Hip Hop Isn’t Political


Hip Hop isn’t political. A Hip Hop show isn’t political. An album
isn’t political. At best, a rap song is similar to what I do here on

this blog, which is provide social commentary.

Ludacris’s song is not political action.

Kanye saying George Bush doesn’t care about Black people
is not a politcal action.

Puffy talking
about the high price of gas is not a politcal action.

A political action is one that results in a group moving closer to a
goal that
serves that groups interests or agenda.

For instance, the republicans chose Palin to energize their evangelical
base. In energizing their evangelical base they are increasing
the likelihood of folks turning out and voting for the republican party
ticket, thus increasing their chances serving their agenda by winning,

Our lack of an understanding political history leads to our thinking
that hip hop is, in fact, politcal.
In the book, Stand and Deliver: Political
Activism, Leadership and Hip Hop Culture
Yvonne Bynoe explains the
difference between a hip hop show and a politcal
movement. She writes,

After almost twenty years, the unproven assumption is that because a recording artist sells millions of records, his or her celebrity tranalsates into political clout, as if the artists buying public equates to a potential voting block. A rap artist can surely bring out the masses to a rally, but he or she can’t get ’em to the polls or them actively engaged with an issue.

It doesn’t have to be this way. There are tens of thousands of us.
We have the potential to constitute a movement.

However we have to understand that wearing an Obama t-shirt
does not make us political. What we need is a vision/agenda and
a
willingness to VOTE folks out who decision do not support our
interests
.

Bynoe goes on to explain what those of us in the hip hop generation
have to do
in order to be political. She writes,

…It is time for the Hip Hop generation….to construct a more sophisticated dialogue about what constitutes leadership, politics and political action….Political power comes from influence and influence comes from the ability deliver (or deny) money, votes, or both to a politcal candidate, legislator, or politcal party; in the words of MC Lyte, all the rest is “chit chatter.

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was to discuss what how our work would like if Obama won or loss.
We decided to do a voter
teach in on Friday September 26th, the
night of the first debate. We believe that this is an exciting time
because folks who would normally not care about an election are excited.

However the next step is to maintain that excitement, to get folks to
the polls and involved in their communities on a local level. If you
are interested in attending contact me at (m . dotwrites AT gmail . com).

In short, just because Hip Hop isn’t political it doesn’t have to remain
this way. A show isn’t political. A CD with a song about Katrina is not
political. You want to know what is political? The republican leadership
pipeline.
I went to the GoPac website and was floored at just how
sophisticated,
accessible and well funded it was.

Again our situation doesn’t have to remain this way. With the Obama
related interest in the election, through collective action we have the
potential to find our voices and develop an agenda.

****
The voter deadline for NY is October 10th. Go to your States board of
elections
website to confirm both that you are registered and the site
of your local polling location.
The presidential election is Tuesday November 4th.

Hip Hop Isn’t That Political After All: Part I.

Hip Hop isn’t that political after all.

You may think that its political, but guess what? It’s just music.

Those of us who ARE into “political” hip hop are not learning
anything new from the music that we listen to. If anything
it affirms what we already know. It’s confirms our existence
by reminding us that, while we aren’t the most mainstream of cats,
there are folks, artist, that think like us as well.

Dead Prez.
De La.
Mos.
The Roots.

In fact, hip hop is so apolitical that Kanye saying
George Bush doesn’t care about Black people
constitutes BEING political.

How can that be?
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Yes, he was speaking from his heart.
Yes, he had a lot to loose.

But BEING political.

The Montgomery Bus Boycotts were political.
The Freedom Rides were political.
The Abolition Movement was politcal.

Hip Hop, while it has ton’s of potential,
while it has a global impact, while it allows people
to unite who would never
be in the same room together is, as we stand today,
is JUST music.

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I mentioned this idea a week or so ago
to Filthy and promised that I would write
about it.

So, here we go.

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