Music Is Alive Campaign Launched at Organic Hip Hop Conference

 A message by The M.I.A. Campaign

MIAMI, FL – From the outcry of slam poet Jasmine Mann to Dee 1’s lyrical plea to 50 Cent, Lil’ Wayne, and Jay-Z, the stage has been set for a new era where artists and entertainers are being held accountable for the messages they send. Given the current state of Hip Hop culture, it can be seen as a necessary move if the community itself seeks to advance. But along with the critique of music, media, and cultural habits that have a negative impact, we also have to highlight, promote and bring to the forefront entities, and ideas that reflect the direct opposite. Understanding the need to collectively utilize the power of the arts for good, a groundbreaking movement has emerged to unite artists, activists, and educators in a mass campaign of positive messages and images.

The movement is called The MIA (Music Is Alive) Campaign, a national task force stressing to artists that they can’t be ‘missing in action’ and that it is now time to unify as a conscientious voice of uplift through music, media, mentorship and beyond. The campaign was inspired by the 2001 address of Minister Louis Farrakhan to the Hip Hop community where he called for the acceptance of responsibility on the part of artists.  Sister Arian Muhammad goes further into the vision of the campaign stating, “It’s time to stand as a collective force to combat negative images that are promoting ignorance and moral decay. We have to use our gifts to help reverse the effects, first, by understanding the power of art and our influence as artists, then using that influence as a means to educate and inspire a thirst for knowledge. Ignorance is prevailing, and ignorance is darkness when what we need is light.”

Consisting of a group of artists, and educators from various parts of the country, The MIA Music Is Alive campaign was officially launched October 29th 2010 at the 7th annual Organic Hip Hop Conference in Miami, Florida.  The Organic Hip Hop Conference, which was co-founded by veteran Miami-Dade educator Tony Muhammad, and has attracted many people across different genres who seek to promote Hip Hop as a culture and force that can positively transform lives.  The scope of the conference has historically been oriented towards teaching the Hip Hop generation the value of what the Hon. Elijah Muhammad coined as “How to Eat to Live,” through a culturally relatable medium of expression. 

The highlight of the conference this year was a teacher workshop held at Florida International University in which campaign founder Sister Arian Muhammad and Internationally recognized Hip Hop artist Jasiri X demonstrated how to incorporate the empowering voice of Hip Hop in the day to day classroom experience to 50 Miami-Dade County Public School teachers.  Other presenters included elementary school educator Nicole Kelly, P.A.T.H. (Preserving, Archiving and Teaching Hip Hop History) founder Brimstone 127 and writer/ film producer Jeff Carroll.

Tony Muhammad comments, “This was an excellent launch to the National Campaign! Why not teach and train teachers how to incorporate Hip Hop into the curriculum? Teachers nowadays are in the best position to effectively have young people critically analyze the current music and fashion trends that they partake in.  The new standard must come from and through a paradigm shift in education.  Artists must play an integral role in this paradigm shift as mentors and through service to complete the process.”

MIA Campaign members are looking to organize with youth and artists nation-wide to take part in educational conferences in various cities.  For more information on the MIA campaign visit www.miacampaign.wordpress.com or e-mail musicofamovement@yahoo.com to see how you can become involved in your city.

A New Approach to Hip Hop and Education

By Tony Muhammad

Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

www.tonymuhammad.wordpress.com

 Note: The contents of this article are in part based on a workshop presented at the PATH (Preserving Archiving & Teaching Hip Hop History) Summer Camp in Miami.   The article itself was originally published in the August edition of Hurt 2 Healing Magazine, published by Sis. Ebony S. Muhammad, truly a gem and a rising star in our community.  For more info on PATH visit http://www.pathtohiphop.org/.  For more info on Hurt 2 Healing Magazine visit http://www.h2hmag.info/.

 

In recent years, it has become trendy for many education specialists throughout the country to incorporate Hip Hop as a valuable teaching tool.  While these measures have produced both very exciting curricula for many school districts and highly esteemed independently-based outreach community programs, as conscientious educators who have been stimulated to become the inspirational voices that we are today to millions of youth because of Hip Hop, it is absolutely crucial that our creative fire continue to evolve and expand.  Truly, the work must transcend the status of mere “trend” and become more of a movement and ultimately an integral part of our culture. 

In analyzing the current popular and corporate controlled state of the music, it is understandable why many who do not understand Hip Hop beyond its surface level in the present may in ignorance be opposed to the concept of Hip Hop expressed in the classroom; as in the case with recent curricula initiatives in the states of Texas and Arizona.  For educators that grew up in what is termed as “The Golden Era” of the culture (late 80s/early 90s) Hip Hop was much deeper than just music.  It was as Chuck D of the legendary group Public Enemy put it, “The CNN of the streets.”  For many of us that grew up in that era, Hip Hop gave us our first true history lessons and compelled us to look deeper within our roots and deeper understanding as to what our true culture is.   In fact, hundreds of Hip Hop albums at the time included samples of speeches by leaders such as Malcolm X and the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan.  Some of this continued into the mid to late 90s, which is termed by some as the Wu-Tang era, when the music became more grimier in its expression but still provided enough light to provoke many us to question our self-identity and true purpose in life. 

Paralleling CNN, the popular Hip Hop of the past decade has been void of almost all pertinent information.  As media mogul Ted Turner has noted, CNN has become “personality-based” with its various news talk show hosts and no longer a viable news source, focused more on ratings than information.  Hip Hop music has also been altered for commercial purposes, not for the sale of the art in and of itself, but the products the owners of record labels and their associates have invested in; namely liquor, fashion (including but not limited to clothes that sexually arouse) and prisons.  And the artists themselves, the more ignorant consumerist expression they have, the better. 

As adults who became inspired to become teachers because of the knowledge and wisdom that we learned through Hip Hop, we may find ourselves in many ways, day in and day out, judging our own students because they may like the ignorant expression of the popular music of today.  This is problematic because at the mere perception of being judged, students tend to shut down from communicating and they tend to look at the adults who judge them as old has-beens who are not “up with the times.”  For a teacher to be stuck in a “pioneer era” or a “golden era” or even a “Wu-Tang era” is what the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan refers to as a “time warp.”  The Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan says on page 59 in Closing The Gap:

There is a saying, “the only thing that is permanent in creation  is  change.”  As long as we live, we are engulfed in an eternal process of change.  Sometimes, however, we get locked into an era of time that gives us great comfort, because in that era of time we became possessors of certain knowledge that acquits us in that time period and we become successful.

This type of thinking violates the mere principle of Hip Hop as defined by KRS-One in the song Hip Hop Lives.  He says to be “Hip” means to be “up-date and relevant” and “Hop” meaning “movement” or moving based on what is known.  It does not mean that we have to accept all the views and attitudes of our students.  It just means that we need to change our methodological approach to teaching and incorporate a style that compels the student, through self-discovery, to challenge his/her own thinking in regards to interests, attitudes and values.  In these scenarios, the student would be at the center of learning and the teacher would perform more as a coach facilitating the process.  In addition, other activities can be developed such as having students write rhymes (or poetry) to history lessons and have them flow over their favorite beats.  Conscientious lyrics of the past (as well as the present) can be used to facilitate understanding the development and evolution of realities in the world so that gaps between the generations can be lessened through the qualitative teacher and student interaction.  Through this approach to teaching, surely students have more of an opportunity through active participation to develop a greater sense of responsibility and consequently stand a greater chance of giving birth to a new expression of Hip Hop that will eclipse the knowledge and wisdom expressed in all previous forms of the music.  This can be a reality if we truly desire it and if we seek it!

