Besides being a musical maestro, ?uestlove always had an unquenchable lust for knowledge. He’s also never been shy about tackling an issue in music. Today on Vulture, ?uestlove speared the issue of how and why black artists like Rihanna and Beyoncé are being labeled as ‘hip-hop” because of their associations to the artists within the culture.

“And that’s what it’s become: an entire cultural movement, packed into one hyphenated adjective. These days, nearly anything fashioned or put forth by black people gets referred to as 'hip-hop,' even when the description is a poor or pointless fit. 'Hip-hop fashion' makes a little sense, but even that is confusing: Does it refer to fashions popularized by hip-hop musicians, like my Lego heart pin, or to fashions that participate in the same vague cool that defines hip-hop music? Others make a whole lot of nonsense: 'Hip-hop food'? 'Hip-hop politics'? 'Hip-hop intellectual'? And there’s even 'hip-hop architecture.' What the hell is that? A house you build with a Hammer?”

Does ?uestlove have a point?—Carl Lamarre

[Vulture]

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