Books, Hip Hop culture, and everything else in between...

The Challenge:

My Quisqueyano compadre from another mother said,

Let me in on five things that are good, 'significant' things, solid contributions about Hip Hop today? For extra credit name 10. I asked myself that question. Being objective I can think of one. It’s a good one but I would like to know if you come to the same conclusions. You might be able to rattle off 20 good “significant” things about Hip Hop today. But I could only research one answer that’s major. Hit me up.

In one of my previous blogs I pointed out that looking at hip hop culture through the lens of a purist (no, Dawud, not a snob) allows one to have a more optimistic view of the future of the culture. Building though the FIVE elements of hip hop, one tends to ignore the craziness found on BET/MTV and commercial radio. Those poor sorry saps. Move out of your circumference! Do the math!

I was challenged by EL Fin to provide 5 things that hip hop has contributed to. El Fin is a brother from another mother (at times, I do think we are much more related than we like to think), a fellow warrior, and all around cool cat. So I rise to challenge, hermano. Yet this is too easy. I gave him 11! So here we go:


1.Politics and Grass Roots activism: groups like PE and BDP

Working in my community for a decade and a half has made me realize quite a few things. One is that many of us got involved in the upliftment of our community because of groups like PE and BDP. Folks in the 25 to 40 year range can say they were awakened when listening to heads like PE, BDP, and X Clan. That says a lot. I am not saying that if we didn't get expose to these groups we may not be doing the work that we are doing now but it would be ignorant to neglect that influence. Let's be real, some of us may not have gone down the paths that we are now.

2.Academia

In the last ten years, I have seen all kinds of folks start classes, write academic tomes, organize conferences, and make a good living discussing hip hop. I know a few with some degrees. Hip hop culture has really made academia exciting to quite a few folks. It feels good to be a part of a culture that is recognized by academics as something that is vital and influential. Of course, you have your charlatans who have eaten well off of hip hop culture while knowing nothing of it (if you are an avid reader of my blog, you know who I am talking about). Yet Ivy league universities have courses on the culture and many teach b-boying as PE.

3.Social networking

Through hip hop culture, I have met folks that I probably never would have met if hip hop never happened. Coming from a predominantly black and latino neighborhood in NYC, my contact with white people was minimal. While in the Navy I was able to maintain a considerable amount of contact with white folks but it was all work related. Yet hip hop culture has allowed me to connect with all kinds of folks in all types of manners. I was able to maintain friendships that were a bond through the culture. Many will say “well Martial Arts did the same for you.” This is true but not everyone does Martial Arts. Even in that vein, there are dojo's and schools that are in segregated sections of the country. Sometimes folks just meet during competitions.

4.Careers

Bonz Malone stated that hip hop has provided careers for people who don't even like the sh**. Like any business, this is true. Let me say this, MCs see the least amount of money than anyone else in the industry. If anything, an MC on a major label is a slave. YET there are other jobs (I point this out to young people all the time) that one can do. You can be an A&R, producer, electrical engineer, administrative assistant, musical engineer, security, camera man, director, writer, show producer, director of promotions, magazine editor, program director, and I can go on and on. There are jobs that I don't even know about. There are people who are eating well. Heck, hip hop culture has put food on my table (which is probably why my wife let's me go out there and b-boy). I mean it has not allowed me to quit my day job but it has helped out with the bills.

5.Childhood Education

Folks like Asheru Black and Tony Muhammed in Florida have been on the front lines of educating young people. Both have used hip hop as a tool to educate people. Let's face it, it's the language of this generation. If you are not speaking their language expect there to be problems. Both have been successful and have written books and done conferences on this. Working with ER Camp in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia has made me realized it. I am a believer. Let's be real, most folks going into the education field are hip hoppas. It all makes sense. Heck, just look at some recent children's books. We will change the dynamics.

6.Voice of the Voiceless

Ironically, the best conscious hip hop comes from overseas. It's amazing to find groups overseas who rhyme about Marcus Garvey, PRT, Malcolm X, and other black nationalistic notables. Many use it to discuss their political situation. From Palestine to South Africa, let freedom ring.

7.Directing/Filming

Hip hop culture has influenced directing and filming in both positive and negative ways. Let's do the bad news first. On the mainstream level, hip hop music has forced the industry to spend millions on videos across all genres. The bigger and more money spent the better chance of getting it spun on TV. This has shut folks out of getting more mainstream play. Yet it didn't stop anyone from continuing to make videos. The do it yourself guerrilla marketing done by many an underground head has created a new market of DVD making. A lot of heads eat pretty well by documenting the culture. With the latest hip hop documentary being promoted by Landmark theatres we see much better productions out there (oh check out Planet B-boy, please!). Did I mention Youtube?

8.Photography /Graphic Design

How many former graf heads are now working for big companies? Yet the influence doesn't stop there. It's the guerrilla work of folks like Jamel Shabazz, Ernie Panicioli, Martha Cooper, and others who have inspired a generation to pick up the camera as a weapon. They carry on the tradition of folks like Gordon Parks.

I want to point out that it was the graf scene that revitalized the NYC and European art galleries who were in a rut back in the early 80s. Basquiat was considered a graf artist. Again, hip hop saves the day. Yet many artistic concepts found in graphic designs (lettering, spacing, brevity, subliminial ish, etc.) that I am not qualified to even mention were grounded in hip hop culture.

9.World Peace

A lot of heads don't know that KRS One, the Temple of Hip hop, the Universal Zulu Nation, and one of Malcolm X's daughters went to the United Nations and made the UN recognize hip hop as a culture. There was also a declaration of peace. Eat that... Who else can say that?

10.Ambassadorships

That being said, hip hop culture has allowed me to be an ambassador. Many of us do that in our capacities as B-boys (Rock Steady, Zulu Kings), MCs (Toni Blackman, KRS), Graf artists (Lee Quinones, Phase 2), and Dj's (Bambaata, TC Islam). We travel the world and hold it down. We represent the best and the brightest. We want to share in our cultures not exploit or colonize.

11. Spoken word

Alot of heads will get mad at me for this but the spoken word community is filled with MC's who just couldn't make the mustard as MCs. I see alot of former MCs, MCs, and wanna be MCs get on the mic and do their thing. Nothing wrong with that. Yet the whole concept of what we see now was birthed from hip hop culture. Of course, we are taught that folks like the Last Poets and SOnia Sanchez were the precursors to what MCs are today. yet the way poets do things now comes from the MC aesthetic. It's undeniable.

Of course there is always more:



and finally for all of you ohio heads:

Labels: el fin, hip hop culture, PEACE, the challenge

posted by Brother OMi @ 9:52 AM