Since the late 80's and early 90's movements have been in place to ban rap music, not just by white policy makers, but also black leaders. Many argue that rap music is to blame for the black on black crime and sexism that is experienced in not only Black America, but American in general. Dominant society through their bullied pulpit has placed rap in a paradigm of barbaric violent drug selling criminals and iced out coons. Now that cooperation's have notice that this genre is a hot commodity not only in America culture, but globally. Even though those generalizations aren't an absolute lie they are however half truths. These half truths create the perception that not only criminalize the hip-hop culture, but also give reason for those on the outside to stereotype and target our children that grow up in this era about their identity. Even though rap music isn't mutually exclusive to blacks or brown people we now ourthe main group of people criminalizing our children for their preference of Hip-Hop. Countless times I hear or read of people being critical of children reciting rap lyrics by having this assumption that they lack the ability to read. We now seem to have an increase of Bill O'Reilly's in black faces.
Whenever blame needs to be deviated, rap music has always been the scape goat ever since it departed strictly from being solely about the party and began to be a direct reflection of the issues affecting those in hoods across America. Through the commercialization of rap music it hasn't been as embracive, defiant, or challenging as it has been in the past, but still till this day it provide a voice box to those that the local and national news ignores or tries to dehumanize. Chuck D once coined that rap music was the black CNN because they were speaking live and directly on issues affecting us directly from the source instead of through the eyes of speculation catering to cooperate sponsors. From artist such as Tupac all the way to even party rappers such as Nelly, Hip-Hop in it's essence isn't just about violence and sex, but it shows that even though those living in party may not have much, they still find ways to enjoy themselves. When we look at it through the guise of being The Black CNN it forces us to maximize our potential to look at issues through our cerebral acuity.
Opponents always criticize songs of the genre without putting it in its factual relevance, even though that shouldn't even be an issue, this the only genre where people demand that it be critical of social injustices. We must ask why don't we demand genres such as rock, country, or even bluegrass to live up to those same expectations such as rap? Why don't panels exist telling artist like Garth Brooks to start speaking up against injustices concerning that of the feminist movement, or gay rights issues? We must note that a lot of rap does speak on those issues many demand, but the issue is that since we don't own or have significant pieces in the media those songs are just brushed away, or thrown into a sub-genre of rap called conscious. We are made to think of conscious rap like the vegetable's or the vegans of hip-hop. We know it's good for us, but know one really wants to eat vegetables, especially when we have all these other fattening, deadly, but other delicious choices. In hindsight conscious just means that you're awake and aware. Not to knock rappers such as Common, Nas, Lupe, Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), but are they anymore aware than Ice Cube, Biggie, Jay-Z, or even Lil Wayne? Even though one of your favorite FOX news prudent may highlight the low level of schooling some of these "ignorant rappers" have we must be aware that their level of education is higher especially in regards to their ability to articulate issues affecting urban areas of collapse.
For instances one of the greatest philosophers of rap culture Tupac Shakur is always heralded for his gangsta image and songs like I Get Around, but we ignore lyrics like, "Just the other day I got lynched by some crooked cops and till this day them same cops getting major pay, but when I get my check they taking tax out, so I guess we paying the cops to knock the blacks out." For someone to be as gangsta as Tupac is very familiar with law makers subsidizing minorities own oppression through their economic base. For someone who doesn't have a degree he gave us a lesson in social stratification in what might take a professor an entire lecture to get across in merely just a few bars. The great thing about rap music is that they put information where everyone can get it, they aren't just speaking to their colleagues in verbiage that you need to keep an old English dictionary on deck just to grasp in regards to the verbal linguistic that they are expressing. Rappers not only speak through their frustration and vulgarity, but their intellect as well. When you look as these artist that the media tries to force us to dislike or have a disdain for they are not as radically different from the conscious community that we choose to ignore. Rap has always been socially critical, even if they aren't speaking on the issues that you feel need to be at the forefront they still are speaking the truths of society. Not only are they mindful of ills that others in society have upon us, the culture is also indicative of itself.
