6 Things About Rap Music

Let me start by saying I AM without a shadow of a doubt a product of the Hip Hop generation.  My first vivid remembrance of my love of Hip Hop goes back to the 4^th grade when all I can remember wanting for Christmas was my very own record player and the Sugar Hill Gang’s Rappers Delight 12’ inch.  I would listen to that song over and over again just to get to Beulah Beal Elementary School and recite it word for word to all who would listen.  In middle school I evolved to a more sophisticated and cooler version of RUN DMC.  Because I wore glasses I was always DMC and several iterations of friends played the part of RUN.  In high school as my brother Rudy would tell you I was more LL than LL.  I could not wait to get my dookie rope or my friends Schkenna’s or Jewel’s rope and sport it with my Kangol.  Towards the end of my high school tenure and right through my early college days I developed a love for the God MC Rakim that last till this very day.  I could go on and on and talk about other artist (Jay Z, Common, Biggie, The Roots, Mr. Al Pete, TI, Jean Grea, etc.) that I have developed such a deep appreciation for, but my point here is to do nothing more than to display my affection for the art and the music we call Hip Hop. 

That being said the art of Hip Hop has evolved into Rap thus making true Hip Hop artist as rare as a full service grocery store in an urban neighborhood or a check cashing store in a rich one.   In preparation for a speech to a group of high school students I thought about the state of Hip Hop and offer you these 6 things that Rap did to my beloved art form.

1. Rap champions the worse in us.  All you have to do is watch BET or listen to any rap song now and the idea of African-Americans as conspicuous consumers who are highly sexualized for the sake of becoming consumers and advocates for violent behavior is pervasive. 
2. Rap reduced the value of a formal education to a mere after thought.   The quest to get “on” supersedes any training to be functional in the “real” world even more so “NOW” trumps any thought of a sustainable “FUTURE.”  I bet if you look behind each of the cats making money in the industry you would find a cadre of educated folks guiding their decisions. 
3. Rap made deviancy the norm and the norm totally nonfunctional.  A good example of this would be Rick Ross.  Don’t get me wrong I will be the first to admit I like his music and when I hear B.M.F I go into a full two-step like any other music loving connoisseur.  But that notwithstanding he was a prison guard who had a JOB and benefits and was under no circumstances pushing the dope he claims to have been.  Matter of fact even his name belongs to someone else.  Yet the more dude weaves stories that are only tellable in a Scarface or Carlito’s Way movie the more we soak up his authenticity like it’s all true.  Dude was a working Joe like many people we know and love.
4. Rap created a prison going culture.  When I was younger it was cool to go off to college or the military and that was celebrated.  Now we have celebrations for people who go and come from jail as often as some folk go and come from the store.  I recently advised one young guy to just leave his stuff there rather than bring it home since he is in jail so often.
5. Rap made instantaneous success the expectation rather than the exception.  I recently came across Lil Wayne’s discography  and it looks like this and these are units sold: 2,000,000 in mixtapes, 700,00 for Hotboys, 600,00 for The Carter, 1,200,000 for The Carter 2 and 4,000,000 for The Carter 3 based upon this he is working and this doesn’t even account for all the other people’s music he was featured on.  I highlight this because this brother is working.  There is nothing overnight about him and the countless other cats making money in the Rap game.  I would venture to say between producing children he is working, thus he is putting in the work to be a star and oh by the way he did go back to school.
6. Rap has continued to redefine what African-American manhood is and what it should be and the latter has not always been presented in the best light.  Again turn on the TV and ask yourself is this the reality I want for my son, my husband, my son-in-law or my family member.  The thing that made me take pause is when I heard a really grown woman say she needed a “Thug” in her life.  It made me think what message is she sending to her son or daughter about what kind of mate they need or should be.

Finally, as I said earlier this is not an indictment on the culture of Hip Hop, but more of an assessment of what Rap has done to it.  I love the culture, but I constantly hate what it is continuously becoming.

That’s My Truth And I AM Sticking To It…

February's My Two Cents (From New Town Success Zone Newsletter)

February is always a special time for me.  In particular because it’s the time of the year the world gets to see and hear what I already know and that is African-Americans have made significant contributions to making America the country it is today.  It’s of particular importance in communities like New Town because the reality of many of the young people we work doesn’t support what we know and that is African-American’s contribution go beyond athletics, entertainers and Dr. Martin Luther King. 

Every time I walk down the halls of the neighborhood schools or talk to any of the students I try to remind myself that I maybe in the presence of a young African-American who may change the world.  Therefore, we must all be mindful of our contribution to young people.  Social issues like poverty, violence, lack of adequate food options and assess to healthcare are man made barriers that we have the opportunity to tear down.  Who knows with our help we may be nurturing the next great person who can change the world.