AMB- I hear where you’re coming from, but I don’t think that where I’m at. Hip-Hop’s most radical element has simply been a critique of the status quo. Hip-Hop has never moved to truly attacking systems of power and privilege. I’ve long cooled on the idea that HH would begin to address a Black feminist standpoint in the way the bell hooks suggested (e.g. that black feminism is against all forms of oppression). I think, in many ways, that’s too much to ask of a musical form. On the other hand, saying “Fuck tha police” is equivalent to saying “Fuck the State.” Fuck the state is, in my book, truly radical. Questioning the state’s legitimacy is much more dangerous than telling FoxNews to “please stop being racist”.

I definitely thinks Jean’s personal narrative represents on “please forgive me” is phenomenal and thought invoking. It’s that spirit that I missed. I was that spirit that made me fall in love with Common’s Retrospect for Life ten years previously.

I’m not McWhorter, I don’t think Hip-Hop has revolutionary potential, but I do think it can do more than what it is. I look forward to hearing Hip-Hop continue to grow and challenge us all to grow.

but i will say… that this type of “hip hop nostalgia” is always a little bit puzzling for me…

because i feel like, in the same way that you talk about [mainstream] hip hop’s politics evolving into a more mainstream politics… [grassroots] hip hop has evolved as well… in that, it has become more nuanced and complex…

you’ve got jean grae talking about her abortions, nas taking on fox news, a couple of folks who have even begun to question obama… or at least push him a little bit…

but hip hop always has reflected the popular consciousness of the community that it emerged from…. so statements like “fuck the police” reflected a common sentiment in urban communities. so it makes sense, that hip hop is reflecting the same type of [uncritical] pride that is common in black communities throughout the world right now…

my point is this… hip hop has never really been the place for radical politics as we understand it in the ivy tower… its always been pretty sexist, homophobic and materialistic, to name a few… i think sometimes its easy to misinterpret anti-police statements as being radical… but its not radical in the black community in the same way that “freedom” wasnt a “radical” idea in the black community… rather it was more a direct response to a oppression that is recognized [and validated] by community members of influence (black leadership like the panthers, etc…)

i’m not sure if its really realistic to expect hip hop to make this move to a more radical politics [that seriously interrogates issues like homophobia, class and gender]… except for those rare [traditionally educated] artists like lupe and buff1…

but those are just my 6 cents ;-)

peace.