Styles spoke on Hip-Hop’s identity crisis during an interview with TmrO Network, arguing that the genre has strayed from its foundational purpose.
The LOX member traced Hip-Hop’s origins as a voice for the voiceless, a creative outlet born from poverty for people disconnected from their history, language and ancestral heritage. He said many people no longer understood what Hip-Hop meant, pointing to the influence of media, corporations and big money. The Yonkers native credited early influences from Wolfman Jack’s radio presence to Lee’s style in “Beat Street” with shaping his understanding of Hip-Hop. He recalled picturing Wolfman Jack before ever seeing him. Watching Lee, meanwhile, made him want to be part of the world the film showed, from the clothes to being young and out in the mix.
He also described “The Message” as his first experience of a “verbal picture.” Its words reflected poverty and places he had seen while traveling through New York with his mother, who cleaned homes and apartment buildings. Hearing those familiar surroundings put into words helped draw him toward rap’s storytelling. Styles highlighted how corporate involvement had pulled attention away from Hip-Hop’s roots. For his generation, he explained, the culture gave people a voice and something of their own to build around.
Styles then reflected on his journey from sneaking into basement ciphers in Yonkers to becoming a Hip-Hop veteran, saying he began rhyming around 10 or 11. He heard people on his block banging on car hoods and rhyming and already knew he loved words. He credited an older rapper, Dusty Mike from Highland, with showing him how sharp wordplay could command a room. He admired how Dusty Mike paired an aggressive style with an intelligent approach to rhymes. He recalled getting the mic at a basement party and realizing the crowd liked what he was doing.