In recent weeks the rap news sites have been filled with the Hip Hop drama. It might be the latest F.B.I. investigating Murder Inc., it be about 50 Cent or Eminem’s issues with Ja rule and other rappers PERSONAL exploits. Today these things have become more newsworthy than that ART itself. It now totally overrides any authentic discussion about the nature of the artists work. This phenomenon has been seen before in entertainment. Mostly in the acting world where you have people like James Dean, Marlon Brando and Jim Brown in the news for whatever personal drama they are in. But it seems that today in Hip Hop, it is a marketing rule to solidify an artists supposed “realness” or artistry. I was talking with a good friend of mine the other day about how there is something in 50 Cents flow that reminds me of Daz. Not from a stealing of styles, or biting perspective. 50 Cent reminds me of Daz in the nature of how he flows when he gets really liquid over a beat. In the same way, the way Richie Rich gets liquid at times reminds me of the way Rakim gets liquid. But 50’s likeness to Daz, is one of the reasons why I can appreciate his lyricism. He does not sound like your average New York MC. It was while my friend and I were having this discussion that I realized how little anyone talks about the ART of rhyme anymore. Instead, we talk about how 50’s mom sold dope, or whether or not Ja Rule has any real rep in the streets. More people talk about Latifah getting the D.U.I. and if she likes women or not. You hear very little about how amazing it is that Latifah went from O.G. pioneering female M.C. to a globally acknowledged actress- who still got mic skills!!! Her success is a beautiful thing that anyone who is serious about longevity in the rap world should look into. In the late 80’s and early 90’s for me it seemed a lot of discussion went into what made a rapper dope. People were constantly comparing the flow of the D.O.C. to Chuck D and Ice Cube to King T. These kinds of things are not talked about by most in the Hip Hop community anymore. Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. were BOTH pioneers of the art vs. the artist phenomenon. It really started with Pac and naturally bled over to B.I.G. as their careers began to cross. The only difference is, that both Biggie and Pac had a mountain of passionate music to go with their personal drama. Nas and Jay-Z are in the same boat, but again, due to talent they are able to balance their path a bit more. KRS was at his highest point arguably when he was shoving the chubby dude from PM Dawn off the stage. He still makes pretty dope records. But since he has no felonies, he is not deemed newsworthy. Hieroglyphics, Spearhead, Azeem, Mystic, and a bunch of other rappers get overlook as well, simply because they are not out thumping people on the ave. A lot of today’s artists, are just kicking up dust BECAUSE they have no talent. Pretty soon we’ll be buying records ‘cause of their rap sheet, not their ability to rap. I can see it now “Today at number one we have Knife Face Fred, from Oakland California…He can’t rap worth a damn, but he’s got 2 strikes and rumor has it he’s the guy who shot up Sweet Jimmy’s last week.” That’s no reason to choose an MC. The artistry of the Roots, Zion I, Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Bas One and a gang of other artists is just written off my most of the press. Even their labels begin marketing them as “alternative Hip Hop” acts. As if they are apart from the true nature of Hip Hop. Truth is, it is their artistry that makes them more deserving of magazine covers than all these felons posing as rappers. I know Hip Hop comes from the streets and that everything about every MC and DJ can’t be squeaky clean. But we’ve gotta have a standard at some point. Hip Hop media is to blame for many reasons. Today’s journalist either sensationalize whatever personal events are in any given rappers life, or, expect them to be the next political savior’s of the people. Both he media and the public put too many artists into boxes before they can even be themselves. After they get put in the box, most artists are afraid to let their true selves be known out of fear their audience will abandon them. Right now, I can think of 3 people with big names in Hip Hop who are known as players. You see them in the videos with 2 light skinned black hotties and a latina on or asian freak on their arm. Truth is, they are devout family men, who DON’T chase women. But if their fan base knew that- they’d be through. The Source, XXL, and VIBE could not sell too many issues with “Hip Hop’s Most Devout Dad’s” as the cover story (now watch them do it and not even hire a brother for coming up with the concept). Most of the really good articles that deal with the artistry of Hip Hop are found in skater mags or other publications that are not Hip Hop specific. Anyway, my point is that if we do not get away from this pattern of “legitimacy” in Hip Hop, soon our music will go the way of glam rock. I think you can hire the rock band Poison and Stryper for your kids birthday party these days. Let’s do our best not to let that happen to our artists, and our culture.

