Separating the Art from the Artist in Hip-Hop: Doesn't Exist.

In the year 2022, and in the era of trying to hold people accountable, the constant phrase of “ separate the art from the artist” tends to come about when musicians are usually caught in the crosshair of a situation that isn’t good.

I don’t agree.

I simply don’t think it’s possible for one. In a medium that is so heavy on storytelling, real life expression, transparency, and everyday life, I truly do not believe it exist. That’s not me picking on hip-hop, because it’s extremely valid for other subgenres of music as well, but hip-hop is what I pay the most attention to in this current time because I loved it as a kid, as a teenager, and now as an adult.

I will always be against separating the art from the artist because at the end of the day, its an extension of the person in question. It is apart of someone that they just so happen to share with the entire world. It’s vulnerability no matter how simple or complex the artist music is. It’s expression.

In the age of social media, their is a magnifying glass on pretty much everything. From politics, sports, movies, music, and more. Everything people do and everything people say is put on a jumbotron or brought to light most of the time. So wrongdoing is pretty much put on full display.

With that being said, I don’t believe separating the art from the artist at all. But, I believe everyone has a moral “line in the sand” in their head. I believe there’s a breaking point with everyone with an artist in some way, shape or form. The room for error with the fan artist relationship is small with some and large with others. Do I believe humans are imperfect? Yes. We all make mistakes and I don’t believe some people should be held to the fire for some. But, in the average person I think there’s a line where they say “yeah, I don’t really care to listen to this person’s music anymore” due to being problematic. Which is why I say, there’s no separating the art from the artist. It’s an extension of them whether you like it or not. I know for me, the line is anything having to do with sexual assault, or when an artist keeps being corny on social media over a certain amount of time (For those who follow me on twitter you probably have an idea of the artists I am talking about). Also, excessive out of touch statements can lead me to not really listening to an artist anymore.

Art is expression. Everybody has their own taste and their own moral compass. But, the point isn’t to virtue signal. It’s to show in a medium where people often express their realities through their music, how can you separate the art from the artist? Turning a blind eye to something isn’t really separating anything because you know it’s there. It’s simply disingenuous. In any art form where an artist is talking about their life, their feelings and their experience or expressing it, you cannot separate the two.