Hip-Hop Fridays:
Contradiction In The Hip Hop Vote

Lately, the focus in politics has been to stimulate the hip-hop community to participate on a larger scale in the voting process. However, this campaign is coming up short and planners are beginning to lash out words of disappointment at the growing, globally influential population. Yet, many are forgetting that hip-hop was founded on the premise of an "anti-status-pro-quo," position. Therefore asking a community who's roots are embedded in bucking the system to entrust their voice in that very same structure is like asking blacks to enlist themselves back into slavery.

For the past year, the hip-hop community, the new sleeping political and economic giant has been wooed by many soothe-sayers who encourage the multi racial, gender and ethnic collective to empower themselves in arenas outside of a b-boy cipher. There have been conferences, elected officials, and high-profile organizational leaders holding exclusive meetings with hip-hop notables, hoping these figureheads can use their clout to rap and rock the vote. So far, majority of the hip-hop cells in existence have not been convinced or stimulated into action by the propaganda.

Did many forget how hip-hop evolved? This generational phenomenon emerged out of a lack of voice, out of frustration, out of neglected communities. From this, came a new reverberation, unlike that of disco, soul, b-bop, R&B, Blues or pop.

Hip-hop had no direction; it just evolved from hard, raw creativity that no one ever took time to tap. It slapped music and culture in the face like a frustrated broke pimp. Though hip-hop's foundation came from a mixture of many musical genres, mainstream America, black or white, did not know how to receive or deal with this womanish melodic species.

And all of we in hip-hop didn't give a f---! Cause no one gave a f--- about us. The children of hip-hop were reared after the civil rights, black power, brown pride and equal liberties movements were forced to a counter intelligence program halt. We were left to defend for ourselves against the wolves. Our mothers and fathers were trying to recuperate from the heavy hand dealt to them for wearing Afros, dashikis, berets and changing there slave names.

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A Retro and Introspection on the 1992 Civil Unrest By Kaia Niambi Shivers