I'm just returning from a forum that featured hip hop's most celebrated political duo Dead Prez. I wasn't able to be there in it's entirety, but I was there for about an hour and a half and in that small span of time, there was so much knowledge dropped and it was a great experience being in a place with people from all backgrounds that were there to learn and find new ways to advance both on campus and in life. I really appreciate that stic.man and M-1 coming out and speaking to all of us. It is very important that hip hop continues to give back to the next generation and ensure that they leave those coming up behind them with all the knowledge and tools they have in order to bring about a better tomorrow.

There is no way that I could cover everything mentioned from the discussion that took place. There are would be too many topics and millions of different ways to look at all of the concepts, but one thing M-1 mentioned that was interesting to me was that hip hop's rebellion, but no understanding of what it was rebelling against. He said that as time went on, the stories and understanding of the struggle gradually lessened and the strong resistance toward the government and other barriers of advancement weren't the same. So in a way, although hip hop is in many ways a rebellious culture, we don't have a full grasp of what it is we are rebelling against.

While some of the ideologies of hip hop both in the past and of present remain the same (i.e. "F*** the police"), most of the anger and rebellious attitude that hip hop represents comes from hundreds of years of anger and oppression coupled with the unfair and unequal treatments of our people. However, as we continue to gain certain privileges and are exposed to more wealth and opportunities, we tend to become more desensitized to our past struggle. Hip hop was already born to a generation that had a disconnect with that of the one before, leaving it a little misguided from the beginning. Now, it has turned into a billion dollar industry and many within the community don't even think about the past struggles that their ancestors suffered because they are making money now.

As time goes on and we continue to gain more privileges and move further away from our past, hip hop continues to loose this sense of rebellion and starts to celebrate the very, very minor victories that we (as both the hip hop community and minorities of all backgrounds) have won, ignoring how much more we really have to fight for. This is partly the reason that hip hop is where it is at now; this loss of creativity, focus, and passion. We are slowly starting to find it and move back into what it once was, but even as we begin to get back to some of the roots of hip hop, until minorities and those that suffer oppression rise up as a collective begin to fight the injustice around them, we will not see the art form come full circle and become 100% what it once was.

The music is a direct reflection of the people and once we see the people start to organize and understand what they are fighting for, we won't find that in our music (with the exception of a few). If we as a people can start to really understand what we need to fight for and change, the music will mimic these actions and we will have not just more politically based music, but music that speaks directly to all of us and our struggles as a whole.

So what do y'all think? Does the current state of music already give a good reflection of our people? Has hip hop always been on the right track and just recently lost focus? Will we ever get music that gives us a true reflection of where we are as a people again (think Public Enemy or even N.W.A.)? Leave all your thoughts and comments here at the blog or email at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.

Peace.


P.S. Here is the newest videos from Dead Prez from their latest effort "Pulse of the People" (check our the review if you haven't already).