If you aren’t accustomed to clicking links on the side of this page, I hope this will help. This is a videoblog by Jay Smooth, long time Hip-Hop head and host on his blog illdoctrine.com. Jay in mid August posted a guide to “no homo“, he really comes with it… [not gonna say it Jay!]
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- “The Pta”,”Hockey Moms 4 Palin” and “small town” are those the parts I’m supposed to connect to?
- Did Palin really spend the first 5 minutes explaining that she has a family … how does that mesh with the GOPs insistence on leaving her family out of it?
- Ugh, could someone check on her baby, cause the kid didn’t look well?
- Am I supposed to think being mayor matters?
- Can you claim that you aren’t a part of the power structure when you’re on the ticket of the Grand Old Party?
- Are we supposed to think that “Drill, baby, Drill!” is a real energy plan?
- Am I to believe Palin will put Air Force One on Ebay?
- What the hell was that powerpoint slide show in the background?
- How many times did she say “man” when she could have said person, president, or something gender neutral?
- And now that she talked about Obama and McCain ad naseum, can you tell me what she stands for!?!
“I don’t fuck with politics, I don’t even follow it.” -Talib Kweli on the Beautiful Struggle 2004
I love Hip-Hop, no for real, I love Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop has been one of the cultural forms that I gravitated towards since I was small. Hip-Hop has been more than beats and rhymes, it helped build my ideology. It provided me access to different perspectives on the social world. I’ll never forget when I heard NWA yell “Fuck Da Police.” Hip-Hop spoke for me when my voice trembled. Hip-Hop hasn’t been perfect, but it it’s been full of perfect imperfections. While some will say it’s all about the Beat, Hip-Hop WAS more than that to me. It’s moments like this that make me really miss Hip-Hop. Correction, it’s moments like this that I miss political Hip-Hop… or at least MY political Hip-Hop.
Now don’t get it twisted, Hip-Hop is political, arguably more political than at any other point in its history. The quote above by Talib Kweli in 2004 is the type of political Hip-Hop that I’m talking about. Kweli wasn’t advocating apolitical behavior, he was acknowledging the inadequecies of politics. But always, things change. I doubt Talib Kweli could even back that quote anymore, especially since he made a song about Hillary Clinton “falling back” during the primary season. With Luda freestyling for Obama, Big Boi sitting in the Oval office, and Daddy Yankee championing McCain we’re seeing so much political discussion it should be cause for celebration. Hip-Hop is finally coming of age and is forming a union with Politics. Unfortunately, like most weddings, there is always someone who is disturbed by the union. That someone is me! The marriage between Hip-Hop and mainstream politics is beginning to worry me.
Now I’m not someone who has a myopia or nostalgia about Hip-Hop that romanticizes Hip-Hop. I know Hip-Hop was a party before it was political. But as a Black man in America, the personal is political. I remember sitting in high school listening to The Goats as they railed on politicians like Bill Clinton. It was an odd moment because most people I knew, including progressive Black folks, were in support of Clinton and at first I was confused. I wondered, “How can they be against Clinton? Isn’t he a “good” president?” Their lyrics challenged me to see beyond a saxophone performance on Arsenio Hall and made me dig deeper to understand real politics: welfare reform, immigration, crime policy, and even the limits of politics. And yes, I began to dig into these questions in part due to Hip-Hop’s critical perspective. Now, I don’t think this occurred for most folks who listened to Hip-Hop (hell most of you reading this probably have never heard of the Goats) but for me, the questions that began to percolate in those years continue to power my critical thoughts today. As I got older and became more involved in social change, I realized that mainstream politics have more often than not been the enemy of social change, not the the ally. The placations that politicians offered people traditionally have come in response to serious pressures from folks outside of Capitol Hill.