This is a response for Jean Grae’s article Big Hats, Bigger Hate on 4/2/03. If it’s a Trend, Rock it then. If we are going to point and shoot at one fashion phase of hip-hop, let’s say Big Fitted Hats, We the People of the Hood might as well set bombs to n##### that rock flamingo colored pink minks, and b###### that boast bootleg Prada pocketbooks at parties. I got an eye for knock offs shorty, now that trend needs to be rejected. However, the attacks on cats that sport Big Hats are so lame… Say lame the way Jay-Z did on the Takeover track. Why? Because we all know if let’s say, 50 Cent dipped in a Big Hat pulled up in his big thing attached with chrome, just about any b#### with an agenda and money motive would hop in, even if they hated his hat. And if so, wouldn’t that defeat the debate? Yeah, the oversize everything trend is somewhat overdone, but I must admit there is something sexy about the extra room in a Fitted Hat. Especially when the cool kid on the corner is rocking a spot-less wife-beater with stain-less Tims. Oh, don’t forget the don must have tattoos on his mountainous arms. Feel me. As I mentioned in the intro paragraph, there are numerous trends that will make a fashion fiend say “but why would they do that?” But who is to say what you or I find official attire, is not straight corn to an outsider looking in. “Did Kay really rock that?” Sure she did, who’s f###### asking, the fashion police? F### them, they probably rock bootleg Manolo’s, yeah the construction color Steve Madden one’s. Negative. By nature, hood stylists dare to be different, that’s exactly why urban trendsetters don’t duplicate the tight suburban suit fads. Go figure, we are a product of the hip-hop culture. We’ll divorce any style at any moment when the love fades. Sometimes we get ooh’s… for how we put it down or boo’s. It doesn’t matter, because ones trend of choice doesn’t need support from haters. Hundreds of companies get millions and billions per year by backing us. However, I find ignorance in the almost spazzin’ on a n#### attempt, because his Big Hat approach “in da club” was off. You can’t do that. Especially if your not checking a n#### when he spends your bankroll buying the next chick a Coach bag. The two don’t size up. But oh yeah, we’re talking about things being too big, not things being right. I hope you got that analogy. My response to Jean Grae’s: Big Hats, Bigger Hate is not out of disrespect. We’re all writers with various points of views. But I am writing to defend those who look in the mirror and say, “Okay then, I like this look.” It’s a sign of confidence. And I like that. Actually that same stare in the mirror might be coupled with conceit. But that’s real. Who’s going to love you and your get up like you? Not a hater. Sit and think. If a fly ass n#### in a nicely Fitted Hat (just your type) hollered, but wasn’t tricking, but a Big Fitted Hat n#### was respectively treating, which would you get at? If you go for the first, you’re sure to be fooled and stuck out in the cold, considering your hot to death fan behind door number two, could have been a perfect Fit. Kay Konnect Of Plan B, the 617 Series

What the hell… Ok, no. really, what the hell is going on with these damned big hats? Now you’re saying to yourself, “Hey, Jean…pray tell, what big hats?” Then I’m all, “You know.” Then you’re all, “No, we don’t know! Please, please tell us.” Then I’m all, “Well, if you insist.” Listen, either there are tons of chemo patients walking around, or n##### just simply done forgot what f###### size hat they wear when they walk in the store, or up on the bootleg vendor on the street to get them. Forgive me for my lack of “expertise” in the hat fitting business, but I would think(silly negro) that FITTED hats were supposed to f**king FIT. What the hell is up with this damned, 5 sizes too big s###? This s### is not cute! Who is lying to these poor children? No, no.. not just poor children, because these are grown ass men walking around with these things orbiting their dome. Do they think their (pause) heads are bigger than what they are? Are they storing supplies for next year, like hamsters hoard s### in their jowls? Are they just sneaking illegal substances into “da club”? I don’t damn well know. I think things started to go horribly f**king wrong when the whole head gear layering effect came into play. Perhaps it was overcompensation for the lack of high hairstyles that we donned in the 90’s[ I.e. gumby, high top fade]. Perhaps these dudes were seriously worried about catching head colds, because wasn’t it our beloved mamas who always told us to “put a hat on and wrap up warm,” especially if we were going outside already ill. I seriously doubt that it was done in hopes of not catching cold, but it eventually (thanks to Len) led to my circle of friends seeing these chaps in the street and telling them to “get well soon”. I think that was very thoughtful of us. We are a thoughtful bunch. If you don’t know which style I am referring to, please see diagram 1.A below. I’m over it now. I don’t get it, never did get it…but sort of got to the point of saying, “Fine, f**k it…look stupid..stay warm, whatever.” Then, oh no. Brothas, brothas, BROTHAS… Why? For the love of everything good on this earth, why, pray tell are your hats so f**king massive? Was it Fabolous? Did he start this s###? Did it begin with the foolishness of wearing a f**king paper towel as a bandana(see Lil Mo “Superwoman” video)in addition to a hat so big it could have fit everyone on the set of the video at the same time? Well, whoever’s fault it was for starting this dumb s### is either seriously judgment impaired, or just..well…..retarded. So, you wear the big hat, the big white t-shirt, the velour suit and to top it off, the dangly chain. The new uniform for aspiring rappers, entourage members, aspiring rappers and rappers… not to mention aspiring rappers. Just a side note, but is everyone a rapper now? There are no more fans left. Just rappers. Sorry, I digress. I am a hater. A hater of those who don big hats. I don’t care if you’re my friend. I WILL make fun of you. Loudly. Without concern for your personal feelings, if you appear anywhere in my vicinity sporting a big hat. Every time I’m out at a club where there’s lot’s of big hat fools walking around or on the line outside, I can tell what kind of party it is. The kind where the people who should be frisked, get in free. I can’t party while I have to worry about getting shot in the face by a VIP big hat fool, who has beef with another big hat fool in the upstairs VIP. I went to an event the