I finished reading the Narrative of Fredrick Douglass the other day. It was very insightful and would definitely recommend it. Unfortunately, he can't go into the exact way that he escaped, for reasons that make sense, but other than the disappointment of not hearing that in his own words (although we now know how he did), it was a good read. Anyway, as I was reading, there were two things in the book that really stuck out as connections to hip hop.

The first connection I saw was the use of metaphors and clever lines that are coded so that only those that are within the "circle" or culture understand what they mean. Of course this connection has been made before, but I still thought it was important to put it on here. As everybody knows, while doing work, slaves would sing many songs, often known as Negro Spirituals, that on the surface, to white slave owners, seemed to be harmless songs (slave holders actually pointed at the songs as proof that the slaves were content). In actuality, these songs would have many meanings, often times they were instructions as to how to escape to the North in order for run away slaves to become free. In hip hop, many lyricists are judged by their abilities to twist metaphors and clever lines into the lyrics.

Often times, people that criticize hip hop only take the words (mainly words that they deem inappropriate) at face value and claim that hip hop is doing nothing but painting negative images without them really trying to understand what is being said in the music. Where many of the artists come from, slang is a part of everyday life and the language in which they speak plays a huge roll in their music along with them simply trying to show off their lyrical abilities and making people really have to breakdown and comprehend what is being said. All detractors and critics of hip hop, I would beg of you to really listen to a full hip hop album and analyze the lyrics to a full extent. These are not just random words being spat out of somebody's mouth with rhyming words at the end of lines. There are messages, stories, feelings, and people hearts given on records. Nearly all of them feel oppressed in some fashion (just as the slaves were) but many don't take the time to listen to what they are saying and only take it at face value (just as the slave masters did). 

The other connection that I made was one that I think actually does plaque hip hop and the black community as a whole. I'm talking about the no snitching movement that hip hop has so often supported. Fredrick Douglass talks about his first time trying to escape from slavery and how he was caught before he even got a chance to flee. When some of his fellow slaves that were trying to escape with him asked what he should do, he told them to "own nothing." In other words, he told them not to tell the slave master anything of their plan so that they would not receive punishment. He goes on to say that this was a common practice amongst slaves as it was important that they all protect each other from the consequences they were sure to receive from their slave master for anything that was deemed unpleasing or going against the rules set forth.

This mentality can be seen all throughout hip hop. "Death before dishonor" has played a big role in the music. In a country where we see countless acts of police brutality against people of color, it is not surprising that blacks would not trust the predominantly white authority. We would rather protect one of our own (meaning blacks, not killers) than help out the person that has mistreated and abused us since the beginning of our history in this country. The problem is that this mentality was taken to another level that I don't think slaves practiced nor intended. This has happened in a couple ways.

First, there is a fear factor with "snitching". I'm sure that when slaves did tell on another slave because of an act that a slave masted did not approve of, the most that they would have to fear is maybe some sense of isolation. Today, anybody that is considered a snitch, informant, what have you, has to fear for their LIFE. If you feel that your life is in danger, you are more than likely to keep your mouth shut, even if that means a killer continues to run around the streets freely. The other factor is that we began to accept and almost glorify this role. It went from not snitching on your friend because you did an act together to not saying anything about any crime, even if you have no connection or affiliation with the person. This once again goes back to the belief that it is better to help out the ones that look like us than it is to help those that have been against us for so long; at any cost.

This is a mentality that, for the most part, we have to shed. For a long time to come, if not forever, there will be this paranoia of authority figures, especially the police, government, etc. This can actually be a healthy paranoia and we do not need to just leave each other out to dry because there are certain instances when we do need to defend each other. But the believe that not reporting any kind of criminal activity, regardless of who is committing it, is not something we need to hold on to.

What do ya'll think about this snitch mentality? Can we really relate it all the way back to slavery or is it a stretch? Any other connections to slavery that you guys can see? Let me hear it. Comment or email at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.