Nas and numerous others have argued that "hip hop is dead" in recent years. The genre faces a serious dip in sales and appears to have lost its status as the rebel music of choice for angry, angst-ridden teens. Many pundits claim that rap peaked in the late 1980s and liken its current obsession with wealth (rims, bling and other shiny accessories) to the hair metal period of the 1980s. Public Enemy's classic, gloriously controversial debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and P.E. leader/rap legend Chuck D. joins a cast of other notables — Da Brat, one of the first hardcore female MCs, author Karrine Steffans, filmmaker Byron Hurt and actor/writer Bridget Gray — in a special panel discussion, "Perspectives of Hip-Hop in Today's Society," which is held as part of the University Lecture Series at USF-Tampa. Tues., Nov. 27, 7 p.m., Sun Dome Corral, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, $8 general/$3 for USF students, faculty, staff and alumni, uls.usf.edu.
This article appears in Nov 21-27, 2007.