I believe in grassroots activism. I believe in political participation. But I’ll fight for politics that are pushed to accountability by the grassroots. I vote, I have organized people to vote, and even admonish those who don’t participate in the electoral process, but I know a ballot will never be enough. I learned that from Hip-Hop. As I dug my feet into grassroots work in New Haven, Atlanta, Michigan, and New York Hip-Hop provided a soundtrack. A soundtrack that pressed me to think critically and act critically. But for some reason, right now, I feel like I’m missing that soundtrack. To be honest I don’t think I noticed it was playing for years, until it went silent.
For months, I’ve been waiting for a song that expresses an unease, disappointment, or at least concern that the election of a single political official is not enough. An artist that challenges us to think outside of a two party system. A joint that pushes us to see peace as not just as an idealized alternative, but a livable reality. A crew that knows we have to make politics work for the people. In the past, I was able to find that in the voices of Hip-Hop. My old Hip-Hop provided the perfect soundtrack to my struggle for social justice. I could pop in a tape or CD and know someone else felt my frustration with the state of the world, that someone shared my concern for change, that someone wasn’t afraid to question the status quo. These type of songs, questions, and challenges probably made Chuck D nearly 20 years ago call rap “CNN for Black people.”
Hmmm, maybe that’s just it. Maybe he was right. Maybe he predicted it. Maybe Rap/Hip-Hop has become CNN for Black people. No really feel me, the parallels are scary. It features the same stories, same shallow analysis, same three minute clips, and runs on a loop. Maybe I don’t need Rap to be Black CNN anymore.
Have I given up on Hip-Hop? Have I outgrown Hip-Hop? Am I living in the past? I think the answer to all of those is no, I’m still waiting. I still want more from Hip-Hop, I still demand more from Hip-Hop, I still believe in my Hip-Hop. Right now, the soundtrack to my struggle is silent. But I’ll wait patiently, because as Greg Tate once said, “the only known alternative to hiphop is dead silence.” And I’m not ready to do the work without my beloved soundtrack.
- Did the awe of the Olympics make you completely forget about China’s human rights violations?
- Wasn’t it interesting that US media kept concentrating on the general medal count, but ignored the gold medal count?
- So you just finished with the Olympics then tuned into the DNC, what’s next?
- Is it okay that I love Michelle more than Barack?
- Are people still serious about potentially voting for McCain?
- Why didn’t you even consider voting for Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente?
- Am I the only one who thinks Barack Obama is a good speaker as a politician but would not hold my attention for a keynote?
Is it okay for me to be proud of Barack’s nomination but completely dissatisfied with blind allegiance?- Did you think I was just gonna “join in and start a love train?”
- If a change really did come, what would you be willing to sacrifice?
but I had to share this. A rendition of Anti-Up by Bert and Ernie!
I’m outside of NYC right now, but been running around and getting work done. In the meantime check out this brief interview on DailyKos. The interview was done virtually with David Boyle who has developed a the site called Obamaism.org. Check it out and leave a comment.
I like to laugh and distract myself. I’m a nerd of sorts. So here is my contribution to your procrastination:
Fail Blog
Yesterday, the NYTimes ran a story on the mural being painted in Sunset Park by young women about military recruitment. In particular they’re tackling the provision under NCLB that allows Military recruiters equal access to schools as post-secondary institutions (e.g. colleges) and access to private family information (e.g. phone numbers, etc.). In my eyes, the increased targeting of poor students (both economically disadvantaged and low performing on academic indicators) is a dangerous and discriminatory practice. While the military should be an option for people, it should not be the only one or the one forced on a segment of the population. Okay, back to the mural!
The mural, being coordinated and supervised by Katie Yamasaki via the Groundswell Mural program, is the type of work that many of our children need to be involved in. While many of our children spend summer hopping from place to place engaging in makeshift activities. The work that these young women have participated in has helped to elevate their voices, challenge their minds, and hone their aesthetic talents. Make sure you head over to the article listed above and comment, given there is an “interesting” commentary unfolding in the comments sections.
And when the mural is dedicated, make sure your voice is her’d!!!