 Tony Muhammad has been teaching Social Studies in Miami-Dade County Public Schools for over 10 years and is currently involved in The MIA (Music Is Alive) Campaign for the development of the National Hip Hop Day of Service.  Tony is most noted for his work as publisher of Urban America Newspaper (2003 – 2007) and co-organizer of the Organic Hip Hop Conference.  He is also a member of Difference Makers, Inc. and FLASC (Florida Africana Studies Consortium).

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Promoting Proper Education in Our Communities

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Promoting Proper Education in Our Communities

By Bro. Tony Muhammad

Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/tony.muhammad

www.wordpress.com/tonymuhammad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now let me tell you folks just exactly what I mean

The way they try to lower, the black man’s self esteem

Put us in their schools and I call em mental graves

When they teach us bout ourselves, all we learn that we were slaves

It amazes me that it was almost 18 years ago that Grand Puba of the legendary Hip Hop group Brand Nubian uttered these lyrics in the song Proper Education.  Despite the growth in the development of Black, Latino, Native American, Asian and other cultural history curricula throughout the country, if we take a look at the current state of education and how it affects our youth, we can safely say that we are in the same state that we were back then, if not worse.  Yes, there are now classes in high schools all throughout the country that have been developed specifically for the instruction of African and African American History, Latin American History, etc.  Yet, we have truly not experienced significant advances in the overall consciousness of our communities.  The youth and hence grown adults continue to confuse or lack even the vague notions of critical recent events in our history (i.e. Confusing The Civil Rights Movement and The Civil War because they both contain the word “civil” and The March on Washington with The Million Man March because they both took place in the nation’s capital).  In truth, those of us that are most aware of this problem are no longer in a position where we can simply blame the system for not properly teaching our true history in a public school setting because we have even taken for granted the value of teaching our history itself.  The process very intricately involves the cultivation and nourishment of the self-esteem of our youth of color, but it is not merely limited to this.  KRS-One put it best 22 years ago in the song You Must Learn:

 I believe that if you’re teaching history

Filled with straight up facts no mystery

Teach the student what needs to be taught

‘Cause Black and White kids both take shorts

When one doesn’t know about the other ones’ culture

Ignorance swoops down like a vulture

Emphatically, as a Social Studies educator who has made the decision to play a role in shaping young minds in an inner-city public high school for over 10 years, I will say that we can no longer expect the system to do for us what we can do for ourselves and our local communities.  Signs of this critical hour are found in the manner in which cultural curricula is treated in two principle states that play a strong role in the development of textbooks; Texas and Florida.

 Hiphopdx.com (and a host of other websites) recently ran an article entitled “Texas Board Of Education Declare Hip Hop Is Not A Cultural Movement.”  In the article it states that Members of the Texas State Board of Education have given preliminary approval to eliminate significant areas of the curriculum pertaining to Civil Rights and global politics and replace them with “conservative historical figures and beliefs.”  These conservative forces also “approved to have a sociological focus on institutional racism and its presence in American society banned from the books,” in addition to removing references to important Latino contributions throughout history – this is in a state that contains over 8.9 million Latinos (roughly 37% of the population).  In addition, Hip Hop History which is filled with many stories of personalities playing integral roles in working to eliminate violence in communities by way of the arts will also be deleted from the curriculum.  A final vote on this measure will take place sometime in May after conscientious voices in the community have had the opportunity to voice their opinions.  What I will say in short about this is that what the Texas School Board is attempting to do is eliminate any ray of light from the past that may serve to inspire the hope for change in the lives of poor Black, Latino and even White youth.  By eliminating such critical elements of history from the curriculum is contributing to factors that will land more of our youth in Texas in prison.

In Florida, African and African American History is a state mandate which requires school systems throughout the state to implement it throughout the curriculum. While it has been a state law since the early 1990s, the mandate and the seat that oversees its implementation has continued to be unfunded by the state and it has been proven time and time again that there is no true penalty for school systems that are not in accords with its guidelines.  In February I had the opportunity to be the only educator present at a meeting between curriculum specialists representing three of the largest school districts in Florida, which are regarded as “exemplary” in their implementation of African and African American History; Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade.  I was invited because of my work in reforming the African American Voices Curriculum for Miami-Dade County.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how the three school districts can work together so that we can more successfully educate students in the area of African and African American History.  While engaged in this dialogue, there was an attempt on the part of two White curriculum specialists from Broward to derail the focus of the meeting and turn it into a plead for more funding from the state for the purpose of increasing professional development for teachers.  I commented in response that while more funding is definitely needed, ultimately “Enthusiasm is not determined by funding.”  I said in the presence of a state education official in that very room that if the state has not adequately funded the African and African American History mandate as of yet, it is not going to be doing it in these troubled economic times.  The state of Florida has proven that it does not really consider the African and African American History mandate a priority, but rather keeps it as a law as an attempt to keep conscientious voices quiet.  I proposed as a strategy instead to scope out enthusiastic teachers in schools throughout the three counties to become advocates not just to teach classes in Black History, but to transform the whole school culture through programs oriented in Black History.  The two White curriculum specialists interrupted me and accused me of proposing a “pep rallying” agenda.  I closed the meeting by saying that the need for proper implementation of Black History goes far beyond teaching a class and goes far beyond mere pep rallying around its content, but in essence, it is about instilling a sense of responsibility in the hearts and minds of the youth that it is being taught to so that they can become effective community leaders when they grow up and are in a position to give back and serve the community.  In truth, it has been Black people in the history of this country (and I will also say this world) that have been the prime catalysts for change and inspiring change whenever it has been deemed necessary for a change to take place.  If Black History (and really any history) is not taken and put to heart in this manner, we end up ineffective in what we seek to accomplish educationally.

As educators that hold certified degrees in the field as well as those among us that do not hold certified degrees in the field, the solution does not lie fully in state educational mandates, but in the level of responsibility that we are willing to fill our hearts with and the level of sacrifice we are willing to commit to in providing service to our communities, especially in respects to the next generations that are coming up under us.  The process must involve proper role modeling and a thorough teaching of our true history, for, as Marcus Garvey put it himself “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”  In truth, no school systems have any real power to determine what knowledge is best for our youth to learn for their growth and development.  As conscientious communities we hold that right!

As a note, while the work that will be required to impact a significant change in consciousness a reality may entail much volunteerism, let us bear in mind that no good work is ever left unrewarded.  Our first reward comes in the form of us actually witnessing the transformative effect of our work.  If worked in a proper way through networking and the pooling of our resources, it will guarantee opportunities that will garner further success for many of us.

 More discussion on this very soon through the will of God!

