Can Hip Hop Save Black America?
Paul Scott
In breaking news, two of Hip Hop's most popular artists died today. In what was the culmination of a year long beef, an altercation in the middle of 52nd street has left both men dead. No, they didn't shoot each other. As they stood arguing in the middle of the street, they were run over by a Tea Party Express bus that was running late for a rally...
Beef. That is one word with which the Hip Hop community has become very familiar over the last decade and a half. The term has resulted in many tragedies in the black community ranging from neighborhood feuds to deaths on street corners. Rappers dissin' other rappers is an everyday occurrence in 'hoods across the country. This is what makes the Hip Hop community's lack of response to the current climate of hate fueled by the Tea Party, Birthers and other Right Wingers especially disturbing.
For the last year, anti-black behavior has escalated from racist propaganda being promoted on radio stations to black Congressmen being called racial slurs and spat upon. All over the country Right Wing racists are rallying thousands of people, while rappers are too busy buying rims for their Escalades to notice.
Since Hip Hop has always prided itself as being the true voice of the black community, you would think that rap artists would be on the front line fighting against these disses to black folks.
Not so.
So far, there have been, relatively, few Hip Hoppers calling out the Right Wingers. This is not to say that there aren't any rap artists speaking out on issues, as there are "raptavists" in communities across the country. However, most have heard about the attacks that came upon such political artists such as Professor Griff and Sister Souljah in the 80's/90's and don't want the same thing to happen to them.
One of the by products of Hip Hop has been black male rebelliousness. This is why the media were quick to blame incidents of racial unrest such as the Virginia Beach and LA rebellions (riots) of the late 80's/early 90's on the music of groups like Public Enemy. Immediately, the music industry went to work to replace revolutionary Hip Hop with gangsta tales of black on black homicide and chemical genocide (crack sales). During the following decade, since "racism" became less overt, the black male aggressiveness generated by Hip Hop was used on other black males.
However, with racism becoming more "in your face" over the last year, the "powers that be" don't want to risk the fratricidal message of gangsta rap to be misinterpreted as a call to "fight the power." They know that with a change of a couple of words, a 50 Cent song becomes a Public Enemy-like call to organize collectively for political and economic power.
Although, "gangsta's" are notoriously, politically apathetic, even the most hardcore thug will become outraged if while flippin' the channel between Hip Hop stations, he hears a conservative radio host call him a "no good bum who will never amount to anything" and his mother a "lazy welfare queen."
And with the escalation of racist rhetoric from Right Wing radio stations like Raleigh's WRDU, this scenario is possible if not probable.
Should Hip Hoppers, be more than a little concerned that Right Wingers are currently organizing major events across the country from Sean Hannity's "Conservative Victory Tour" and Tea Party Express rallies to the upcoming Second Amendment Rally ,where thousands of ticked off good ol boys will show up outside of DC locked and loaded on April 19th.
You bet, they should.
Regardless of how one feels about Hip Hop as an art form or pseudo-culture, at this point, Hip Hoppers are perhaps the most capable of organizing a mass resistance against the Tea Party and other ultra Conservatives.
Although, the Tea Partiers are able to organize thousands of people to show up at protests, rap artists have the potential to do the same if they were so, politically, inclined.
A few years ago, Hip Hop artist, Soulja Boy was able to popularize a dance by posting a home made video on Youtube. Almost over night, millions of people across the country were doing the "Soulja Boy."
Perhaps ,most important, is the Hip Hop vernacular. Just as the Right Wing folks are able to use code words such as "illegals," "inner city youth" and "states rights" to galvanize their base, rappers also have slang terms to mobilize their fans toward political action right under the noses of unsuspecting Republicans.
"Waka Flaka what?"
"Gosh darnit, Jim Bob. I can't understand a thing that they're saying!"
It is past time that Hip Hop artists used their collective talents to do more than spread ghetto tales about strippers and drug sells.
This is why I am calling for a Right Wing Rap Attack (www.facebookbook.com/rightwingrapattack), where Hip Hop artists will challenge conservative commentators instead of dissin' each other and will organize for political advocacy instead of coming up with new dances.
With Black America's history of social justice movements, it is ironic that rappers who have been criticized for anti-social behavior may now be the only hope to hold back the Right Wing wave of racism.
So as we say in the 'hood,
"It's time to get it poppin', youknowhatimsayin?"
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
To hear the "official Tea Party diss song" copy and paste
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM81kpaA1TE