No I don’t mean are you mad, I meant do you have a lot of salt in your body. Last week CNN’s Black in America allowed Roland Fryer to open up the “salt sensitivity theory” of Black health again (see 31 minutes in on the first video below). If you followed my previous link to Blacksmythe’s blog on Black in America you probably got a sense of why folks are so cynical of this theory and Fryer’s fame for unsubstantiated or non-peer reviewed theories, but the responses below really speak to the power of popular perception.
(If you have two hours (that you’ll never get back), here is Pt 1 of Black in America – The Black Woman & Family … don’t get me started on how Black women didn’t get a full program)
First a press release from Dr. Thomas LaViest at John Hopkins.
MEDIA RELEASE
July 28, 2008
Johns Hopkins Health Disparities Expert Criticizes CNN Report
Baltimore – Promoting unproven theories as a key cause of the
enormous health gap between African Americans and other ethnic
groups will likely widen the gap further, said a leading researcher
working to close the gap.
Thomas A. LaVeist, PhD, Director of the Center for Health Disparities
Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was
alarmed when he saw the health care segment of CNN’s “Black In
America” series and heard the salt-sensitivity theory being promoted
as a key reason to explain why blacks are unhealthy compared to
whites and other groups.
“I commend CNN and Soledad O’Brien for tackling this very important
topic, but to expose an audience to this theory is very troubling and
disappointing,” LaVeist said.
During the segment, O’Brien interviewed Harvard economist Roland
Fryer who said he believes the salt-sensitive theory may be key to
unlocking why blacks on average have poor health. The salt-
sensitivity theory claims that during the transatlantic slave trade,
African slaves whose bodies held higher levels of salt were better
able to survive the long brutal voyage to the Americas. Their
descendants are now genetically disposed to hypertension and other
diseases that are tied to salt.
“This bogus theory just won’t seem to die,” LaVeist said. “Even
though public health researchers have discredited the theory it
continues to be promoted by people who are not knowledgeable about
the field. THE AVERAGE HEALTH CONSUMER WATCHING CNN COULD TAKE THIS
AS THE GOSPEL AND RUN WITH IT TO THEIR OWN DETRIMENT.”
Most research scientists who work on this public health problem would
agree that some of the key health disparity causes are:
• Blacks are exposed to more environmental toxins because of
residential segregation
• Blacks have less access to quality healthcare
• Higher levels of poverty among African Americans
• Higher levels of use of harmful products such as cigarettes
• Less healthy diets
• Less healthy foods in African American communities
• Residing in more stressful environments
“To suggest that health disparities are caused by a gene that exists
in African Americans and does not exist in others is ridiculous.
There are no genes found in only one race group,” LaVeist
said. “Hypertension and all other major causes of death are caused by
a complex set of factors. They are not single gene diseases. If race
disparities were primarily caused by a gene, that gene would have to
cause hypertension and cancer and diabetes and glaucoma, and Crohn’s
disease and asthma and HIV-AIDS and every other condition that is
more prevalent in blacks and we know no one gene does that.”
“I respect professor Fryer, but quoting an economist as an expert on
health disparities is like interviewing me for a story about why gas
prices have spiked,” LaVeist said. “Not only are researchers at
Hopkins working on this problem, but people are working on this issue
right there in Atlanta where CNN is headquartered. The problem of
health disparities is complex. By trying to reduce it to a simplistic
explanation we risk having health care providers, policymakers and
patients feel there is nothing they can do to address the issue.”
About Thomas LaVeist:
As the William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in Health Policy,
and Director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions
at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. LaVeist has
studied the major healthcare gaps in America, the trends causing them
and the problems they create. His work is enabling healthcare
organizations and individuals to prepare for a new America—a minority
majority.
Second, an editorial by Osagie Obasogie penned a little over a year ago in response to Oprah’s show advancing the same bogus salty theory.
Both commentaries I received via the Spirit of 1848 listserv, thanks for sharing Shak-G.