Tony Muhammad teaches Social Studies at an inner-city high school in Miami and is currently involved in The MIA (Music Is Alive) Campaign for the development of the National Hip Hop Day of Service on August 11^th .  Tony is most noted for his work as publisher of Urban America Newspaper (2003 – 2007) and co-organizer of the Organic Hip Hop Conference.  He is also a member of Difference Makers, Inc. and FLASC (Florida Africana Studies Consortium).

Towards A National Movement of Responsibility within the Culture!

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Towards A National Movement of Responsibility within the Culture!

 By Tony Muhammad

Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

http://tonymuhammad.wordpress.com/

Peace and Blessings! We are now in the year 2010; marking the beginning of a new year and the birth of a new era of intelligence in this universal culture we have come to know as Hip Hop.  Hip Hop has been best defined by one of its greatest icons, KRS-One.  In the song Hip Hop Lives, KRS-One says:

Hip means to know

It’s a form of intelligence

To be hip is to be up-date and relevant

Hop is a form of movement

You can’t just observe a hop

You got to hop up and do it

Hip and Hop is more than music

Hip is the knowledge

Hop is the movement

Hip and Hop is intelligent movement

All relevant movement

We selling the music

So according to this lyrical definition, in order to live and express Hip Hop to its greatest potential we must stay in tune with the modern times and act in accordance with what is most needed in those times.  As the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan puts it, “Time dictates the agenda!”  I have encountered many “old school heads” that argue that we need to return to the spirit and expression of Hip Hop’s golden era (late 80s and early 90s).  Time and time again I have disagreed with this assessment.  While it is enriching and inspiring to study how the knowledge and wisdom that was pregnant in the music of that time inspired many of us to become the cultivated men and women that we are today, we must keep in mind that it may not be the medium of expression needed to have a significant impact on the hearts and minds of the people today; especially young people.  The music has changed and so too the culture has changed.

What we are countering today goes far beyond the senseless street violence of the 80s that prompted noted Hip Hop artists to produce the Stop The Violence Movement in the East Coast and We’re All In The Same Gang Movement in the West Coast.  In truth, we have just experienced a whole decade in which the minds of our people, especially the youth, have been corrupted like never before.  Corporate media on all levels has fostered an attraction and consequently an addiction to materialism, violence, sex and sexual abuse.  This is so much so, that our young Brothers and Sisters, many of whom are growing up in homes that offer very little love and guidance, are being raised to believe that it is totally acceptable, and therefore normal, for a man to inflict harm on another human being so that his own senses could be pleased.  Our young men mainly become victims to this in the streets and our young ladies mainly become victims to this domestically “between the sheets” … or literally by force in the back seat of cars.  The predominant image of a young man of color by way of subliminal media suggestion is one that is constantly in and out of jail, jobless and maintains very little responsibility for self or others.  Our young ladies are made to believe that if they do not look like Beyonce or some object that is “sexually arousing,” then they are not valuable in the eyes of anyone, including themselves.  In response, many of those of the older generations within the culture become disgusted by the new trends and in their bitterness do not take the time to drop seeds of wisdom to the youth.  Either this or in their attempts to stay relevant (A.K.A. “cool”) and therefore financially successful, the older folks pick up the negative trends that the younger generation has adopted, both in music and lifestyle.  When all of this happens, there is no true guidance.  Overall, what has been fostered for well over a decade across the board is a culture of death and disrespect and Hip Hop has been one of the main vehicles used in order to bring it into existence. 

According to a recent national report compiled by Northeastern University criminologists, “54 percent of gun violence victims are black males between the ages of 14 and 17.”  According to the same report, “the number of homicides involving black youths — as victims and perpetrators — surged by more than 30 percent from 2002 to 2007, even as overall murder rates across the U.S. have been relatively stable.”  It is also noted in this same study that guns have increasingly became the weapon of choice since 2000 (by 40 percent).  While the homicide rate among Latino youth is statistically not as high as among Black youth, it is found that the homicide rate among poor urban Latinos is still well over three times higher than the white homicide rate.

We must pose the question, “Can we afford to lose another generation of young people of color?”  Emphatically, the answer is “No!”  However, in order to effect a change, a new breed of role modeling within Hip Hop needs to be birthed.  We can no longer compromise and simply settle with financially successful personalities who market and distribute music and fashion that promote violence, sexism and unintelligent mass consumerism to speak to young people as why they shouldn’t engage in these behaviors.  These methods have proven to be ineffective.

This is why a national call is being made right now by a network of activists and artists within the culture to consolidate our efforts nationally and to engage young people in the process of actively rebuilding our economically wasted cities; ultimately devoting ourselves to a day of service that we claim for ourselves in which we are in control of a responsible image of Hip Hop that we can claim for ourselves.

For anyone interested in joining these national efforts please visit www.miacampaign.wordpress.com.  We can also be reached at Musicofamovement@yahoo.com or call 754-246-0222.

The Realities of Racial Profiling

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Racial Profiling in a Post-Racial America?

 By Tony Muhammad

 Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

www.myspace.com/tonymuhammad

www.tonymuhammad.wordpress.com

 

The past few months have indeed been strange (but yet not surprisingly strange) for a few of us in and among the conscientious Hip Hop community in relation to encounters with police.  On the afternoon of Friday, May 8^th, I, myself, was arrested for the very first time in my life.  I wasn’t taken to jail, but I was fingerprinted on the spot and fined, charged with soliciting in the city of Miami Gardens, Florida.  What was I actually doing?  I was passing out invitations for a special Mother’s Day program at my mosque.  I was passing out the invitations in traffic as many other FOI (Fruit of Islam) were doing throughout Miami-Dade county, nationwide and internationally.  I was stopped by a police officer and asked if I was selling anything.  I said “No.”  He inquired about the Final Call newspapers that were in a bag I was carrying.  He asked me if they were for sale.  I told him that they were not for sale, but that we accept donations for them if offered.  It was at this point that the officer asked for my ID and the “arrest” took place.  After he was done filling out forms and handed me the fine, the officer mumbled some words that sounded like I was permitted to leave but had to meet him on that same corner in an hour.  I said to him, “Officer, I have a mosque meeting that I have to conduct in an hour.  Why is it necessary that I meet with you in an hour?”  The officer then explained himself in a louder and clearer voice.  He said, “No!  I will let you go ahead and sell your newspaper for another hour.  You can go ahead.  I won’t stop you.”  I found this to be rather odd, practically like a set up.  Like, if I got pulled over and ticketed for speeding, would it make sense for the police officer that pulled me over to say that its okay for me to continue speeding since he already caught me?  I shook my head and said, “No.”  I walked away, got in my car and drove off.  A week and a half later, after the officer finally submitted the paperwork of the arrest, the charges were dropped by the judge even before I had the opportunity to make a motion for an appeal.  Yet and still, the arrest is still on record and I have to pay to get it expunged.  So, even though I am not guilty of any wrong doing, I still need to pay as if I was.