other night and was having a great damned time. The dj’s were ill, the drinks were reasonably priced, people were dancing and singing along to the music. It was a grown folk’s party. It felt great. Then I started looking around the room. Only 3 big hat’s were in attendance. Out of 150 people. I nodded my head in understanding. Of course at grown folks parties, sometimes grown folks show their a#### and kick you out of your comfortable seats so they can sit in the “this is for ordering bottles” section. We reluctantly stood next to the stage and continued enjoying the evening. Then it happened. The big hat approached the stage, catapulting himself over my body, onto the chair to get onstage. Thus knocking 1/3 of my glass of f**king red wine onto my shirt. Stunned and p#####, I turned around to confront him, which basically turned into a total lack of disrespect for common courtesy. “Yo, what the f**k?” I said. “Oh, I’m sorry. I f##### up your drink,” he said turning away. “F**k my drink! Look at my f**king shirt,” I exclaimed. “…(silence),” he said. People, I am so glad that I don’t drink anywhere near as much that I used to, because the grown folk in me didn’t spazz and throw a table at him. That pretty much ended the night, as we left promptly and I cursed all big hats loudly in the cab on the way home. I hate big hat dudes. I can’t say I’ve seen too many girls with the big hats. But if they exist, I hate them too. No, they can’t explain things to me about stereotyping and generalizing groups. I don’t care. This isn’t prejudice. You don’t choose to be black, or white when you leave the house, but you know what? You DO f**king choose to put that satellite over your cranial space. You knew you were wack when you left the house. For that, I have zero patience. I think I will be starting a party night soon somewhere in the city. This is my dress code: No dress code. Sneakers, hats, jeans, workboots, […]

Well, here we are. Bombs are dropping, the dying has started, and our country of ignorant, blind allegiance-pledging sheep has sanctioned yet another massacre for profit in the name of “liberating the oppressed.” Never mind the fact that millions of people spoke out against our non-elected Commander-in-Chief’s hell-bent course of action, or that Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix and Ex-Marine and former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter stated repeatedly that weapons of mass destruction didn’t exist and that more time was needed, or that the report of supposed proof of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction presented by Colin Powell to the U.N. was plagiarized, or that of the 535 members of Congress, only one (Sen. Johnson of South Dakota) has an enlisted son or daughter in the armed forces, or that GOP-contributors the Bechtel Group Inc., Fluor Corp., Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root, Louis Berger Group Inc., and Parsons Corp have all been asked to submit bids for the rebuilding of Iraq’s infrastructure, again sadly proving the argument that this is indeed a slaughter for profit. Never mind these facts, no. Never mind the fact the the Hallibuton Corporation, of which our Vice-President was once CEO, has been awarded a contract to oversee firefighting operations in Iraqi oilfields, and will probably be instrumental in the rebuilding effort, just as it was in the Gulf War after we bombed Iraq in 1991, to the tune of $23.8 million dollars. This will probably be lost on my fellow Americans. It certainly has been lost on our conservative -bending Bush-complicit media. I can almost hear the conservatives now. “Where were you when Clinton bombed Bosnia…blah, blah, blah…” Is this the best they can do? That’s a moot point at this juncture. People are dying in a war that is unjust and the media has simply sat on it’s collective hands. Where’s the independent investigation into 9-11? Gone forever, I suppose. This is now more relevant then ever because the entire chain of events which have transpired since 9-11 (the reduction of civil liberties, rampant profiteering and the demonization and imperialist invasions of lessor-developed countries) have occurred because of 9-11. How come I can find all this information from credible sources online but they can’t? Because they don’t want you to know, that’s why. I’m sure some of them will say, “what’s a rapper doing commenting on politics…blah, blah blah…” completely overlooking the fact that I, too, am educated, and that they, in their arrogance and inherent racism, don’t have the market cornered on analytical thought. What makes these talking heads more qualified than me to speak out? Nothing. Understand that today’s supposed "news" is totally under the control of the Pentagon. We never see actual war footage – babies dying, families slaughtered – just blips and far-away night vision shots. The dehumanizing effect of all of this is that we are desensitized to the atrocities of war. For most Americans, it is a temporary inconvenience that we hope will be resolved quickly. A video game…cool! We can’t relate to the horrors of war because we’ve never been attacked here. Remember most of the war hawks have never served in the armed services and most of the doves have. So now we are faced with the paradox of wanting our soldiers–young men and women who risk too much for too little pay–to come home in one piece. But supporting our troops while they’re fighting an immoral and illegal war is misguided and wrong. Members of our armed forces don’t deserve insults, but their role in this war doesn’t merit support either. Cheering them as they leave and holding parades when they return would certainly be misinterpreted by citizens of other countries as popular support for an inglorious enterprise–and it would make it easier for Bush to send them off again, to Iran or Libya or wherever. Iraq has never attacked, nor threatened to attack, the United States. As his 1990 invasion of Kuwait proved, Saddam is a menace to his neighbors–Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel–but he’s their problem, not ours. Saddam’s longest-range missiles only travel 400 miles. Why Iraq? Why not North Korea, who has an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the western United States and nuclear capability? Why not Pakistan, who just unveiled its new HATF-4 ballistic missile? I’m not calling for us to ride on these countries too, don’t get me wrong. But if disarmament were Bush’s goal, shouldn’t those countries–both of which have threatened to use nukes–be higher-priority targets than non-nuclear Iraq? Iraq