DEBUNK THE FUNK
Hip-hop is not a music genre and is not a pop culture phenomenon. Leaving it in that space makes it a commodity and it is far more than that. Hip-hop is the daily bread of a frustrated and too often disenfranchised black urban youth around the world who can all relate to the socio-economic inequalities created by slavery and colonization. Understand that, hip-hop now represents and is symbolic of black commercial, social, political, artistic, and judicial relevance in first world and third world communities around the globe.
Many black youth live with the reality of a minority of its population ‘making it’ and a majority struggling to stir up enough momentum to outrun the clutches of an unjust past that is systematically designed to keep them on their knees. So, every one of the few who ‘make it’ don’t do it for themselves. They become a beacon of ‘what could be’ and ‘what should be’. They are a light at the end of the tunnel for those who are still finding their way.
It is belittling to see this powerful position hip-hop holds made into words put to music for entertainment. It is so much more than that. It is a platform. One that is tool for the average Joe from silenced areas to state their case so the world can be sensitized to its ills by taking a look in the mirror and determining to correct wrongs and work towards equal rights and justice. This is the understanding I have grown up with. The spotlight hip-hop puts on the story of the average young black male and female is one that without hip-hop would not only be too dim for others to see but load shedded for no one to be aware of. The power of media is often not in the hands of the people that are lower down the value chain and hip-hop has shifted this somewhat. Now, this black youth I am describing doesn’t have to rely on newspapers, actuality shows, and the likes to grant them a favour by offering them a little slot to voice their then edited and censored opinion.
This is the reason hip-hop is a mindset and attitude that must be harnessed and protected for the sake of continuously inspiring people who feed off its tenacity to believe in their quests of success across the various fields and industries out there. From engineering, to legal fraternities and business districts across the globe there are young people trying to shape a space for themselves for them to trade freely and build themselves as individuals and their communities alike. Hip-hop reminds them that this revolution is possible. Those who are practitioners today must be faithful stewards and guard this deep significance that the platform holds. Hip-hop must not suffer the same end as minerals and agriculture in the continent of Africa, where it benefits others more than its own rightful owners.
This is far more than a black or white thing. It is opening up some eyes to the perspective that is often undermined regarding the ever-so-popular hip-hop pomp and ceremony that is praised everyday. This about a socio-economic movement that the average urban black youth from every corner of the globe needs to keep on pushing.
In one of hip-hops most celebrated moments, Tupac Shakur recorded a song titled “Me Against The World” and said, “When will I finally get to rest through this oppression? They punish the people that’s asking questions. And those that possess strip from the ones without possessions. This message I stress, to make it stop, study your lessons and don’t settle for less. Even the genius asks questions. Be grateful for blessings. Don’t ever change. Keep your essence. The power is in the people and politics we address. Always do your best and don’t let the pressure make you panic. And when you get stranded and things don’t go the way you planned it…dreaming of riches in a position to making a difference. Politicians are hypocrites. They don’t want to listen.”
It’s sentiments like this that resonate and echo within many communities. You can’t rely on the bureaucratic system to make things better for you. Learn and do your best to ‘make it’ so you can improve your life and others who stand alongside you facing the same challenges until we are all free of them.
One of the most successful figures in hip-hop is founder of Def Jam Records, Def Jam Comedy & Phat Farm, Russell Simmons. In his book, titled “Do You!”, he speaks about people’s main interest in him is his approach to success. Defining the hip-hop nation as aspirational, he says, “Everywhere I go people ask me for advice on how to improve their lives.” I think his persona sparks people’s interest in tips on business and spirituality from him, but I can almost bet my life on the strong association he has with hip-hop adding to that. It’s simply because this culture is one that has everything to do with the promise of a better life than it is about the razzmatazz of entertainment.
This is why, ladies and gentlemen, hip-hop must be treasured far more than what many may imagine.