 

Fellow youth advocates Wise Intelligent (of Poor Righteous Teachers) and Paradise Gray (The Arkitect of X-Clan) have likewise experienced ridiculous arrests recently.  Wise was falsely suspected of drug dealing, literally in front of his home in Trenton, New Jersey.  In the end, he was charged with “obstructing an investigation” since they couldn’t charge him with anything else.  Paradise was falsely charged with blocking a door entrance while video recording a public demonstration in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

 

The reality of it all is that incidents like these continue to be an every day experience for Blacks and Latinos in the United States despite now having a President of the United States that is of color.  According to CNN, a 2004 Gallop Poll revealed that 67 percent of African Americans and 63 percent of Latinos believe they have experienced police discrimination.  Amnesty International estimates that in the United States 32 million people (approximately the same amount of people that live Canada) have been subjected to racial profiling.  In truth these statistics are more than likely conservative because they are only based on documented cases.  When taking class into account, we would more than likely find that there is a sea of undocumented cases.  It has been shown that poor people of color are least likely to know what their rights are in relation to treatment by police.  This is especially the case of immigrant populations where language barriers may exist.  Official statistics also do not indicate percentage of false arrests or the amount of people there are that have accepted false charges in plea agreements in exchange for no jail time.  More than likely, poor people of color, who also tend to be least aware of their legal rights, disproportionately make up a great percentage within this category. Coherently, it has also been shown that poor people of color are least likely able to afford adequate legal defense and are pressured to deal with court appointed lawyers who usually try to work on ending court cases as quickly as possible; seldom, if not ever, in the best interests of defendants.

 

Since Harvard Professor Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested in front of his Cambridge, Massachusetts home on Thursday, July 16^th it has re-sparked much nation-wide discussion on the realities of racial profiling, involving even President Barrack Obama in an almost “out of character” way (initially publicly saying that police acted “stupidly” in the situation).  As the story goes, after returning from a trip to China, Dr. Gates (along with a driver from a local car company) was seen by a white woman breaking down his “jammed” front door.  The white woman alerted police that a “Hispanic looking” man (much likely the driver) and another man (much likely Dr. Gates) were trying to break into the house.  When the police showed up Dr. Gates was asked by Sgt. James Crowley for ID to prove that he lived at the residence, which he provided.  However, in the midst of it all, Dr. Gates demanded that Sgt. Crowley give him his badge number and, according to police, angrily accused the police of being “racist.”  After ignoring the request for the badge number several times, the officer stepped outside.  When Dr. Gates followed the officer outside, he was arrested for “disorderly conduct” and was detained for several hours.  Less than a week later, after much media attention, the charge was dropped.

 

Several noted journalists have recently written articles criticizing the fact that so much attention has been given to Dr. Gate’s police encounter; labeling it a mere distraction.  This is especially after President Obama attempted to defuse the hype behind it all last week by having a “beer summit” at the White House with Dr. Gates and Sgt. Crowley (no doubt in attempt to bring more attention to his national health care plans); likewise with the media exposure of Boston Police Officer Justin Barrett being suspended for referring to Dr. Gates as a “banana-eating jungle monkey” in a mass e-mail to his buddies on the force.  Overall, I would argue that on a surface level the incident is a mere reflection of what happens to peoples of color on a day to day basis with police and on a larger scale white supremacy.  However, if we analyze it in light of Dr. Gates’ attempt to promote a “post-race” identity academic movement since the Presidential Election of Barrack Obama; it serves as a major sign for us.  If the police report is correct that Dr. Gates became emotional and accused the police of racism (and there is an overwhelmingly good chance that it did indeed happen) then surely it largely negates the basis of his work in the past half year.  Even more evident of this is his announced plans on The Tom Joyner Morning Show recently to do a documentary on racial profiling in response to his experience.  In truth, it all reveals how dangerously naïve this “post-racial” false ideology he was trying to push is in today’s times. 

 

Concurrently, on New Year’s Day, it was not a “post-racial” type of thinking that kept BART Officer Johannes Mehserle from irrationally holding a gun to the back of Oscar Grant and pulling the trigger.  On June 10^th, It was not a “post-racial” type of thinking that kept James Von Brunn from shooting and killing Stephen Tyrone Jones, a Black security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C.  It was not a “post-racial” type of thinking that kept Broward Sheriff’s deputy Jonathan Bleiweis from sexually abusing undocumented Latin American immigrants in Fort Lauderdale, Florida just because he thought he could get away with it due to language barriers.  It is not a “post-racial” type of thinking that is keeping the Miami-Dade County Commission from considering the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center to be financially expendable and shut it down due to financial constraints, despite the great service the Center provides to young people in Miami’s Liberty City community.  It is not a “post-racial” type of thinking that is keeping colleges and universities nationwide from downgrading or literally shutting down Black, Latino and overall cultural diversity programming due to budgetary constraints… but yet there is always money available to expand sports (mainly football) programs. 

 

Dr. Gates should be mindful of all of this while making his racial profiling documentary and make sure that it is not just simply a way to capitalize off of his experience, as many academics normally do.  Because of his position of influence, it should in fact provide a service!  He should also be mindful when it comes to selecting the right crew for such an assignment, preferably people of color that have extensively studied racism and racial profiling in the United States; likewise featuring people of color from different genres that have experienced being racially profiled.  Noting Dr. Gates’ track record, the project should be unlike any project he has undertaken before; especially and namely the development of the Encarta Africana Encyclopedia in 2000 (An encyclopedia about peoples of African descent in Africa and the Diaspora) which involved racial profiling itself.  It involved the hiring of merely 3 Blacks out of 40 full time writers.  In truth, there is no coincidence that the only Hip Hop entry in the project was “Sir Mix-A-Lot.”  I guess “Baby Got Back” but if Dr. Gates wants to show and prove that he has authentically learned from the experience he’s going to have to get the right “backing” for such a documentary!

 

Peace! Until Next Time!

 

Tony Muhammad teaches American, African American and African History at an inner-city high school in Miami and is currently involved in efforts to reform The African American Voices Curriculum for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.  Tony is most noted for his work as publisher of Urban America Newspaper (2003 – 2007) and co-organizer of the Organic Hip Hop Conference (2004 – 2008).

An Open Letter to the Class of ‘09

Trials of Hip Hop Educator: An Open Letter to the Class of ‘09

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Tony Muhammad

Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

www.myspace.com/tonymuhammad

www.tonymuhammad.wordpress.com

 

Dear Class of ’09,

 

Congratulations, not just saying it just to say it, but meaning it with all of my heart and soul because very few in this world expected you to make it this far!  While you, your family and friends have been waiting patiently for this day for 13 plus years, there have been certain others; people in positions of power that have been anticipating your fall, just like how many of your fellow classmates didn’t make it to see this day for a variety of reasons.

 

When tragedy befalls the innocent and/or the powerless it brings to us much pain.  This contains a deeper and harder meaning when we realize and consider that our communities disproportionately suffer from great ailments in comparison to the White majority. These ailments include poverty, police brutality, incarceration, street violence, domestic violence and overall, in the immortal coinage of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, “Mis-education,” which is yet another form of violence and truly most determines our condition today as Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and generally peoples of color.  Injustice from this system that we have come to know as the United States of America continues to be the order of the day for us despite many of you becoming so inspired this school year to take part in some way to make sure that this county’s first African American President was elected.  Despite the losses and the pain, you, Class of ’09, have shown and proved something very critical through your concerns, commitments and achievements, you are the light that sparks from within the darkness; the change we all hope for; the Cornerstone of the New Reality.

