If you’re a hip-hop artist, here are some additional commandments you can live by.
In honor of 50 years of hip-hop, multiple artists from different decades gathered under one roof for the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards. While some set original trends that are still followed today, such as sampling, others started their own cultural movements, like twerking.
Each artist, producer, and DJ has impacted hip-hop in some way or changed life as we know it.
Rolling out spoke to six notable influencers within the genre to find out their No. 1 hip-hop commandment.
What’s your hip-hop commandment?
Thou shall love what you do.
“Do what you love and love what you do.” – DJ Drama, mixtape host
Thou shalt not be fraudulent.
“Thou shalt not be fraudulent. I just want people to listen. We all are eating, but there are a lot of people subtracting from hip-hop. What are you adding back?” – Big Tigger, TV personality
Thou shall make hip-hop life.
“My heart beats hip-hop all day long. My blood, my rhythm, and everything I do in life is hip-hop.” – Meda Montana, TV personality
Thou shall be yourself.
“My hip-hop commandment is to walk around, be yourself, and be authentic. [Know that] you are not for everybody, but somebody’s going to love you and get this money no matter what.” – Big Boss Vette, rapper
Thou shall be original.
“You brought the old-school lingo out of me. My commandment is to be original. That’s my commandment. AllHipHop is original, and so that’s what I do. Be original.” – Chuck Creekmur, co-founder of AllHipHop
Thou shall stay true.
“Stay true. Two words, simple and straight to the point. Stay true.” – Erica Banks, rapper
