The Real Hip Hop Is Ova Here!

In one of my courses last semester, I wrote a paper on whether or not poetry was a genre that bridged oral and writing cultures. My findings were interesting, but one event/reading in particular stood out. It was with guest poet Afua Cooper.

Her performance touched on a few issues, but the most memorable one, "Africa's Wailing" really got me. It was set in a dancehall reggae club, and talked about the ill-treatment and abuse of power by police against Black people in a face whenever they decide to get together and jam. After the event, I spoke to my professor about how much I understood and appreciated what Afua had said. My petite, pixie cut, red-head prof looked and me, smiled and said, "By that last poem, I couldn't understand what she was saying." Huh? It was at that point that I realized that each of Afua's poems incorporated more and more patois. Why didn't I notice this? My prof, extremely intrigued by my revelation said, "Well, some people are meant to be left out of the text. We aren't all meant to understand it, otherwise the message gets lost."

Hmmmm...

Reflecting on that made me think: Is this what hip hop is? Is it a culture only meant to be understood by a select few? Who are these chosen few?

Last summer, at the Hip Hop Peace & Unity Fest, I was joined by 3 friends, women who wanted to give the 13 member (12 male and 1 female) panel a chin check on the topic for the night "how to use hip hop as a tool for grassroots organizing"... or some shit like that. It was going well, we asked our questions that challenged and made this dudes look for their jock strap. And then she came. Some anonymous chick walks up to the mic, taps it a couple times, bats her lashes, and says, "considering the state of music today, do you think hip hop is dead?"

WTF? You dumb broad. If it were dead, would we be having a discussion about how to use it to mobilize communities? With your one thoughtless quip, you switched the focus of a discussion where real strategies and movements could have been devised and ignited. Davey D sat quietly while we awaited a response from him, but suddenly was inspired to reminisce on the good ole days of hip hop after the death of hip hop question. Will Strickland seemed to have been waiting for the moment to say "Rap is somethin you do, hip hop is somethin you live". And he said it- Just like he said it at the other 3 panel discussions I'd seen him at with nothing more to add to the conversation than that applause starter. When we requested to hear from the one woman on the panel, Mr. Strickland seemed to make the decision that my girl couldn't speak or understand English well enough for her to answer for herself, and said "she doesn't like to speak". I guess she forgot to tick that box off on the potential panelist/motivator/public speaker questionnaire and didn't read the fine print about what is required of a panelist (i.e. "must be comfortable speaking in public").

So who is meant to speak in the circles of hip hop rhetoric?

Clearly Ms. I-really-have-no-concept-of-hip-hop-but-call-me-sometime seemed a little removed from the culture.
Aside: it's funny that when intelligent chicks hear a stupid question from another woman, we automatically label her a ditz
I may not be completely "hip hop", but my balanced understanding of politics and hip hop allowed me to understand the purpose of the event. Does that make me one of the chosen few?

KRS One has the Temple of Hip Hop where he managed to get hip hop recognized by the UN, Davey D is regarded as the hip hop historian and speaks EVERYWHERE, hip hop became "net savvy" courtesy of SOHH (Support Online Hip Hop), Chuck D famously said, "rap is CNN for black people" and continues to speak to audiences about, well... hip hop. Underground Hip Hop (UGHH) will always be remembered as the place you went to get that Louis Logic, Primo, or Jay Dilla loop before Napster could index it, . All of these individuals/organizations have credibility because they helped to build something that left a permanent imprint on the hip hop consciousness.

Blogs and news sites like Hip Hop Blogs and Pro Hip Hop, FunkDigital, and Trickology have all made a name for themselves carving out their own space in the world to discuss all things hip hop. Since discovering the world of blogs a week ago [see post], I realize the power of pursuasion no longer needs instutional credentials attached to it. It just needs a monitor, a keyboard, a "reply button", and an opinion.

As the internet continues to blur the line and distance between author and reader, orator and audience, teacher and student I am reminded that I don't need to be concerned about who is "chosen" because but rather, how I choose to position myself in my discussion of hip hop, politics and, my contribution to hip hop, womanism.