isn’t part of the war on terrorism. The only link between Iraq and Al Qaeda is the fact that they hate each other’s guts. And no matter how often Bush says "9/11" and "Iraq" in the same breath, Saddam had nothing to do with the terror attacks. That leaves freeing Iraqis from Saddam’s repressive rule as the sole rationale for war. Is the U.S. in the liberation business? Will Bush spread democracy to the numerous other places where people can’t vote, speak freely or eat much? You be the judge. I wouldn’t bet on it. Of course, it would be great if Iraqis were to overthrow Saddam (assuming that his successor would be an improvement). But regime change is up to the locals, not us. George W. Bush has led us to commit an abhorrent crime, an internationally-unsanctioned invasion of a nation that has done us no harm and presents no imminent threat. We have killers on the payroll in the White House. Ten Thing You Can Do To Stop The War On Iraq 1. Call or Fax the White House or the United Nations Security Council to express your opposition to an invasion of Iraq. The United States Congress has voted for going to war with Iraq – failing in its duty to represent a deeply divided American public. But there are still ways to stop this invasion. Contact the White House at 202-456-1111 (tel) or 202-456-2461 (fax). Appeal to the members of the UN […]

I believe this is one of the most important pieces that I have ever written in my short life. My name is Olalekan and I am a Nigerian-Canadian who is teaching English in Seoul, South Korea. As I have explained to many of my friends back home, living in South Korea as an African man is comparable to living in Western society before the civil rights movement came to be. Those who believe that South Korea is developed in terms of race relations after watching the recent World Cup or the 1988 Olympics are in fact sorely mistaken. The level of intolerance towards those who are not Korean is extremely high. I believe it is my duty to inform the masses of the recent racist act s being promoted in the Entertainment industry by a group of people that believe it is ok as long as their society is homogenous. The Bubble Sisters (signed to Universal Music Korea) are the newest Korean pop sensation. It is a group of four Korean girls in their mid-twenties who have a surprising amount of vocal talent when compared to their other pop counterparts. All this may seem harmless to you but please read on. When the girls perform their music they are in blackface with plastic lips to exaggerate the features of an African person. There bodies are completely covered black to match their faces, in the same fashion of "Amos & Andy", as they wear pajamas. One of the members even has rollers in her hair. Whether a direct result of this media ploy or not the group has managed to sell more records than its competition. Besides the blatant mockery of African people by this group, what I find really troublesome is that the group, the media, nor the governmental censorship board has a problem with what the Bubble Sisters are doing. The censorship board in Korea is notorious for being extremely conservative and has been known to ban songs citing sexually charged lyrics. When the review board was asked about why Park Ji-Yoon’s (famous Korean pop singer) new single, "Can you do it?" they were quoted as saying, "Some of the lyrics described sexual activity … if you hear the song, you can imagine the act of intercourse.’ When confronted about the issue of their act being racist, Nanda the lead singer of the Bubble Sisters, responded, "We want to undermine the typical Korean band, who -are pretty but don’t have any talent, and open doors to musically talented people who, if they don’t fit into this compartment, are usually forced underground." She also went on to state, "We love black music." In their video the four girls jump around and intentionally distort their faces. "We just thought it was fun to play around with the image, we didn’t mean to link ugliness to being black," said Nanda. In my disgust at the Bubble Sisters gimmick I decided to question others about the situation to gauge whether I was overreacting. I first started with my students who in all honesty believed I was getting too upset over what they deemed a minor situation. I soon discovered as I questioned more Koreans about the Bubble Sisters that the consensus was the same. "It’s not racist and the group didn’t know they were being racist because Korea is a country that is homogenous and not exposed to foreigners," was the general response I got. This argument seems to be accepted with ease in South Korea by both Koreans and foreigners alike. I believe it to be an excuse to maintain and perpetuate racism. In proving this argument to be invalid I start off by citing Hollywood movies. In most Hollywood movies a Korean is portrayed as the corner-store owner who speaks little to no English and hassles anyone who is not Korean. When South Koreans see this portrayal of their people they are very quick to state how racist and insensitive Hollywood is being towards Koreans, yet when they see an African person being portrayed as the drug-dealing thug, this concept is easily accepted as truth. When asked why they accept this portrayal of the African person and not that of the Korean person, most of the Koreans I interviewed shrugged their shoulders and said, "I don’t know." When the James Bond movie "Die Another Day" was being released worldwide, the issue in South Korea was how global society could accept a movie that was racist in its portrayal of the North Korean military. Protests and boycotts were held outside movie theaters that carried the movie, and in front of the American embassy in Seoul. When foreigners expressed their anger over the Bubble Sisters’ blackface antics, the groups marketing director Rob Seo sarcastically responded, "To the one percent of people who were offended by this, we’re really sorry." To me if the people who were involved in promoting this image to the masses were truly sorry, television stations would have pulled the group’s video and changed the album cover, which portrays the girls painted black. But no such steps have been taken. In this case actions would truly speak louder than sarcastic words! Beyond the Bubble Sisters there are other reasons why I do not accept the "homogenous society" argument for South Koreans’ apparent ignorance of racism. If a society argues it is simply oblivious to the racial sensitivities of other cultures and therefore not to blame, I ask why do the Koreans have a derogatory word for an African person that most Korean-Canadians and Korean-Americans equate to "N#####?" This word is "Gum-Doong-Ee", and I found out its meaning after being tired of hearing it so often when Koreans see me on the subway. What is not realized by the majority of South Koreans is that allowing groups like the Bubble Sisters to perpetuate racism ultimately affects their own society on various levels. First, the Korean youth is affected, being a group that has the greatest exposure to the Bubble Sisters’ form […]

