Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Hip-Hop Stand Up! Our Time Is Now

Hip-Hop: Our Time Is Now

Hip-Hop is most commonly defined by “the 4 elements” being Djing, MC, Breakdancing and graphitti art. Hip-Hop is much more than the physical expression through sound (dj/mc), movement (dance), and visual art (graffiti). In essence Hip-Hop is yet another manifestation of the creative genius that exists within Black people. No different than mathematics, science, the pyramids (in Egypt, China and South America), martial arts, the stop light, cell phones, jazz, blues, rock-n-roll (Chuck Berry), Rock/Heavy Metal (Jimi Hendrix), and the list goes on. Whether dealing with 360 degrees of knowledge or 360 degree windmill dunks and killer cross-over dribbles we are the answer.

Hip: To be aware. To make aware.
Hop: To jump over. To elevate above. To overcome.

Hip hop in other words is about education and elevation. It is our international means of communication from hood to hood, ghetto to ghetto and now to the suburbs to. It is our method of elevating our spirits above the man-made negative conditions of the ghetto.

Hip-Hop in 2004 is the dominant force of world culture among young people. It has the power to determine what the future holds for us and our community. Not because Hip-Hop is someone extraterrestial superhero with special powers, but because Hip-Hop is us and we are the future, we are that special power.

Hip-Hop definitely has the power to save us but just as the Savior of the Christians Jesus Christ was taken to the mountain top and tempted with the worldly pleasures, Hip-Hop is being tempted with bling-bling, expensive cars with 25 inch rims, modelesque women and the such.

Hip-Hop is but a vehicle it can not drive it self it has no mind of it’s own. It can take us where ever we want to go but if we get behind the wheel intoxicated it can take us straight to our destruction. We are the drivers.

Hip-Hop is a tool. The same tools that we use to build schools to free the mind can be used to build prisons that imprison the soul. We are the builders. The choice is ours, is Hip-Hop going to be a force of building or destroying us?

It’s an election year so everyone is trying to be friends with Hip-Hop so they can use us but after the election they will be breaking their neck to lose us. But this time we’re going to be right after them like the Hip-Hop cops be after Jay-Z, Puffy and all the rappers. The word on the street is ---- you pay me!

Here in Seattle the energy of Hip-Hop community would be best used to build a state of the art African American Heritage Museum & Hip-Hop Cultural Center at the old Colman school building. This world class facility would include state of the art multi-media audio and visual production studios, radio and television station, movie theatre, performance hall and more. It would be to give youth the opportunity to develop there true talent and realize their potential. It would help us to see more Corey Dillons, Jason Terry’s, Jamal Crawfords, not just in sports but in business like Tony Shellman of Enyce, Unika Guillmet of Mecca USA, Kibi Anderson and Mhkeeba Pate in Washington D.C., Maryama Covington in Atlanta just to name few. Not just produce successful individuals but members of our community that return to the community. That’s Hip-Hop!

Many in Seattle claim that Seattle doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Everybody is chasing the opportunity to be a slave to a corporate record label that is definitely not Hip Hop. They are waiting for someone in New York, L.A. or Atlanta to put them on when we have a prime opportunity to put ourselves on. Let’s put ourselves on! Let’s be the frist to build a world class Hip-Hop institution. Then we will have Russell Simmons, P. Diddy, Master P, and everyone else in the Emerald City for the grand opening of the African American Heritage Museum & Hip-Hop Cultural Center. That’s Hip-Hop.

The 20 year struggle to build a positive cultural center for Black people in Seattle is Hip-op! Black men putting their lives on the line to secure an institution for furture generations is Hip-Hop!

James Kelly and the Urban Leagues attempt to further the gentrification (whiting out) of the Central Area by turning our museum and cultural center is NOT HIP-HOP! Hip-Hop in Seattle must shut down James Kelly and the Urban Leagues attempt to replace our institution with condominiums and commercial space that will do nothing to reduce the academic failure of our youth, mass incarceration of Black males and lack business development in our community.

James Kelly been listening to to much 50 Cent because he thinks he can just “P.I.M.P.” our museum and youth. He think he’s a gangsta now walking around pulling out guns and the like but we know he’ really a Milli Vanilli Wanksta trying to pull one over on our community. Soon he’ll be trying to reach out to certain persons in the Hip-Hop community to try and gain some street credibility with the same youth he is selling out. Don’t be the one to to end up like Ja-Rule with your Hip-Hop ghetto pass revoked!

I know I can…I know I can…Be what I want to be…Be what I want to be…

Hip- can stop James Kelly and the Urban League from destroying our museum & cultural center!
Hip-Hop can and will stop gentrification of Seattle!
Hip-Hop can stop the mis-education and academic failure of our youth!
Hip-Hop can and will make sure we get our fair share of the billions of dollars of development in Seattle!

This is why they fear Hip-Hop. This is why they want to keep us distracted, Bling-Blinging, Freek-A-Leekin and Skeet-Skeetin in the Holidae Inn rather than politicin’, building and owning our communities like they do. Despite all the immature trivial pursuits we still doing our thing Jay-Z buying into the Nets, Nelly buying into the Charlotte Bobcats.

The reality is if we don’t give a D---, they don’t give a ----, so we must determine what we want for ourselves, make it and don’t let nobody take it. Like Jadakiss and O.C. before him, “Times Up”. Ask why, solve for X and be the answer.

Hip-Hop please stand up! Who’s world is this?…The world is ours!

Monday, September 06, 2004

PEACE

Equality means to be equal in all things. Take nothing on face value and apply knowledge, wisdom and understand to everything that you deal with. Equality is also to want for your brother and/or sister as you want for yourself. Father means one who takes the family "farther" by furthering the education of the women and children. The Black man is the Father of civilization.