HeatWave – I Had Dreams x Smoke Out The Sunroof
Attikus Ft Fatty Down – Stay Up
Cody The Catch – Night of our Lives
Corvid – Purgatorio
Mur-Diddly-Urdlers – Jackson Pollock
Random Henchmen – High and Low