Perfect music is the absence of music, Perfect people is the absence of human kind, both are the absence of the Music Business……… Many of us in the so called culture of hip hop are being faced with the threat of war and destruction. The war that I speak of is so much closer to us than Iraq, Israel or any of those places that deal with that element on a daily basis and in a greater magnitude than we could ever tolerate. We are facing a war in Hip Hop. I’m not talking about the corny ass battles that rappers get into that fertilize their dying egos, or the battles that djs get into that made technique turntables the train ticket to many production deals, or the battles between break dancers that have now been renamed "choreographers" that no longer hit the floor. Lastly I’m not talking about the battles between the graffiti artists that are now the hip hop publications that sells it’s cover to the highest bidder and has more advertising pages than hip hop information and no tags. I am talking about the war between Hip Hop & The Corporate Structure. Many people, artists especially are probably saying, "this is not a war, this has helped to expand the music world wide as well as give many artist a greater financial income," etc. etc. Yea yea I know all that jazz but unlike many clouded by the tangible bating that has been displayed before us all, the war is not being fought by both sides, it’s only being fought by the corporate structure. I guess that would make it not a war in that respect, but an ambush. The method of strategy is and has always been to buy them out then stomp them out. How many joint venture deals have been lost and as part of a contractual agreement, the CEO of the label has to leave the deal without the artist he came to the table with? Where is the investment of the corporate structure when everything they spend is recoupable before you see a red cen? I know that everyone and their mama knows about advances, so I won’t remix that song again, but bigger than all of that, take notice to the attitude that the corporate structure has helped to create in the minds of the artists they sign. Getting a record deal is now more about cop and blow then creating and developing the writing, production and performing abilities of the artist that comes through the door with rough edges. In that respect, where is Barry Gordy when you need him? Hip hop music is a raw form of beats and rhythmic poetry that has been like many music art forms before it, sliced & diced into sub-titles in order to create in the mindset of the artist, that he is somehow not like the rest. Just one of the many forms of Divide & Conquer used to weaken the infrastructure of hip hop music. Let’s face it, nothing sharpens sight like envy. That is the perception. To create the idea in the mind of a rapper that he is a star or a mega star and is on the level of the Rolling Stones or the Beatles, which would create envy and jealousy from the less fortunate artist, which in turn creates the "eyes on the prize" mentality in alot of little n##### in the hood that realize that crack is more risky then rap. Sounds like an ambush to me. Not convinced yet? Ok. Let’s look at the set up and undertone of Hip Hop Music from it’s beginning. The music has always reflected in some way shape or form, the goings on in the hood. Emcees spit about what they see or hear going on in their surroundings in the inner-city. In turn, that message is spread between neighborhood through tapes and live shows, meanwhile totally in infant form and oblivious to it’s power. This music in the likeness of jazz and the original rock & roll was about culture. Culture is everything. Culture is the way we dress, the way we carry our heads, the way we walk, the way we communicate. Wearing the disguise of culture, many have been sent to internally destroy a culture. How do we know who is really with us and who is not? The budgets are very high these days and many of us come from poverty, so we all want to earn enough money to pay off mamas house, drive a better car and wear better clothes. So the cards are placed before you, pick one and don’t let me see it. OK, put it back into the deck and I will shuffle the deck and in 10 seconds, I am gonna pull your card. The path of silence leads to the pit of deception and being deceived is what is being done to the hip hop culture. I mean, let’s look at what is currently happening in our circle. Hip hop music has crossed boundaries in great magnitude far beyond any other music. It has lured the white teenager as well as every other culture into a total emulation of the African American personality. White kids especially because of their rebellious attitudes have become lovers of hip hop music based on it’s original firey, direct message, like the rock and roll previously adored by them in the 80’s with Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden just to name a few. Hip hop was responsible for the homicides of many of those groups, or was that what we were made to think? Well let’s look at it like this, how can hip hop really be credited for destroying rock music when many, if not all of the groups previously named still sell out major arenas around the world, are still very relevant to major award shows, hosting, presenting, performing etc? Many of these groups still […]