 

As you progress further in your education (not necessarily schooling) and increasingly become aware of the realities of this world your pain will increase and you will wonder at times if no one is interested in hearing your voices outside (or even within) your communities.  You will begin to pay special notice to the Oscar Grants, the Cortez Browns and the Jena 6; people and circumstances that your teachers either refused or just simply didn’t have the opportunity to research and inform you about because they were too focused on getting you to pass an exam that was never meant for you to pass in the first place.  Either this or we were too busy working to undo the damage of 13 plus years of mis-education; getting many of you to finally understand proper tense while speaking, proper word usage while writing (i.e. the difference between basic words such as “in,” “and” and “an”) and finally knowing the difference between the purpose of the Civil War and the meaning of the Civil Rights Movement – no longer confusing the two events with each other just because the word “Civil” is in both.

 

All and all, it is the increasing pain that you experience in becoming more and more aware of these things that will have you realize what your purpose in this world is.  Your teachers, your real teachers that care about your growth and development are not exempt from this process.  As you grow, we grow with every passing year we commit ourselves to this service.  I, myself, after my 10^th year of teaching, I could say with much pride that each succeeding year has been more rewarding than the last.  It did not all get to be this way over night.  Much pain needed to be experienced with you in the process.  Just last year alone, we collectively shared an intense emotional sting when we engaged in a deep discussion about what goes through your mind when you hear gun shots fired late at night in your own neighborhoods.  Most of you said that you thought of nothing when you hear gun shots because you are so used to hearing them.  But soon after, your words proved otherwise because many of you began to cry when I simply asked “Why?”  In contrast, this past school year, many of you that were in that very classroom engaged in that intense discussion had been part of the process of quickly informing the community of tragedy as soon as it took place.  In so doing, I witnessed how you have been growing and maturing; embracing those in pain and offering your help whenever you were most needed.

 

In the larger context of things, despite the downtrodden economic times, everywhere around you and in every living thing a change is rapidly taking place.  Even the frequency and expression of the popular music of the time is quickly changing.  You must work to find out where you belong in the process.  Regardless as to how much of the schooling of this world you plan to attain, just remember that true change will never be realized if we just simply plan to make ourselves valuable to someone else who is willing and is in a position to employ us, especially in these times when there aren’t too many jobs that are hiring anyway.  We must first learn to become valuable to ourselves and our families and grow to be a benefit to our communities in some type of way.  But do not get frustrated when things do not occur as soon as you want them to or as soon as they are needed.  Just remember that no great civilization was built over night.  The same thing can be said with the cultivation of an intelligent mind and the making of a productive people.

 

I wish you much love and success and may God bless,

 

Always your big brother,

 

Tony Muhammad

Educator and Hip Hop Cultural Activist

 

 

Tony Muhammad teaches American, African American and African History at an inner-city high school in Miami and is currently involved in efforts to reform The African American Voices Curriculum for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.  Tony is most noted for his work as publisher of Urban America Newspaper (2003 – 2007) and co-organizer of the Organic Hip Hop Conference (2004 – 2008).

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Accepting Responsibility to Build a New Music Community

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Accepting Responsibility to Build a New Music Community

Does The Music Industry Need A Bail Out Plan? – Part II

By Tony Muhammad
Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/tonymuhammad

In the midst of Congress attempting to pass legislation specifically to recoup $165 million in bonuses that has scandalously gone to AIG executives, the House Judiciary Committee is seeking to pass H.R. 848, the Performance Rights Act. Under this law radio stations would be required to pay royalties to artists for the music they air. According to NAB Radio Board Chairman Steve Newberry, the current economic downturn has already forced radio stations nation-wide to layoff a considerable amount of employees and reduce wages by 5 to 10 percent. He warned in his testimony to the House that if the bill is passed, it will put a whole industry “at risk.” The radio industry currently employs nearly 106,000 people but yet is on the verge of bankruptcy, reporting billions of dollars in losses every year. Newberry adds that if the bill is passed it would force many radio stations to switch to more of a “talk show” format and make them even less diverse in their play lists. Currently radio stations throughout the country, especially ones that are oriented towards “urban” and “pop” music genres are criticized for almost strictly playing from top 25 Billboard chart playlists consistently and monotonously hour to hour. Under current circumstances, local artists receive very little to no play on local stations. The passing of H.R. 848 would most certainly make matters worse.

Most interestingly and most critically, Newberry said in his testimony that “At its heart, this bill attempts to create a conflict between artists and radio stations where no conflict exists. In reality, local radio has been supporting the music industry for decades.” He continued by saying that it “boggles” his mind that “a bill that is supposed to be about benefiting artists, takes 50 percent of the performance fee and puts it into the pockets of the big four record labels, most of which are not even American companies.” These four companies are Warner Music Group, EMI, Sony and Universal Music Group. He argues that in the end “the record labels actually walk away with more money under this bill than do the featured artists.” “The real problem, which this bill does not address,” according to Newberry, “is between the artists and these mega-record labels. Artists, often find themselves in such difficult financial straights because of the one-sided, unfair contracts they signed with their record label. If these artists had fair contracts with their labels that included fair royalty clauses, they would have benefited from the promotional value of free radio airplay that they should have enjoyed.”

After so many years (especially in the past 10) of the radio industry contributing to the problem of musical monotony in expression and form and moral degradation in the content of not just the music, but on the part of many of its “urban” on-air commentators, why is it expressing all of a sudden such a strong concern for the artists that have received the short end of the stick in the whole process? The answer is because now a threat on its very survival is being made not simply by Congress, but by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) that has pushed the idea of a “need” of such a bill on behalf of the four major record labels. Truly, the old system is destroying itself from within. These major record labels are collapsing just like the radio industry is; also reporting billions of dollars in losses every year. At this point they seek to “squeeze blood out of a turnip” in any way that they can, wherever they can find it, even if it comes at the expense of hurting relationships with websites that could aid in promoting their music and even its historic prized relationship with the radio industry. For many years the radio industry has benefited from underhanded payola (“pay for play”) deals with the recording industry. Payola deals in other words are bribes that are disguised in the form of (for example) “consulting fees” or “record pools” with radio DJs or sponsorship for the wrapping of radio station vans in exchange for the frequent playing of particular artists’ music. Between 2005 and 2006 New York State Attorney General at the time Eliot Spitzer prosecuted payola-related crimes in his jurisdiction. Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group each settled out of court with Spitzer and agreed to pay $10 million, $5 million, and $12 million respectively to New York State charitable causes that work in the name of music education and appreciation programs. EMI is still under investigation for such activities. Now, if this was the case just within New York State, imagine all other places where similar activities have taken place and no investigation has ever been conducted. When pop and urban radio sounds almost the same no matter where you travel in the country, contain the same music playlists and in many cases have the same over-consumerist unintelligent expression it means that everywhere someone has been strategically sent behind the scenes to cash in on the peoples’ ignorance.