When rappers are talking about, cashing it out and how many kilos are in their chain we have intellectuals such as Talib Kweli reminding them, "These cats drink champagne and toast death & pain like slaves on a ship bragging about who got the flyest chain." With rap becoming hated and now even more commercialized many of today's new artist profess in their music this sense of, "Nigga We Made It," but we have elders in the genre reminding them that they are still slaves in more contemporary forms like Kanye stated in his last album (Yeezus). Even though at the present time you may be able to buy that chain, big mansion, and foreign car you're still at the mercy of slave owners in suits and ties in 100 story building instead of the big house. Most rappers don't have control of their own music in the aspect of royalties, let alone their own stage name. The man owns that, so in theory he owns you. We can't as a community attempt to ban the bling rap or what some may label the coon rap because these artist are being honest even though this type of music is the only kind at times that seem to be at the forefront. It does however speak to the desires of those in urban socially enriched denied areas fiend for. We feed those in poverty stricken areas that we need to hate everything about us and aspire for wealth, which isn't a bad thing in regards to the latter, but we have this habit of showing blacks that we are different from them and whites that we can have nice things as well. The problem with is that we are subconsciously teaching our children that their worth is lessened if they don't have the latest sneakers, Italian clothing, or car. Even though the genre started being about the party that wasn't its limits, but the commercialization of it is attempting to change the etymology of what rap is. When we do this we negate and desensitize the revolutionary aspect of it.
There was a time in the mainstream where rappers speaking out against injustices regularly, not just doing the aftermath of instances such as Trayvon Martin and Rekia Boyd. Rappers in past times used to frequently articulate counter veiling narratives that allows them to destitute the legitimacy of stereotypical views of people. These rappers got aggressively eloquent. For instance when Ice Cube said, "F%#k the police coming straight from the underground a young nigga got it bad cuz I'm brown, not the other color so police think the authority to kill a minority...messing with me cuz I'm a teenager with a little bit of gold and a pager, searching my car looking for the product thinking every nigga is selling narcotics." Cube was not only speaking to white America, but also talking to other black folks in higher classes who may not know the frustration that is occupied in the hearts and souls of less privileged black and brown people. This type of rap music speaks out against intellectual devaluing of black people, even though it's done with an aggressive tone you want to try to ban it, but why? When a culture that's foundation is based on discrimination and exploitation is challenged we look at this form of defiance as a problem. Ice Cube was promoting violence as means to right wrongs, but he was asking why do you feel that blacks should only exist in lower spheres of existence. We tell America's children that anything is possible and to chase the dream of this country, but when Cube spoke of his gold and pager he was articulating the notion that when blacks have a little more or achieve greater than what are expected of them we must question legitimacy of it because that's not normal, it's almost sacrilegious for blacks not to be poor.
That's why when the great sociologist Christopher Wallace grabbed the baton back in the early 90's and spoke, "We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us, no heat wondering why Christmas missed us, birthday's was the worst days, now sip champagne when we thirsty." Even though many may consider this bling rap like I stated earlier the difference is that B.I.G. gave a backdrop why black and brown people are so obsessed with expressing how they made it. We can't treat this culture as only just a form of entertainment, but we must look at it a teaching model to understand what is going on in these communities that we are trying to build and elevate. We can read all the statistics on poverty, get degrees upon degrees, but if we aren't making that connection with the people we are trying to help we will forever be lost in search of that promise land. By trying to simply disregard this form of expression as merely misogynistic, violent, and oppressive we are ignoring the voices of hope and anger of disenfranchised souls who in most instance go unnoticed. One of the reason why it always under fire is because it attacks the foundation of the American dream that is sold internationally of what a great place this country is and exposes the truth of not only race relations, but class relations of urban chaos that this democracy that we live in chooses to ignore.
When we allow the commercialization to continue to criminalize in the way the censorship movement did we lose our identity and allow those putting us in the forefront to define us in ways that they see fit. The political activist of the culture begin to become blurred and the thug image is then highlighted creating this perception of us being menstrual rappers for the appeasement of white corporations. Gangsta rap has now become rappers wearing skinny jeans talking about shooting someone who he resembles instead of the music that preached unity defeating a higher power or professing the reason why these issues exist. Now the genre is in limbo between white politicians using it as a means to categorize its listeners into a box, while black leaders are blaming it for the destruction of black people in general. Neither side are looking to dig deeper within the surface to fully hear what is being said, instead they are being warped in the agenda control that doesn't allow them to be one with the struggle that is trying to be heard.
Rap is more than beats and a rhythmic intricate scheming pattern instead it's a voice that speaks for the people without classifying itself as a right wing republican or a left wing Democratic party that has ties to the republicans. It is truly independent in it's motivates, but awakens the conscious in those who walk with their back slumped down afraid to express the pain that they are feeling day to day by simply ignoring issues as just," the way it is." No one will deny the movements that occurred during civil rights from speeches in churches and on monuments, but we must progress to understand to reach a younger generation of truth tellers that we must explore different avenues to get the message to them. We are beyond the days of hearing great speeches such as the Ballot or the Bullet, instead this newer generation are more inclined to receive that same message of political inclusion and group economics in a 4 minute song by Nas or Rick Ross telling us to put our whole team on.
Don't sweat the technique by continually to be like our mothers and telling us to cut that "s*&t," off instead embrace that even though the revolution may not be televised it will be heard through rhythmic anger.