As a body of people united by the common thread of urban cultural expression, i.e. Hip Hop, we suffer from a collective memory loss, where we forget the trends of no more than a few months prior. I remember the first Gulf War and how Hip Hop responded. Some of us supported "our" troops by wearing fatigues in videos, desert boots, and by shouting out the corny ass phrase "peace in the middle east". These cosmetic responses offended my NWA & PE sensibilities. However, I was sincerely impacted by the bold statement of a young and revolutionary publication…The Source. Back when The Source still printed college radio Hip Hop play lists, the Source’s original Mind Squad articulated why their publication would not accept United States military advertising dollars, the same way they had refused Alcohol and cigarette ads. They knew the destructive impact of the US government’s hypocrisy in it’s exploitation of soldiers of color and their denial of justice to Black and Latino communities. Well, gone are the days of Hip Hop idealism and cultural militancy, but once again the Hip Hop generation is confronted with war. Ironically, we are partying more in the midst of a slew of events attacking Hip Hop and urban youth culture. To compound this political indifference, we are being bombarded with military recruitment campaigns ranging from advertisement on websites like SOHH.com and Blackplanet.com, video games, and youth publications like Urban Latino and The Source. It is critical that Hip Hop culture reflect the condition of the communities from which it came. These are communities that have been plagued with police brutality for years, but are now confronted with a militarized police force and a government hell bent on controlling social protest. This is in addition to the already massive US prison population of people of color. Will members and practitioners of Hip Hop’s various cultural forms remain silent on the Government’s crackdown on urban youth culture? Historically, it is a fact that racist violence rises during periods of warfare. How will the multicultural Hip Hop audience and community confront this backlash against Black, Latino, and Asian youth? This crisis forces us to look inward and be self critical. For years we’ve used terms like "The Hip Hop Nation" and "The Hip Hop Generation", acting as if there were an assumed set of politics one must subscribe to in order to be "Hip Hop". This was good in theory but it has yet to be defined by the broader Hip Hop community. Many people who call Hip Hop a culture rarely are able to define it as such outside of its 4 or 5 recognized "elements", much less address the political power of Hip Hop. The Honorable Louis Farrakhan in his riveting address during the Nation of Islam’s Saviours’ Day convention, spoke of a backlash of white anger for tearing white youth away from the mentality of their parents through Hip Hop culture. It is no coincidence that there is heightened scrutiny on the Hip Hop community during this period of "homeland security". Now, more than ever, is there a need for those who identify with Hip Hop culture to organize and defend the communities who produced it. Reach David Muhammad at: wali_fard@hotmail.com

What was labeled as a "rap riot" by mainstream press may have been the big machine, may have been MTV’s own doing. AllHipHop.com caught up with a talented aspiring rapper. Here he tells his story. My name is Frank Ruiz ("FR"). Let me tell you about this trip to New York that I just came back from in the hopes of battling for MTV! I got to NYC from the MD/DC area at 7pm. Me and my girlfriend spent several hundred dollars on travel and hotel accommodations, but we met many people who came from much further and spent much more to be there throughout the course of the night. Once I arrived at 7pm, I decided to check out the line-up spot so I’d know where to go the next morning, and there were already people lined up! This is despite the harsh-ass cold and winds, and the fact that MTV explicitly stated there was to be NO camping out! I checked into the hotel with my girl, took a shower and shave, and we came back out to wait and were in the first 200 people to be there. After a few hours, police moved us into a location closer to the actual check-in venue, and they also put us in a maze of metal gates to organize us in a fashion similar to waiting in line at a bank. They also put gates up trying to separate our area from the street. They kept cops around throughout the night, and told anyone that if they left the line for ANY reason, they wouldn’t be allowed to come back into the line. People resorted to pissing on walls and in bottles so they would not lose their chance. Unbeknownst to us, throughout the night, they had other lineup areas. I don’t really know what the deal was at those places, but I became aware that there were MANY others when at around 8:30 a.m., police decided to probably tell the people lined up in other sections that they couldn’t be a part of the auditions. An army of people ran over to our area and the cops started trying to push them back. There had to be around one-to-three thousand other people in the street trying to get in. Things went from bad to ugly real quick, and the masses rushed the section we were in. We had to hurdle our metal gates to try and get away from the rush of people and thrown bottles. It was all over in about a minute. The cops announced that the event was canceled and made everyone disperse. Me and my girl decided to get the hell outta dodge. Although I felt bad that everyone’s chance had been spoiled by these events, I have to give credit to the situation those other emcees were put in. If I were in their shoes, I would have been extremely angry as well. The rules stated no camp outs, but the police accommodated everyone who did. In addition, those who did follow MTV’s rules seemed to be punished for it, as they were unceremoniously told to disperse after waiting patiently for hours to be a part of the event. Things ended badly, and perhaps people shouldn’t have tried to rush the check-in point on Monday morning. I believe that MTV/Viacom needs to take some responsibility for how badly things were handled through their lack of organization. The bright sides to that dark cloud is that no one seemed to have gotten hurt, the news media didn’t cover the riot so they didn’t paint the scene as a bunch of non-white animal rappers (but they also didn’t cover any responsibility on MTV/Viacom’s side for how this all turned out). One thing that was obvious after this event, though, is how hungry so many of our youth are to get any chance to make their lives better. I met men and women who came across the country to try their luck for a chance at financial security, which shows just how lacking their other possible options must be. MTV trying to give a hand up to 1000 people is a cool measure in theory, but using the same hand to smack the up-to-3000 other people struggling just as hard for the same chance was something I wish they’d spent more time thinking about. Peace to all the positive and talented people that I spent that cold night with, and I wish the best of luck to all of them. Frank "FR" Ruiz Freedomstyleforever@yahoo.com My music can be heard at http://www.mp3.com/thereason and http://www.audiosurge.com/reason. My website is http://www.freedomstyleforever.com.