As I emphasized in PART ONE, many at times the music by-itself is not simply the product for sale; but much more so the jewelry, the apparel and the liquor emphasized in the song lyrics. Do not be surprised if the next stage of commercial-music survival will involve an adapting to brief radio announcements regarding the corporations that are sponsoring the artists showcased. It would sound something like … “And now this artist is brought to you by ….” Don’t think it can’t happen because we are increasingly and rapidly moving towards very desperate economic times. For many of us, especially in the music industry, those times are already here and they are about to get worse. Think about it! Very few artists nowadays make a substantial income on just the music alone. The most successful ones, by and large, depend on endorsement deals in order to live “lush.”

However, with the economy the way that it is, new up-coming artists and all current lime light artists that bind themselves like slaves to corporations (including the major record labels themselves) will fall just as the economy that they are so dependant on will continue to fall. In truth, the new model for artists and generally Hip Hoppers of today and of the future is (as I was discussing with artist NY Oil very recently on a phone conversation) to connect themselves with a cause – just as Wise Intelligent mentors youth in educational and music recreational programs through Intelligent Kidz and MEEN in New Jersey and Philadelphia, PA; just as the art of breaking is preserved through the efforts of Rokafella and Kwikstep of Full Circle Productions as they continuously instruct talented New York City at-risk youth to strive to reach their potential not just in the area of dance but in all aspects of life; just as Jasiri X works diligently towards establishing community justice through One Hood in Pittsburgh, PA; just as Hip Hop journalist and activist Davey D continues to expose the harsh socio-political obstacles we are all faced with byway of his own news website DaveyD.com; just as community organizer Adisa Banjoko is uprooting youth into excellence through The Hip Hop Chess Federation in the California Bay Area – Locally we all must play our part while having a national and a global vision of unity as to what we want our future to be. As conscientious artists and Hip Hoppers in general increasingly introduce cultural arts and literacy programs in the schools, the community centers and even the juvenile detention halls, they will most certainly cause an effect in the manner the youth perceive both the world and themselves. They will begin to gravitate towards what’s real and beneficial and step by step abandon what’s artificial and detrimental to themselves and others. By putting in the necessary community-oriented work, conscientious artists and their music will naturally build a following and guarantee longevity in the support of their craft. Besides the potential world-wide success that comes with proper Internet promotion byway of ever-growing social networking outlets, the development and maintenance of local relationships is key towards establishing local success. This would entail, as the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan noted nearly 30 years ago at the 4th Annual Jack-The Rapper Conference in Atlanta, GA, the development of alternative music distribution centers in the community (including religious institutions) that support positive expression through music. Dependence on major music stores such as Specs and FYE is fruitless since they are also on the verge of financial collapse and do not serve to promote local and conscientious music much anyway.

By working together we can develop a new model for how a music industry should run; one that would mutually benefit communities and artists. At which point radio stations will have no other choice but to take notice and move the direction community would be moving. This is possible if we desire it to be. We must begin qualifying ourselves to be able to bring it into existence.

More to come next time through Allah’s (God’s) permission!

Tony Muhammad teaches American, African American and African History at an inner-city high school in Miami and is currently involved in efforts to reform The African American Voices Curriculum for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Tony is most noted for his work as publisher of Urban America Newspaper (2003 – 2007) and co-organizer of the Organic Hip Hop Conference (2004 – 2008).

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Does The Music Industry Need A Bail Out Plan? – Part I

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Old Culture Going Out, New Expression Coming In

 

Does The Music Industry Need A Bail Out Plan? – Part I

 

By Tony Muhammad

Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

www.myspace.com/tonymuhammad

 

As we anxiously await the passing of a $800 billion stimulus package deal by the Federal Government that promises the creation and maintenance of jobs in the midst of a crippled economy 11 trillion dollars deep in debt, we notice that just like almost all other forms of business, the music industry is suffering.  In the past decade major record labels have reported several billions of dollars in losses and have laid off several thousands of employees.  A number of of these labels have consequently merged as a means of survival.  Some of the most noted mergers during this span include Sony and BMG in 2004 and Capitol and Virgin under EMI in 2007.  Analysts argue that this trend will most likely intensify within the next few years as the economy is expected to get worse before it gets any better. However, the reasons why the music industry is suffering are much more profound than just simply music lovers deciding to purchase less CDs all of a sudden due to a crunch in their pocketbooks.  The problem is also much deeper than a decade-long worth of consumers engaged in a free alternative; downloading music on peer-to-peer file sharing Internet networks.  The problem, in fact, is the reason why many choose to download rather than support and purchase an album.  It is because corporations, including major record labels, have made music itself disposable in its mass production of demographic research-based monotony and as a result worthless.  No other musical expression fits this description best than Hip Hop, especially in its most popular “gangsta” and “blingy” forms. 

 

In its pop-cultural orientation, Hip Hop is not treated as an art form.  It is instead a mere tool, or rather a hoar, used and abused in order to sell other products at the expense of Black culture, Black dignity and Black circumstance.  The same can be said about Latinos and the now defunct Reggaeton movement, however, the level of Black exploitation far exceeds that of any other. The intent of making music on this level has been to maintain a mindless consumer culture.  Since parents nowadays typically work long hours and are not able to give them much attention while growing up and public education has done very little to cultivate their full potential, the masses of the youth have been easily led through the music to focus on buying material items that (in their minds) make them appear more noticeable or attractive.  These luxuries include designer apparel, jewelry, flashy cars or even bottles of liquor.

 

The influence that popular Hip Hop artists have on the habits of young people was clearly demonstrated in how Seagram’s Gin became popularized in early 1990s through the Snoop Doggy Dogg song Gin & Juice.  Is there any coincidence that Carl Horton, one of the liquor industry’s top Black executives, was overseeing the sale and marketing of Seagram’s Gin at that particular time?  Also, considering that Edgar Bronfman, Jr. once had a long family history amassing wealth in the liquor industry (through Seagram), would it not lead us to question if it has influenced him in how to market Hip Hop music as (at one time executive and now) vice chair of the Board of Directors of Vivendi Universal (which is over Universal Music Group) and CEO of Warner Music Group?  What ties or stakes does he still have to the liquor industry?  What friends does he owe favors to?  Is there any coincidence that the “Crunk” or “Dirty South” sound dominated Hip Hop in much of this past decade?  The Southern Crunk sound is in fact a musical frequency that activates the emotions (lower desires) of its listeners and compels them to, among other things drink heavily, especially in club type atmospheres.  In fact, producer and artist Lil Jon, who is credited with originating the sound, is quoted by Scratch Magazine that while developing the “Crunk” sound he “was inspired by the synthesizer sounds of rave/dance music he heard playing in Atlanta strip clubs.”  Is there any coincidence that he is signed to Universal Republic Records (which is owned by Universal Music Group)?

 

What about special relationships between music executives and investors in the prisons? Do they exist? I pose this question because it seems like besides the military, the prison system is the only other industry that is currently making a lot of money.  In the United States business leaders go by a certain motto, “If it doesn’t make money, it doesn’t make sense.”  And if the music industry is losing more money than its making, then certainly there must be other endeavors that major record label owners and executives are investing in that make money for them.  Would it be too far fetched to believe that the prison industry would be one for many of them?  After all, rhymes of violence and the “thug” image have been regarded as very “marketable” in Hip Hop music since the early 90s.  The intent here however would not be to make money off of album sales, but rather make money based on the amount of youth (especially Black and Latino youth) going to prison.

