Hip Hop and Politics : Is This Thing On?

By: Jennifer Blemur

New York is the birthplace of hip-hop, this is not even a debate. New York also has the best hip-hop, feel free to debate your mother about it, not this New Yorker here. Glad we were able to establish this understanding early. Hip-hop has seen many changes since its beginnings in Bronx basements and block parties. What hasn’t changed is hip-hop’s ability to be a mirror that artists use to hold up to America so that they can truly see themselves. Hip-hop is also the loudspeaker that amplifies the experiences of the unheard. While hip-hop has been criticized for its more violent, misogynistic, and criminal themes, artists have used the platform to comment on current events. Additionally, many artists have used their fame and their funds to engage in the political process. Hip-hop is and has been an effective vehicle in informing the masses, and now more than ever it is being used to inform this generation of young voters.

One of the most iconic songs of early hip-hop is “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Released in 1982, its opening lines, “broken glass everywhere, people pissin’ on the stairs, you know they just don’t care,” illustrated the harsh realities of life, for some, living in Reagan’s America. The ravages of drug use and the nation’s war on drugs left, mostly African American and low-income…