Back in the day, b-boys had to earn their reputations and rappers put their names on the line when they did lyrical battle.

Run got his name for his ability to transition between two songs quickly on the turntables. Ladies Love Cool James (LL Cool J) is a cocky name no one would tolerate – unless he can back it up with skills (if you are familiar with Kool Moe Dee you probably say LL can’t). The entire culture was built on reputation and ability, and those who couldn’t keep up were left behind.

Why the hell didn’t anyone else catch on to this? An entirely new underground music grew and legends were born without much major label help. Doing battle meant the possibility of losing your name, aka your reputation. There would be a lot more competition in the music world if this philosophy were passed on to other genres.

But no, instead we have Nickelback.

Would bands like this dominate the airwaves if they had to stay on the top of their wits, breeding creative sounds and impressing people just to keep their respectability?

No, and a lot of them wouldn’t have chosen such stupid names to begin with. Take a scene contemporary to old school rap, `80s hair metal, for an example.

They lived in excess and theatrical makeup, but they never set up a battle between two bands, leaving the outcome to decide who would be the fluffiest-haired coke-head in the room. And, yes, there probably would have been many bands who would have wanted to be named “Poison” or “Quiet Riot,” but who would fight to keep the name “Ratt,” “Steelheart” or “David Lee Roth”?

And name-biters such as Def Leppard (Led Zeppelin) wouldn’t be tolerated.

They would have put a little more thought into what the name means to them. Think about what would they be called if their contemporaries gave them the titles they earned with their ability. “Puking Womanpuncher” wouldn’t bring in the crowds, but at least the bands would be happy knowing they are representing to the fullest. I’m not saying a lot of that music isn’t good stuff, because much of it is. The lethargy and stupidity of most of the bands just got in the way of their ability to create anything of meaning. What they needed was a jolt of competition instead of a shot of heroin.

The competition doesn’t have to be as organized as the hip hop scene – really, many moments of musical clarity have come from the bands people hear and know they mean every word and every note. Bob Marley (from the same country that gave birth to the roots of rap, nonetheless), Nirvana, the Clash, the Ramones, 2Pac, Rage Against the Machine, the Descendents and Sublime all made records they would stand behind and that read as creeds for their style of living. Not that all were correct, but they said what they meant and they said it loudly.

That’s old-school spirit for you.

And the battle – an exchange of lyrical jabs pointing out flaws in the other’s character and ability – is a much better arena for political debate than a one-sided smear campaign fueled by money.

Broken down, if two or three candidates were left in a room to take turns using their intellects to disrespect each other, who do you see in office right now who would come out on top? Politicians can rely on their aides and their piles of dirty money all they want, but if they were stuck face to face with no help and the world’s eye on them, the one with the greater grip on what the country needs and ideas on all of the screwed-up situations in the world would win. That’s tree stump campaigning Abe Lincoln style. That’s old-school.

That would solve some problems.

Jeff

Mitchell

is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale. He is the arts and entertainment editor of the Daily.