 

Now mind you, I am not the type to argue a cause and effect relationship in these matters (i.e. that “gangsta” rap drives young Blacks and Latinos to commit crimes).  What I will say out of my own experience in the classroom, in schools and in the street that the type of music that our youth listen to does indeed have an influence over their dress, posture, demeanor and behavior.  I have witnessed students make drastic changes in the middle of the school year because now they maybe listening to some new rapper who has made a strong impression on them whom they consider being “gangsta.”  All of a sudden they begin to wear their pants loose down to their butt cracks, tip their fitted caps sideways and begin acting like nothing could faze them, including the authority of teachers, administrators or even their parents.  Soon after the transformation, in the school environment they become the first to be suspended and the last to be counseled.

 

Again, in respects to all of the above said I would not argue that there is a direct cause and effect relationship between the music we listen to and our behaviors, but when we consider the following statistics we could most surely say that so-called “gangsta” rap has not helped in the matter:

 

• From 2000 to 2007 there was a 40 percent increase in the murder of young Black males ages 13 to 17 nationwide.
• According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Nation-wide, Black youth under age 18 comprise of 15 percent of the juvenile population but disproportionately “make up 26 percent of juvenile arrests, 31 percent of referrals to juvenile court, 44 percent of the detained population, 34 percent of youth formally processed by the juvenile court, 46 percent of youth sent to adult court, 32 percent of youth adjudicated delinquent, 40 percent of youth in residential placement, and 58 percent of youth in state adult prisons.”
• Also according to the U.S. Department of Justice, youths of color accounted for approximately 32 percent of the U.S. juvenile population, but disproportionately represent 58 percent of youth in juvenile facilities. Likewise, more than half of all girls in juvenile facilities are of color.

 

In order to be able to begin turning these numbers around truly new standards needs to take shape both in the areas of entertainment and education.  With the ever increasing financial crunch of the music industry, we can now expect independent artists both on a national and local level to make fewer strides to “get a deal” by a major record label as they will realize that it would be more fruitful for them to remain independent.  No longer feeling the need to compromise and sound like “what’s hot” according to corporate demographic charts, the most conscientious artists will spearhead a new expression within the culture with a level of intelligence and wisdom that eclipses the level of consciousness of past ages.  In fact, if you’ve noticed old exploitative expressions are already dying out.  The music industry as we know it is quickly crumbling and it should be allowed to do as such with no hope of any sort of bail out plan.  As it was in the early days of Hip Hop in the Bronx in which the pioneers made something out of nothing and made it big, with a lack of resources in these rough economic times, it will force the cultural activists of today to become very creative.  It will be this movement in the arts that will once again give voice to the voiceless and will be the true catalyst of change in this country and in this world as it is prophesized by various cultures throughout the world.  As KRS-One put it himself in Fourth Quarter Free Throws in I Got Next (1997):

 

The next age will be the age of the water-bearer

It’s called the Age of Aquarius

When logic and truth will take care of us

So in this age, of spiritual dignity

You’ll see a rise in femininity

and creativity, meshed with masculinity

 

More to discuss next time, Allah (God) willing!

 

 

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Message to the Hip Hop Visionaries in the Year of the 9

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Message to the Hip Hop Visionaries in the Year of the 9

 

By Tony Muhammad

Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

www.myspace.com/tonymuhammad

As we enter into the New Year, 2009, we should be mindful of the power of its last digit, the number 9. The number 9 is considered to be divine by various cultures throughout the world as it represents a state of completion. The beginning of any era is represented by the number 0. As we move further and further into an era we experience deeper degrees of understanding for its wisdom to the point of mastery, which is represented by the number 9. As a mother would give birth after producing the child in the womb after 9 months, a new wisdom is brought into existence for us to experience and master transitioning into the following decade; beginning once again with the number 0 and steadily progressing once again to the number 9.

Lumumba “Professor X” Carson of the legendary Hip Hop group X-Clan made special reference to the number 9 in his provocative speeches as intro skits to various songs. At the time of these recordings (1989 to the early 90s) being knowledgeable was considered to be the fad and was represented in style; from growing locks and rocking African medallions to wearing t-shirts with strong historical and political messages to the identity-oriented books we carried around and frequently quoted from (i.e. The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Message to the Blackman in America, The Isis Papers, Breaking The Chains of Psychological Slavery). Some of Hip Hop’s greatest philosophers, teachers and leaders at the time had high hopes for the culture as we held strongly to the belief that we were transitioning into a new era of intelligence. However, as we moved further into the 90s the expression of the music instead became increasingly corporately manipulated into what supposedly sold the most according to demographic charts. Hence, the culture entered into a predominant gangsta and grimy street crime orientation. As we moved into 2000 up to the present, Hip Hop became even more corporatized; making a transition into an unintelligent consumerist “bling” era; or better put, “ice age,” in which the focus no longer is the culture itself but how well the music could be used to sell products for liquor companies and other multi-national corporations. During this era, even the idea of going to jail has been marketed through the rhymes. There is no coincidence that prisons have indeed become big business as well.

For the many that have been able to see through this Matrix and have taken on active roles as Morpheus or Trinity or even Neo on a local, national or even a world-wide level representing the Hip Hop community, this decade has delivered to us both great disappointments and great accomplishments. In fact, many at times it has been while working against the factors that cause some of our greatest of disappointments that we have discovered some of our greatest blessings. In the past decade, what has indeed been a blessing has been the development of various conferences throughout the country calling on Hip Hop activists to address some of our gravest ailments. It has been through these conferences that we have become more fully aware that we are not alone in this work and have been given the opportunity to network with hard working people from various parts who seek to improve the quality of life of their communities in a similar fashion. While there have been many success stories stemming from the networking, too many among us remain stagnant as we seek to continue to live within the confines of our own minds, focusing more on the way things should be and paying very little attention to the way things actually are. A good doctor must first be able diagnose the cause of a problem in order to prescribe a solution.

Let us be mindful that for every minute that we waste writing blogs in which we backbite and argue back and forth with armchair elites about meaningless things, another youth is violently and senselessly killed. New statistics show that there was a 40 percent increase of the murder of young Black males between the ages 14 to 17 from 2000 to 2007. For every minute that we waste while ragingly (and simply) complaining about how we are not getting enough notice for our work, another young woman is raped. One in six women (and one in three men) are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. For every minute that we waste writing and posting articles about particular politicians and community leaders “not being Hip Hop enough” another child dies as a result of malnutrition. In the United States 41 percent of African American children and 40 percent of Latino children suffer from chronic hunger. Also, according to the United Nations Development program, an African American baby in this nation’s capital has less of a chance of surviving its first year than a baby born in the severe poverty stricken urban areas of the state of Kerala in India.