This winter vacation I went home to visit my family in South Africa. I was born there, but came to civilization when I was really little. There were lots of lions and tigers and monkeys. My great aunt who is a witchdoctor gave me a big spear and a drum to take home. We didnt wear a lot of clothes because it was sooooo hot, especially inside of our hut. My mom wasn’t used to walking around without a shirt or bra on but she got used to it. I liked all the tribal dances and hunts we went on. They were fun! A lot of times I didn’t understand what people were saying cause they were speaking African. I had fun, but am I am glad to be home now cause we have phones and computers and refrigerators. Yes my ignorant American friends. I suspect, no… I KNOW that this is sadly still the vision that most Americans have of Africa. Might I add, AFRICA referred to as one big lump. No countries, cities, mountains, deserts.. No. Just AFRICA. Where AFRICANS speak a strange language called AFRICAN. When AHH’s co-chief Jigsaw asked me if I wanted to write about this, I thought it would be an interesting chance to open the sadly closed minds of black Americans. I changed my outlook and have decided to give you a small glimpse of how devastatingly wrong the widespread perception is. I would rather have you do some looking and find out on your own. You’re already on the internet. For once, surf to another place besides a hip hop message board, alerts for your 2 way, or big butt p###. This mass ignorance must stopped being blamed on education teaching only from the view of a white Western Civilization. I attended the public school system of America too, but like most schools I’m sure yours had a library as well. I’m sure you went on one of those field trips to the library where you all got cards. No? Well then, I’m sure you’ve HEARD of a library before. No? Newspaper? Perhaps not. Assuming that you are reading this without the assistance of psychic powers, I will believe that you are currently on the internet, and as stated before – enough said. Why is there no motivation among us to learn more about our true heritage than we see on the godamned Discovery channel, or PBS…or is it every two years when Shaka Zulu replays on channel 11??? Hip hop knows only of South Africa when an American rapper perhaps references something like gold, diamonds, gas companies, the AIDS epidemic, or we remember Stetasonic doing sanctioning songs in the time of Apartheid. I stopped being a Jamie Foxx fan when I saw his recent HBO stand up show where he relayed his recent trip to Cape Town in the most insulting b####### 10 minutes I’ve ever heard. I can’t understand how seemingly intelligent black people with the opportunity to educate the masses about the amazing beauty (and tribulations) of this country in particular, will do more damage than all those hours of “Global History” classes in perpetuating the white taught view of Africa as the spear chucking, foul smelling, technology lacking savage land that it is the exact opposite of. As a friend pointed out to me, even rap groups , i.e. De La Soul, who made a comment on their last album, Bionix somewhat to the effect of “African people smelling”, buy into and spread the same view. However it may have been made as a clever of witty side remark with no offense intended, how is that not taken as offensive? Now, I am definitely not one for censorship in music, hell no, I would have never been able to put out an album if that was the case…but I think even witty clever people know when certain things are just not to be played with. A friend who had help promote a show in Johannesburg 2 years ago emailed me distraught, saying she was really sad that they would say something like this and they lost a great deal of fans in the process. Apparently they don’t understand the fact that since mostly white young teenagers are in attendance at their concerts now, they are viewed as intelligent black men to black fans all over the world and a comment like that is a blow to their most loyal listeners. My friends, I implore you to understand. Africa is not just the place of original beauty and creation. It is the place of the future. Companies are realizing it now. Heavy campaigning, sponsoring and investing from big budget companies such as Levis, Red Bull, Diesel, and even companies such as ADT Home security are diving into this previously untapped yet so obvious market of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, all major cities South Africa. Interesting to wonder who this really helps though. It’s not as if any kids from the townships are going to be given jobs at Levi’s and be coming home with a check any time soon. Yes, there are seriously f##### ways in the government and economic system of South Africa. What makes it even more unbelievable is the fact that this is the place where your diamonds, gold and platinum and wine come from. Such a rich country, with such an oppressed and battered mentality that is going to take years of “unlearning” (thanks Shaheen) and some serious education and healing until its people realize and are able to utilize all of its resources to their full potential. Black Americans are still talking about reparations and the effect of slavery on our society, culture and behavior. Just imagine what it is to just have come out of that in the last decade. It is mindblowing in this day and age with so many liberties that we take for granted. Now referred to as “The Mother City”, Cape Town is quickly becoming an investors and […]

