A Matter of Music

By Vani Lalwani
Vani is a fellow music lover and friend who oversees all financial transactions and resource allocation for Fuel Group, LLC. She accumulated a diverse array of business experience through her work at companies such as MKG Productions, Westfiled LLC, and Sony BMG Music Entertainment.


In a world where the sun relentlessly rotates around the earth, seasons change without fail, styles evolve in an instant and our very own bodies are developing and aging continuously….how can we ever expect things to remain constant. It is said that change is required in order to grow and fulfill the circle of life. Does this apply to music as well? 

Lets take Hip Hop - Since its birth in a small apartment building in Bronx, NY from its soulful primitive beats with a splash of funk and meticulous wordplay, it has gone through several phases of its own and due to these changes, has emerged a billion dollar industry and staple of American culture. From rap battles, beat boxing and b boying, to graffiti and gangsta rap, to crunk and dub step…we must realize that all these “distant relative” music forms stem from the same root. Just as children born into a household choose diverse careers in life yet are still grounded and connected by the genetic makeup of the family, likewise, the idea of the various branches of music styles stem from a singular base. 

These music styles, might I add, are still developing and changing in front of our eyes, as we see new forms created everyday and more Hip Hop infused into pop, rock, indie and house music – and although I was skeptical at first, I honestly feel well, why not. Isn’t Hip Hop essentially the art of storytelling and, in some aspects, the language of the youth?  Doesn’t all the “change” just broaden the range that hip-hop was initially intended for? There's no harm in that.  Truth is, it is only rational to say that Hip Hop will appear more frequently simply because of its fluidity, universal application and evolutionary infectious nature – I mean, that’s what gives it such immense success.

However, as we embrace this change we also continue to appreciate, preserve and protect its roots and origins, because that’s what made most of us fall in love with the genre to begin with, and many of the original hip hop artists agree with this notion as well. Due to the rapid progressive nature of hip hop it is ironic that in these hip hop artists' attempt to reflect what they believe to be the original elements of the culture, they are now considered to be alternative or underground. Artists and groups like Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Dilated Peoples, Dead Prez, Tribe Called Quest, including some newer artists, are working to defend the original elements of hip hop like lyrical excellence, simple beats and the notion of unity and activism instead of violence and material wealth and thankfully so because we cherish those days of Hip Hop – and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right.  

Although there are a few specks of the past still around today, we see the genre change day by day….and some of us can only hope it will come back to a full circle eventually.  Change in music, can be argued by both sides: by those that are attached to the original roots of the past and by those that favor the progression of hip hops present. No matter which side you are on, the key is to always value the past as it is cannot go anywhere and appreciate the present because tomorrow it will be history.

Nevertheless, change, even if it’s just a little, is fundamental to growth. Having an open mind widens your perspective on life and by appreciating all sounds and all forms you are giving value to the one of the most important footprints left on earth – the gift of music.