HIP-HOPS STATE OF EMERGENCY: OUR HEALTH CRISIS State of Union Address to the Hip-Hop Generation by Supa Nova Slom, The Hip Hop Medicine Man Part I: Hip-Hop Is Dying Dear Hip-Hop Generation: This is a call to my fellow hip-hop artists, community, and generation at large: WAKE UP!!! HIP-HOP IS DYING!!!! IT IS A STATE OF EMERGENCY AND WE ARE IN AN URGENT HEALTH CRISIS! HIP-HOP ARTISTS ARE DYING, OUR FAMILIES ARE DYING, AND THE HIP-HOP GENERATION IS THE FIRST GENERATION THAT MAY NOT OUT LIVE THEIR PARENTS!!! As we mourn the passing of hip-hop icon Guru, I challenge all of his peers and fans to not let his death be in vain. There is no reason that Guru and so many others under 45 should be passing away at the rates they are. Every MC, B-Boy, DJ, Graf Artist, sista in the club, college student, brutha on the corner, G, and hustler is personally suffering from or knows someone battling cancer, arthritis, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, obesity, or one of many other illnesses, most of which are caused or worsened by the foods eat. Dont think for one minute your aunties, big mamas, and parents are the only ones battling these sicknesses. The entire African-American and Latino communities lead in all the statistics for all of these crippling diseases and people under 40 are being hit at younger and younger ages. According to the Office of Minority health, about one in four African-American women are overweight or obese and nearly 20% of African-American children ages 6-17 are termed obese. This is means that 20% of our children are at high risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and a slew of other obesity associated diseases. It is the fast food and over-processed pre-packaged US food culture that has driven us to this place and if we do not act soon we may not be able to turn back. You still think this does not apply to you or perhaps you just need some extra reinforcement. Read the list below of mainstream celebrities who have battled major life threatening health conditions: MC Breed- Dead at 37- Kidney Failure J. Dilla- Dead at 32- Cardiac Arrest Big Pun- Dead at 28- Heart Attack Nate Dogg- 40- 2 Strokes at 38- Partially Paralyzed Alonzo Mourning- 40- Kidney Disease: Kidney Transplant at age 33 Missy Elliot-38 High Blood Pressure- Takes Pills Daily Ghostface killa- 39 Diagnosed at 26 with Type 1 Diabetes Lil Boosie – diagnosed at age 20 with Diabetes- Takes insulin 3 times a day Phife Dawg- 39- Type 1 Diabetes and Has Had a Kidney Transplant Angie Stone- 48-Type 2 Diabetes and High Blood Pressure Halle Berry- 43- Type 1 Diabetes This is only a short list of famous people who have disclosed their health status to the public and it clearly shows you dont have to be old, poor, overweight, or living in the hood to be sick. Beyond being a hip-hop artist, I am a second-generation holistic health advocate. I have traveled on the road with Erykah Badu as her wellness consultant and over the years I have encountered countless celebrities dealing with minor and major ailments. On the personal front I am sick and tired of losing young people and reading outlandish statistics. At this point NOBODY IS EXEMPT. Everyone is vulnerable to these diseases and unless we make some immediate major changes to incorporate healthier eating habits and lifestyle practices we may not live to see 50. If you are living on the American diet YOU TOO ARE A WALKING TICKING TIME BOMB ready to explode at any moment for the build up of fast food, fried foods, candy, sodas, sugar drinks, chemical additives and I am talking to you in this letter. Most people know McDonalds, Popeyes, Wendys, Snickers, Twix, etc. are bad for them but they continue to eat them every single day so I ask everyone at what point are we going to wake up!!! Peoples number one excuse is eating healthy cost too much but yet most of these are the same people that spend hundreds of dollars on Jordans, Coach, Prada, car rims and other material indulgences. When we tell these same people who may buy two or three bottles in the club to go buy a juicer they say it is too expensive or laugh it off. Our priorities are horribly messed up when it comes to spending money and taking care of ourselves. People care more about what they look like from the outside then they do about how their bodies feel on the inside. They are more concerned with being able to participate in the Pass the Courvoisier Blame it on the Alcohol lifestyle than learning to do away with the same sicknesses that force them to take medication daily. They would rather invest in overly expensive shoes than work to prevent diabetes that could one day lead to amputations and no options to wear shoes. I recently wrote a book called The Remedy: The Five-Week Power Plan to Detox Your System, Combat the Fat, and Rebuild Your Mind and Body. It is the first comprehensive wellness book written with the hip-hop generation in mind and features testimonies by Melyssa Ford, Hype Williams, Tyson Beckford, Erykah Badu, Chuck D., and Jim Jones sharing simple things they do to maintain healthy active lives. I provide the step-by-step plan to remedy your body and work to prevent future sickness thru diet, exercise, and positive thinking. In this Hip-Hops State of Emergency series I will share some of these easy to incorporate tips and tools that can change your entire life with small things like drinking water and eating green vegetables. For all of you who think it costs too much money I will provide inexpensive meal plans and easy to make home remedies. Big Pun passed we didnt take heed. Nate Dogg had two strokes and not much was said. When we lost J. Dilla finally people started to show […]
