Masta Ace of the legendary Juice Crew has penned an open letter on his Instagram titled "Has Hip-Hop Lost Its Soul?" The letter sees Masta Ace examining hip-hop in its current state as opposed in years past.

The major conclusion Masta Ace comes to is his feeling that hip-hop is lacking balance today. Masta Ace feels that hip-hop still has its soul, but the artists who have it are not getting the same promotion and recognition in the mainstream landscape.

Check out Masta Ace's open letter below.

This past weekend I appeared as a guest on "Street Soldiers" with Lisa Evers which aired on FOX 5 New York Saturday night and a affiliate Radio Station WQHT Hot 97 early Sunday morning. As part of agreeing to be on the show I was asked to write a few paragraphs on the topic 'Has Hip Hop Lost its Soul'. Unfortunately the conversation never really lead down a path where I could make some of the points I wanted to make. I thought i would share with you all the paragraphs I submitted to the show regarding this topic: When I think about the state of today's hip hop I am reminded of Sister Souljah's iconic phrase "We Are At War"! We are at war with ourselves. We realize the importance of hip hop having a place at the table of today's music genres. We feel the need to celebrate today's successful hip hop artists because they are representing our music and culture. At the same time we are torn because when we dissect the prevailing images and messages dominating the forefront, it disturbs us. We know all too well the influence OUR music has on the next generation of young people. We notice the lack of balance in the music and messages being broadcasted to the masses of young influential fans. The SOUL of hip hop has never left. The broadcasting of that SOUL has disappeared from radio and television. The Golden age of hip hop was a truly balanced representation of hip hop. We balanced 2 Live Crew with Public Enemy. NWA was balanced by Heavy D and the Boyz. Ice T balance by Big Daddy Kane and Rakim! Many of these groups even toured together in those days. There is an unannounced agenda to the playlists that exist at today's commercial radio stations. Hip Hop's SOUL is intact...we just need MORE of it played for our children.

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