Hip-Hop Activism- Can we trust "Fiddy" with the Revolution?
 

I was reading different articles about the Oprah Winfrey/ Hip-hop controversy and I came across several Blogs by people who are deemed to be "Hip-Hop" Activists ( for example http://www.yvonnebynoe.com, http://www.marclamonthill.com). They are people who range from lawyers, economists, professors, and columnists. I was wondering what is it about hip-hop that draws people to consider it as a viable cultural movement to center social change upon? I question how much of a counter-cultural prespective hip-hop actually represents with its misogyny, materialism, and individualism to a point of selfishness.

Questions to my GC fam, what is hip-hop activism? Who are the hip-hop activists and how does someone become one? Can hip-hop be a viable source for collective empowerment of black people?

I am considering writing a commentary for a local newspaper article on the subject and I would like to bounce my ideas on the issue off of the scholars here on GC:D

Blackwatch

Hope this is helpful. Good luck on your commentary!
 

Activism by definition is using actions to bring about social or political change. So therefore, hip- hop activism would be using actions or words, in this case, to bring about social or political change in the community that listens to the music so that they would be inspired to produce further change. Music, in general, is all about influencing your listeners and I believe that all rappers to some degree are hip- hop activists. I mean if you look at the evolution (or as I see it de-evolution) of hip- hop, you will see time and time again how the genre has effected the Black/ listener's community. In the beginning, we had the golden age where there were rappers who advised communities how to respect themselves and others. Look at the communities that developped during that time. Respectful, kind to a degree, and intelligent or trying to be something. Now the rappers mostly rap about money, sex, power, hos, and other degrading aspects. The women listeners do not respect themselves and aspire to be the 'video hos' to get 'on top of the game.' There are few powerful women rappers like back in the day. We grew up to Queen Latifah and MC Lyte, Ladies First/ U.N.I.T.Y. and Lyte as a Rock. The current generation of women grow up to Lil Kim and Remy Martin. Look at the difference between the audiences of women from then til now. I would definately say that hip- hop holds a world of power. Entertainment always has. Go back to the days of the Roman gladiators, the people were willing to see others be killed in front of them while not considering it a crime simply because it was entertainment. The world of entertainment and the real world... I am always stumped when I have to decide if our world mirrors art or if art mirrors our world. Maybe it is a combination of both.
Back to the point, anyone who releases an album is an activist of hip- hop. However, the magnitude of your career also plays a role seeing as the bigger you become, the more listeners you reach, and the more powerful you become. Hip- hop can definately be a viable source for the collective empowerment of Black people. It can and has empowered us in the past to come together and will continue to do so in the future should the rappers of the future actually have something important to say. My question is will the majority of the listeners of the future listen to the message after they have heard nothing but meaningless music? Will the messages of the future just pass them by? Is the damage of today's music fixable?