A few posts ago, I made reference to Jay-Z bringing the Nets to his own Brooklyn, NY (read here ) and mentioned that the hip hop community needs to ensure that we do our part in helping to better our communities and uplift those coming up behind us. I was fortunate enough to go with a group of people out to Harlem a couple weeks ago to do just that. We went to a high school to help clean up the classrooms, paint where necessary, do a little bit of gardening, and help make the overall environment of the school be more conducive to the students learning.

We worked along with the students of the school to help clean everything up, but more importantly, we got to talk to them about the college experience, ask them what they were interested in, where they wanted to go, and get them thinking about the future. It's always nice to hear what those younger than you are looking to do and what their aspirations are. However, I loved it when everybody was in the lunch room and we had a mini cipher (there wasn't any battling going on or anything, but you get the point). One of the students, in 10th grade, started freestyling, and I want to let y'all know that this guy is talented. I wish that I could post the video, but given that I have neither his nor his parents' permission, I won't do so. You just have to take my word for it that this guy had a real talent. He kept a steady flow, using metaphors that were probably above average for a freestyle coming from somebody his age. It really excited me that he had the focus to go as long as he did, and what really excited me was that he wasn't influenced by the mainstream; so there was no talk about busting guns, having a bunch of money and women, or selling drugs. He was just freestyling, in a crowd of 100+, and did his thing. Although on a small scale and even though he may not be the next superstar, that was hip hop in a pure form. It's rare to find that nowadays. Needless to say, I was thoroughly surprised with what he spit. 

After he finished, I pulled him to the side and asked him which artists he listened to. As expected, he rattled off names like Lil Wayne, Drake, etc. I asked him if he listened to any old school artists. Once again, as expected he told me no. I tried to explain to him that he should attempt to start doing a little research and start studying some old school artists if he was serious about rapping because he had a talent (side note: I would never really encourage anybody to be a rapper, especially because in this day and age, it's not saying much and too many people don't take that job seriously, but if somebody is serious about it and they are creative, I'm all for it). I explained to him that Lil Wayne was influenced by Jay-Z, who was influenced by Big Daddy Kane. If he goes to Google or Wikipedia and just starts finding some of these artists and understanding how the artists he currently listens to got to where they are, then he would be heading in the right direction.

Regardless of whether or not he chooses to follow up on my advice, I think that is important that we teach those under us when we can. That goes for both hip hop and live in general. I'm proud of the work that everybody did at the high school and I think that the students really benefited from us being there. That is really what hip hop was about when it started off and that's what we need to make sure we continue to uphold.

That said, there is one video I can show from the "cipher" we formed. My man KuroiOto is not only a producer, but a mean beat boxer. Check out the video below of him doing just a little something while we were at the school. About 45 seconds in, you'll hear a humming-type noise. Don't be fooled, that is him.



What have you done to help give back to your community? You have any little ones that you're helping molding into true hip hop listeners? Do you run into many younger kids that actually have the talent to rap? Let me hear your thoughts and opinions. As always, you can e-mail at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.


Peace.