Maestro Says Hip-hop Sometimes Gets A Bad Rap

Nicki Bahrampour of Young People’s Press spoke with Canadian rap artist Maestro on what he feels is an undeserved bad rap in the hip-hop community. Maestro said, “Lots of the stuff we do is sensationalized. Hip-hop is to the times what rock and roll was in the ’60s and ’70s. What we do is highly scrutinized, but don’t pinpoint just my culture with sexism. Sex and sexuality sell but why is it more of an issue when black men are involved? Look at Frank Sinatra in the ’50s or Mick Jagger in the ’70s. These guys were plenty sexist. Yes, there’s a lot of contamination in the music but you have to understand that the culture came out of bloodshed — gang wars in New York. Hip-hop showdowns were an alternative to actual fights. Cats made an effort to save lives. But if you look at the broad scope of hip-hop, there is 10 times more positivity within this culture than negativity.”