What can I say about my 420 celebration? It was a true learning experience. I had to write this immediately before I forgot...wink face ;) . My Hip Hop heads are gonna feel nostalgic, and my new school Hip Hop artists are going to feel some type of way. Whatever you choose, I just hope this doesn't fall on deaf ears. You are getting a snippet of the full article "What Happened To The Movement," that will be in the upcoming of n’Rotation's "Mixtape DJ" issue. I'm not going to call any names in this blog, nor in the full article. I will just reflect and report on our conversation. At the end of this piece, I will leave you with something to seriously think about.
We can all agree that the recent police violence against African Americans is making the news at an alarming rate. The marchers, protesters, and the rally leaders are in full swing. The internet is keeping us all united to the cause through hashtags and Twitter posts. Back in the day when there was injustice in the black community, there was a song to bring people together.
In 1971 Marvin Gaye's masterpiece, "What's Going On" album took on poverty and the injustice facing the black community. This album produced the hits; "What's Going On," "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," and the "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)." It's considered the most
1989 brought us Spike Lee's movie, "Do the Right Thing" and with it Hip Hops minister of information Public Enemy's "Fight the Power." “Fear of a Black Planet" was released in1990, but the albums most notably hit single opened Lee’s acclaimed movie. This movie focuses on the realities that the black community is being faced with now...the senseless death of blacks at the hands of cop. The Radio Raheem choking scene was played out in real life when Eric Garner, 43, died after being confronted by police on Staten Island for allegedly selling cigarettes illegally. What was illegal was the choke hold that lead to Garner’s death. Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, “the death was ruled a homicide.”
As P.E. (Public Enemy) pointed out the injustice on the east coast, NWA introduced their west coast accounts of the outrage that was enacted by the LAPD. NWA’s version of fighting the power did not miss a beat. Their lyrics and videos showed the group had no problem going against the grain of rules that segregates people. The 1992 Los Angeles riots was the reaction to a jury's verdict that acquitted four Los Angeles Police Department officers of assault and use of excessive force. This use of excessive force was caught on video. Thousands of people throughout the metropolitan area of Los Angeles rioted over six days beginning on April 29. Ice Cube’s "Wicked," calls this day of the riot "Power to the people."
Hip Hop’s voice against violence and wrongdoing was felt the strongest on the tracks, "Self-Destruction," which featured an All Star East Coast roster. We find KRS-One and D-Nice of Boogie Down Productions leading the charge. The features included; production by Bomb Squad member Hank Shocklee, MC Lyte, Boogie Down Productions (KRS-One, D-Nice & Ms. Melodie), Stetsasonic (Delite, Daddy-O, Wise, and Frukwan), Heavy D, Kool Moe Dee, Doug E. Fresh, Just-Ice and Public Enemy (Chuck D & Flavor Flav).
On the West Side of the Hip Hop map, we have the ‘stop the violence’ driven track, "We All In The Same Gang." Doctor Dre provided his production talents to this project. The West Coast All-Star’s roster included; King Tee, Body & Soul (including Dee Barnes), Def Jef, Dr. Dre, MC Ren and Eazy-E of N.W.A, Above The Law, Ice-T, Michel'le
Tone-Loc, J.J. Fad, Young MC, Digital Underground (Money-B and Shock G/Humpty Hump), MC Hammer, and Oaktown's 3.5.7.
What are we promoting in Hip Hop today? Sex, drugs, and violence? Rich Gang’s "Lifestyle," was a hit, even if we didn't understand what was being said. But after learning the lyrics to this song, are we still interested in that "Lifestyle"? Are we all in love with the CoCo?
From my own experiences and what I gathered from my comrades is, the culture went from songs speaking on fighting injustice to songs abusing the rights that were fought for during the civil rights movement. You can rap, but are you enriching
Like I said before, "this is just a snippet." You can read the full article in the upcoming n'Rotation The DJ Magazine issue. This is our Mixtape DJ issue, which will feature award winning and some of the Top 100 Mixtape DJs In The World as of 2014.
I ask you this question… where are you going with Hip Hop?
#LeslieMac
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