Dare Olonoh

Here are a couple of songs that you probably won’t hear too much of on the radio but are hot as hell!

This one is from Devin the Dude’s new album “Waiting to Inhale.” It’s called “What a Job This Is” and features Snoop Dogg and Andre 3000 (one of my favorite musicians). 3000’s verse is incredible!

This one is from Talib Kweli and is called “Say Something.” Kweli is easily one of hip hop’s most underrated artists.

March 9, 2007 marked the ten year anniversary of Biggie Smalls’ death. I’m saddened to say that because of my love for Tupac at the time of Big’s reign, I missed out on the Biggie movement. Although, I liked some of his work prior to his death, I didn’t begin really listening to his work until after he passed.

He is now one of my greatest influences and I marvel at some of the things that he was able to do with words and more importantly, through his life.

(the video below is uncensored)

I watched a documentary on PBS last night that’s been getting a lot of buzz called “Beyond Beats and Rhymes.” It depicts hip hop as a sex-driven, anti-female, homophobic art form. It blames hip hop for many of the problems in black culture and accuses it of perpetuating stereotypes of black males and females, as well as having a false sense of male masculinity…

In other words, it doesn’t say anything we haven’t heard a thousand times before!

I can remember hearing these same arguments since I started listening to N.W.A. in the early 1990’s. And that’s just as far back as I can personally remember, so I’m sure the argument has gone on far longer than that.

I’m sick of hearing it!

I’ll be one of the first to vocalize my opinion on the excessive negativity in hip hop and try to promote more balance for the culture. However, I’ll also be one of the first to defend hip hop when it’s unjustly being attacked.

This film only shows one side of hip hop. It doesn’t show the side that promotes black entrepreneurialism, or the one that loves and respects women. It doesn’t show the side that gives back to the community, or the side that loves its mother and hates violence.

Yes, sex is a large part of hip hop… but it’s a large part of all American entertainment.

Yes, violence is a large part of hip hop… but it’s a large part of all American entertainment.

Yes, hip hop has a false sense of masculinity… but so do a majority of Americans.

And yes, hip hop is a predominantly homophobic… but so are a large number of Americans.

Society has always attacked its poets and artists for reflecting the very society they live in. In other words, they attack the messengers.

One thing that really bothered me about the film is there was no call for action, or guidance in helping the audience understand what to do next. For example, at the end of An Inconvenient Truth, there was a list of actions that you could take to help solve the problem that they discussed in the film. This film did nothing of the sort.

It just throws a lot of stones and paints the hip hop culture as negative. It also ignores the recent growth in hip hop. The trend that has taken rappers from wearing jerseys and fitted caps to button-ups and loafers. Jay-Z’s shift from Big Pimpin’ and Money, Cash, Hoes to Crazy in Love and Me and My Girlfriend. Diddy’s maturation from being charged in a club shooting to posting video diaries of his twin girls’ births on his myspace page. And Snoop’s evolution from being on trial for murder charges to getting busted for petty misdemeanor marijuana charges J.

Does hip hop have an affect on black culture and today’s youth?

Absolutely.

Is it often times negative?

Very much so.

But again, the film didn’t make it explicit what action they expected artists and fans to take. In fact, the film even blames the problem on the old white guys in suits, the executives of the major labels that make the decisions of what gets played and what doesn’t. According to the film, they are the ones that decide what kinds of images are being put out there, and hence deciding how to portray black culture… so why not do a documentary on the “suits?”

And in the suits’ defense, if it sells, why shouldn’t they give the consumer what they want? Is it up to them to save the world? Or is it their job to sell art that people want to see?

And isn’t art just a reflection of a certain aspect of society? A mirror of what goes on in our lives and minds. As enlightened and righteous as we may all like to see ourselves, we all have some of these imperfections in ourselves. I mean, how many of you have looked in the mirror and not liked what you’ve seen? Is the solution to blame the mirror, or to change what causes the reflection?

My brother forwarded me a feed from the Freakonomics blog earlier today because they happened to write a post about a Def Poetry Jam poet as well. The video they referred to is below. It’s a great performance but you probably shouldn’t open it at work.

I just came across these videos on a friend of mine’s myspace page. They’re from Def Poetry Jam, which I think is one of Russell Simmons’ best creations (and that says a lot!).

You probably shouldn’t watch these at work.