The h######### nature of hip-hop. WTF? This is something that I have taken well over a year to come to terms with writing. Why, because gayness and homosexuality is met with such a negative force when it pertains to hip-hop music. Now, before we move along, understand, this has nothing to do with my viewpoints on homosexuality nor am trying to yank anybody out of the closet. Conversely, this is merely a discussion on the rather loud, yet unspoken h######### undertone of current hip-hop. While it has hit me several times in the razor sharp cutting edge lyrical legacy of rap, it all exploded when I finally took time to pay attention to Puffy’s “I Need a Girl.” In the song, he says, “you were more than my girl, we were like brothers…” (Or something to that effect.) Nevertheless, it struck a chord with me. I wondered if that really meant something else. I have had some down-ass chicks and damn-near been in love, BUT never could I liken one to my brother. But, by the same token, is brotherly love akin to homosexual love? I think not. But, brotherly love is far from the “love” I have for all my dimes out there either. To my knowledge, Puff ain’t gay, despite the crazy Wendy Williams-fueled rumors. I just saw him with a tall, luscious dime model chick at the Trump building in Manhattan. But that line has a definite homosexual suggestion to it. Puffy might seem like an easy target so me go against my own grain. Some of my favorites have said some things that just didn’t seem to sound right for a heterosexual male to say. For example, Redman – certainly in my top 5 emcees ever – once said, “Male groupies get shakey when I come up from the rear.” For me, I chalked (and still chalk) it up the zaniness of Redman, who is really all about b######, birds and chicks with nice toes. On Dare Iz a Darkside he also said, he’d allow an emcee’s mother to “suck his d**k from the back” and “put cornrows on his crack.” So, one line is fully heterosexual and the other is really strange. Alas, like Puff, Reggie is a straight arrow. On his Walking With A Panther CD, LL Cool J once said, he was so fly, “he could suck his own d**k.” Whoa. Now, I am assuming that LL was trying to say some real cocky (pardon the pun), arrogant s### but it just sounded…ghoulishly gayish. Even the late, great Notorious B.I.G. said, in “Me and My B####,” that his gurl was so fly, he’d “suck her Daddy’s d**k.” One of my faves, Big Daddy Kane, actually made me cry as a youth when he said, "There’s no hair on my chest, but I’m one tough cookie…who said you have to be 100% masculine in order to be in?" As Jay-Z said, “the answer was too dark for the user” so I declined to ask any questions. But, Kane was an infamous ladies’ man who had hit off every body from Madonna on down the long line. There were times when his choices in clothes were odd, but never did I question his manhood. That’s one of the gods of rap right there. But we all know that ladies love cool J and Big Poppa, right? There are a few other examples of shaky lyrics from heterosexual men, but you catch the drift. They aren’t gay, but honestly, if Redman, BDK, LL, or Puffy were to emerge out of the closet, I would be shocked, but I would still be checking for them as artists in one way or another. The videos in hip-hopalso seem to have some oddly h#########/ gayish activity going on. Now for example, if you have ever seen one of Tupac’s fun filled romp videos, you would see him having all sorts of fun with the sexy ladies. Now that was in the mid/ early 90’s, but thangs done changed more recently. Videos now are far more provocative than “I Get Around,” yet the guys seem to not notice the ass cheeks less and less. Not always, or course, because we saw Mystikal getting his grind on is “Shake Ya Ass” and, in “Oochie Wally,” Nas and the Bravehearts were all over the girls like wall-to-wall carpet. Nevertheless, a lot of rappers are all about the homiez. Perhaps, they want to seem cool and in control of their hoes in front of the camera. Well, maybe they gay? Nah, lets say gayish. Because, more often than not, they are hanging on some of their boys rappin’ about, “I’ll die for my n####, ride for my n####.” All the while, these chicks to kill for are on the sidelines, mere props in the testosterone party. In “Big Pimpin,’” when Jay-Z said, “Me give my heart to a women – Never,” I just never got it. In the context of the song, I guess it makes sense, but…he didn’t say – b####, ho, h#####, prostitute. He said women and rappers are always clear on the massive difference between a b####/ho/s### and a woman. And then, all jiggas aside, it’s just common for rap dudes, to just HATE (not hatin’ – loathing) chicks. Why? I don’t know, but I do know this, if you hate women, who you lovin’? Misogyny isn’t the same as being gay though, so most likely that’s all that is. Jay is my nuh though and you know this because I may be one of 10 in the continental US that thinks he won the battle with Nas. How did these gayish h######### undertones manifest in hip-hop? While some people think cats are just GAY (which they might), I think it’s a case of cats trying to hard – so hard they are inhumane. For example with Puff, it seems that dun feels the loyalty he has from his homies is stronger than a chick. And with Jay, you know […]