There are countless debates on whether Hip-Hop has died or not, what ‘true’ Hip-Hop is, etc.  Whether or not the music has failed us will be disputed until the end of time, or Hip-Hop, whichever comes first.  Some dream in color, I dream in Hip-Hop.  Everyday, the news gives you just enough across America to reel you back in after a sponsored break; how can we make sure that we are bouncing back after our own Hip-Hop nation’s commercial breaks?  What is the state of both our unions?  There are more similarities through the differences than initially meets the ear.  The focus, after all, is what happens after the commercial breaks …

Written by Nicole Camack  “K-Mack”

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By Michael Partis

On January 16, 2008 a fifteen year Black male from Queensbridge Projects drops out of high school and decides to become a rapper. He makes his first appearance on a song, and spits these bars:

“Street's disciple, my raps are trifle

I shoot slugs from my brain just like a rifle

Stampede the stage, I leave the microphone split

Play Mr. Tuffy while I'm on some Pretty Tone shit

Verbal assassin, my architect pleases

When I was twelve, I went to hell for snuffin Jesus

Nasty Nas is a rebel to America

Police murderer, I'm causin hysteria”

Do you think any major record label in the music industry would sign him? Would Def Jam executives be at project apartment’s door? Would Dr. Dre sit on a park bench convincing him to sign with Aftermath? And if they did, what would parent companies Island and Interscope have to say about that? Or better yet, what would Bill O’ Reilly say…?

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By Michael Partis

Blacks in America are on the cusp of what appears to be a major change in American society. Barack Obama’s Iowa win, in a state that is 95% White, made him the first Black candidate to win a presidential contest with a majority of white voters. And makes the possibility of a Black President the most realistic it has ever been. However, while Barack’s message of hope and togetherness seems to be transforming a nation, the often overlooked problems of racial, social, and economic injustice still remain. Nooses are hung, cops shoot the unarmed, bulldozers crush New Orleans residents homes, and an American Gangster receives more coverage than a Great Debater. It is this American complexity that HBO’s drama The Wire captures so brilliantly. But is our “Black CNN” doing the same? What role does it play in Black America’s future? Who’s talking, who’s listening, and most importantly… what do we, the fans, want? “Is it Oochie Wally or is it One Mic?” Is it Big Pimpin or that “ignorant shit that you like?” Is it “Hell on Earth” or “The Good Life?”

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By Michael Partis

Hip Hop heads are some of the smartest, most varied people you’ll ever meet. You got the 80’s old-school cats who cling to KRS-One, Rakim, or Public Enemy as the greatest MC’s of all time (period), and keep the Five Percenters tradition alive. You get the Phillies and Backwood smoking, Hennessy & Baileys drinking, D.I.T.C, Canibus, Purple Tape (a.k.a Raekwon’s 1^st album for those not up on history) lovers from early to mid-1990’s. There’s the people like myself who came up on Vanilla Dutches being the number one choice, Cassidy killing Freeway, G-Unit mixtapes had the biggest buzz on the streets, DMX and Eminem being the most marketed rappers on the planet (damn, can you remember a time when DMX was Def Jam’s biggest star), and Ruff Ryders and Dipset being the crews holding down “the streets.” And finally you got the new Hip-Hop heads; a mix between cats who love Jim Jones & Dipset for they “swagger,” the Lil Wayne obsessed, the True Religion jean wearers, and new “backpackers” (the Lupe, Little Brother, Saigon, Brother Ali faithful) always ready to say “the real hip-hop is right here.”

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“Until we recapture the minds of black youth, convince them that it’s not OK to “super man dat ho” and end any and every dispute by “cocking on your bitch,” nothing will change. Does a Soulja Boy want an education? The “keepin’ it real” mantra of hip hop is in direct defiance to evolution. There’s always someone ready to tell you you’re selling out if you move away from the immature and dangerous activities you used to do, you’re selling out if you speak proper English, embrace education, dress like a grown man, do anything mainstream.”

Full Article

This is an excerpt from a article written by FoxSports columnist, Jason Whitlock. In the article Whitlock ties hip-hop into the recent death of pro-football player Sean Taylor and compares black on black crime to the KKK, calling it the Black KKK. I’ve never been a fan of Whitlock and this article doesn’t suggest other wise.

Read the article and let’s discuss.

How many times must I feel like my remote is the “Action” a Director shouts to start a movie, narrated by sensationalizing some aspect of the Gangster lifestyle?  Henry Hill’s story made a classic GoodFellas movie; Al Capone’s story made a classic movie with The Untouchables, as well as a great inspiration of Tony Montana’s story in the classic movie Scarface (1983); I will even go so far as to say that Frank Lucas’ story made a great American Gangster movie, but at what point do we step away from what the media has sensationalized and glammed up for us in order to see what’s going on behind the scenes? 

Written by Nicole Camack bka K-Mack

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Nigger or Nigga, what’s the difference?  Nah, really?

Before I begin, please allow me to say, this is not my attempt to intellectualize the use of the N-word.  I personally think that’s an oxymoron in itself.  Instead I’m more interested in obtaining clarity in our usage of the word by asking how do we intelligently make an argument that nigga differentiates from nigger?  Nigger or nigga, I ask, “What’s the difference”?   

Written by Cornell Dews

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