hip hop & politics.... u, black, maybe?

Hip Hop and Politics 1 - DRAFT
Monique Liston

"Fellow Americans, it is with the utmost pride and sincerity
that I present this recording, as a living testament and recollection
of history in the making during our generation."

- Jay-Z "Public Announcement" (interlude), The Black Album 2003

Hov, hip hop's most successful exploiter, has most eloquently stated my current sentiment exactly. It is unbelievable to imagine the role that we, the hip hop community, play in one of the most historic political periods of the American narrative. It is the goal of this segment to explore how hip hop and politics connect, intertwine, and envelope one another to dispense this musical, political, and cultural phenomenon.

Using lyric and rhyme to deliver messages, of course, is not a new phenomenon to the culture of Africans in America. The use of verse to share stories, to give and receive messages, to instruct, advise, and admonish is notable throughout the history of Africans in America.

From the harmonies of negro slave spirituals;

Children, we all shall be free
When the Lord shall appear

We want no cowards in our band
That will their colors fly
We call for valiant-hearted men
That are not afraid to die

We see the pilgrim as he lies
With glory in his soul
To heav’n he lifts his longing eyes
And bids this world adieu
Give ease to the sick, give sight to the blind
Enable the cripple to walk
He’ll raise the dead from under the earth
And give the permission to walk

("Children, We Shall Be Free" www.negrospirituals.com)

to the soulful cadences of R&B singers during the civil rights and black power movements;

Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
("What's Going On? - Marvin Gaye)

and

I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me don't hang around
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees

Ohhhhhhhhh.....

There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will.
("A Change is Gonna Come" - Sam Cooke)

political consciousness has been systematically channelled to masses of people through music and undoubtedly hip hop is no exception. For example, in 1999, Nas delivered an album entitled "I Am." On this album there is a track entitled, "I Want to Talk to You", on this track, Nas explicitly delivers his personal dialogue if given the opportunity to speak to the government that is supposed to deliver life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all of its constituents including the people he knows from the hood..."Mr. Mayor imagine if this was your backyard...Mr. Governor imagine if it was your kids that starved...." Look to today's current media politics inundated by the unprecedented presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama. Hip hop has not neglected to become apart of this political history either. Hip hop artist and fellow Chicagoan Common uses the following lyric in his song "The People" : My raps ignite people like Obama(*some sources say "Barack stick, knight the people like Obama") Locale does not limit the blend of hip hop and politics because even Brooklyn-based artist Talib Kweli name drops in "Say Something": Speak to the people like Barack Obama...

One cannot forget the song "Yes We Can" a compilation of musical artists under the direction of Will.i.am which used the words of Senator Obama's speech delivered after winning the democratic presidential primary in South Carolina. Hip hop and politics have had strong relationship throughout the last decade and it is clear that it will continue for years to come.
Through the following articles I hope to explore in depth the love affair politics has had with hip hop. From the birth of the Hip Hop Republicans to Diddy's Vote or Die campaign, this relationship is not quite simple nor always pretty. However, it is our duty as members of the hip hop community in the spirit of responsible citizenship to understand this relationship, its effects, and our contributions.