Prose

As some of my former Facebook posts indicate, I'm a that's-what-we-get-yaggin'-about Gospel hip-hop artist. I love listening to some boombastic, 'bass-ful' beats. And what I love the most about those moments that I listen to instrumental hip-hop tracks is when I imagine myself spitting rhymes on those instrumentals in front of a crowded congregation. Plus, as you can see, my wall is mostly filled with CCM hip-hop tracks.
 
Now, every one of us rappers has a specific interest in the art each one is making. And as a rapper, my specific interest is old school hip-hop. Why? Because for me, old school rap better than rap nowadays. Like the 2pac songs  “Changes”,“Dear Momma”, and “To Live and Die in L.A.”. It's not that I'm afraid of changes. It's just that I suppose nothing can beat classics. Of course, changes happen in this world. But then, wouldn't it be nice to get the good old school days back? Sadly, it's impossible. Past is past, *'ika nga.
 
But then, I still think that old school is better than the latest trends. Why? Because back in the days, rap is just all about life issues. It’s all about political issues, personal experiences, and anything about life. And that’s the music that I like. Rap nowadays? Ha! It’s all about, “Yo, black! See this, black? You see, I got the bling, black! I got the cash money, black! Smoke weed every day... black!” And as you can see, the way the word black is repeated is way too awkward (And mind you, I use the word black, not the n-word. It’s curse. And as a Christian, I can’t curse). But that’s what rappers nowadays do – repeating almost the same thing over and over again. So, back in the days, hip-hop was good. It’s just all about life. Nowadays- What the heck?!
 
The point is that I miss the good old school days. And in case you can't relate to what I was saying, it’s no longer just hip-hop that I’m talking about. I'm talking about the old school days in general. Why am I saying this? Once, I was watching a stand-up comedy show by the Christian comedian Brad Stine. And his comedy made it clear to me how bad the world society has become. As he said in his comedy, yellow light (or herein the Philippines, orange) used to mean it’s going to turn red so you need to slow down. But nowadays, it means it’s going to turn red so speed up before it’s too late. So nowadays when they see the orange light, they won’t slow down.Instead, they would speed up. So don’t be surprised when car crashes happen. The problem that bad drivers nowadays won’t admit it’s their fault. After the crash,they’d be like, “Hey! You wrecked my bumper. It’s your fault. You’re too slow.Now, you got to pay for it or else, I’ll shoot you.” And so, a blame game happens,then a road rage. And after that, we got people like… Jason Ivler. Remember him? By the way, to the fellows there who can drive, it’s called a ROAD, NOT A RACE TRACK! And it’s called TRAFFIC, NOT A DRAG RACING EVENT!
 
But just try to imagine how the world has changed. Meanwhile, here in the Philippines, our youth used to be more respectful to the elders. Back in the days, we've got people who are more hospitable. Back in the days, we've got people who are closer to their family relatives than to their friends in Facebook (Obviously, it’s because there wasn't yet Facebook back in the days!) Back in the days, people preciously valued purity and marriage. But nowadays, we have a society of rebellious youths, of xenophobic people, of family-estranged teens, and of sexually immoral men. You see, back in the days, we got people who are better in character. Maybe that's the reason why I missed the good old school days. But then, I guess they're gone forever. Of course, changes are necessary, as long as it is for the better. But the problem is that this world is not changing for the better; it's changing for the worse. How I wish we could get the good old school days back!
 
How about you, friends? How are you changing in your character? Are you choosing to be like this world that changes for the worse? Or are you choosing not to"conform to the pattern of this world" (Romans 12:2, NIV) but instead, to change for the better? You choose. So, thank you for listening. God bless you!

-Shim'onai :D

* shortened version of the Tagalog phrase "Wika nga" which means "as it is said."