In this year of the 9, let us take time to analyze the signs of change in our midst and use them as an inspiration to change or improve our own quality of life which would in effect aid us in cultivating vision to better serve our communities. It is vision and the high spirited hope for change that will also help inspire a new expression in the music and for more collaboration among artists and activists throughout the nation and the world to take place.

Many of us first handedly experienced this high spirit in this past presidential election. I believe that is not simply by chance that the basic slogan of the candidate who won was in fact “CHANGE.” Whether or not true political and economic change will come about as a result of this election remains to be seen. However, one thing is for certain, Barack Obama serves as a sign for us. His presence and words by themselves have captured the imagination, which lets us know that many of our people are ready for new ideas that will help them take a giant step forward to make change in their own lives. It is up to the visionaries to meet the people where they are and steadily bring them into new understanding for self, family and community. Likewise with us in relationship to our birth right culture known as Hip Hop. Truly, a new standard needs to be set, especially with those of us that claim righteousness and claim that we are willing to die for the freedom, justice and equality of our people. And this new standard begins with self. In the year of the 9 it is no longer enough that we wear cultural clothing or tattoo an Adinkra or Kemetic (Egyptian) symbol to our arms to show off what we are supposedly about. Likewise, it is no longer enough to memorize and recite codes and lessons to show off what we know. In the year of the 9 it is about putting righteous principles into practice and taking time to learn from the mistakes of the past (from others and our own) so that we do not have to suffer spiritually, economically, politically and health wise for another decade. In the year of the 9 it is about strategizing better ways of working with others in the community that share our goals, especially those that we may find ourselves having some fundamental differences with in terms of world outlook.

Be as critical as you want of him, however, President-elect Barack Obama has indeed made some profound statements about the cultural state of Hip Hop and the direction that it needs to take. Again, I do not believe that this is merely a coincidence. In an interview by Allhiphop.com made available on YouTube, he made the following statements: “Hip Hop is not just a mirror of what is, it should also be a reflection of what can be.” He continued by saying that if we stay fixated in “what is real,” then we are merely “trapped in what is.” He added, “Imagine something different, imagine communities that aren’t torn up by violence; imagine communities in which we’re respecting our women; imagine communities where knowledge and reading and academic excellence are valued; imagine communities where fathers are doing right by their kids. That’s also something that needs to be reflected. Art just can’t be a rear view mirror; we should have a headlight out there, pointing where we need to go.”

In this year of the 9 may we take strong strides to become the change that we want to see and may we cultivate the vision that will set us in our rightful place, as the cornerstone of the New World Order.

Much Peace, Much Love and Much Prosperity!

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator:

‘Taking Something Out of Nothing and Making It Big!’  A Sign of What We Can Accomplish Collectively

 

My Reflections of the Born In The Bronx Hip Hop Conference at Cornell University

 

By Tony Muhammad

Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

www.myspace.com/tonymuhammad

 

 

From October 31^st through November 1^st I had the pleasure and honor of attending Born In The Bronx, A Conference Celebrating Hip Hop at Cornell University in Ithaca, (upstate) New York.  A very interesting thing I learned about Ithaca and the towns that surround it before attending the conference is the painful and haunting reminders of racism and genocide found throughout in the form of signs, stressing that it was through the destruction of Native American communities that paved the way for their development.  Also, Cornell University itself was one of various schools in the country that experienced protests in the late 1960s on the part of Black students in response to their mistreatment on campus, leading to the creation of a well developed Africana Studies program at the university.  And now, well after 30 years after the birth of Hip Hop, a culture that has played a significant role in influencing the election of this country’s first Black president, its pioneers and their rich early history are celebrated and honored at this Ivy League school.  This I interpreted as being a sign of change; a breaking away from intellectual elitism and the beginning stages of embracing “the strength of street knowledge.” 

 

In self-reflecting, I was very inspired by this event because for the six and a half years that I was in higher education I was made to feel like I had to put “a silly thing” known as Hip Hop in the closet and now embrace academia in its place.  Mind you, I had always been moved to increase my knowledge base but not at the expense of abandoning a strong part of what I consider to be my culture, what has played a strong role in making me into the man that I am today.  Truly, in my schooling there was an attempt by academic forces to carve a void into my very soul. What these forces never understood back then (and still to a good degree even today) is that when I was searching for answers to world problems as a youth, I didn’t tune into CNN to get the perspective of “experts.” When the Rodney King Riots broke out in 1992 I tuned into Yo! MTV Raps the Saturday after they took place in which Fab 5 Freddy was interviewing artists and getting their perspectives of what was really “going down.”  To myself, the most memorable voice of reason out of that experience was from KRS-One who commented in response to the rioting, “This is not the way … What we need to do is organize, mobilize and handle this intelligence.”  To me, these statements made perfect sense and drove me to feel that I should get involved in some kind of way.  Also, the fact that Islam was embedded in the language of the music for a period of over 15 years inspired me to study and question my own identity as a “Latino” growing up in South Florida. In 1996 I came to accept Islam as my way of life.  In 2000 I joined the Nation of Islam with the focus and aim of working to improve the conditions of my community and my people.  In 2001 I became part of a team of ex-college students that were fed up with the low state of Hip Hop of the time and the damaging effect it was having on the youth, which resulted in the development of Urban America Newspaper, a South Florida publication aimed at informing the youth of the “real news” through an expression that they would be most drawn to.  A few years afterwards I was sought to help organize events on college campuses aimed at improving the quality of life of young people.  None of this would have been possible without divine intervention in my life in the form of Hip Hop culture.

 

Going back to the conference, the central purpose to this gathering was to officially announce the university library archiving the “Born in the Bronx” collection gathered by collector and author Johan Kugelberg.  Kugelberg published a book last year under the same title which is (as it is subtitled) “A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip-Hop,” with photography by noted Hip Hop photojournalist Joe Conzo. The collection itself documents early Hip Hop history largely in the form of photography and flyers.

 

The first day of the conference was held at the historic Bailey Hall.  While the auditorium has had a long tradition showcasing classical music, on this day Hip Hop’s own classic knowledge and music were being showcased.  After brief statements by Kugelberg about the project, Hip Hop historian and award-winning author of the book Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, Jeff Chang spoke about how Hip Hop curriculums have been increasingly embraced and expanded in colleges and universities throughout the country in recent years.  Also speaking was Sean Eversley Bradwell, Assistant Professor for the Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity at Ithaca College.  Bradwell showed the audience through a series of visuals how Blacks and Latinos were left to live in a state of extreme poverty as a result of unjust political policies and increasing “white flight” from The Bronx in the 1960s.  Truly, when you have very little you become most creative.  Not coincidently, soon after came the birth of Hip Hop.

 

The most important portion of the afternoon, and really the whole conference, was the knowledge and wisdom that was shared by the Hip Hop pioneers right after.  The panelists were Joe Conzo, Dr. Roxanne Shante, Popmaster Fabel of the Rock Steady Crew, DJ Disco Wiz, Pebblee Poo, DJ Tony Tone, Grandwizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Caz and the Godfather/Amen Ra of Hip Hop Culture Afrika Bambaataa.  Not only did the pioneers humorously captivate the attention of the audience by reflecting on their own memorable experiences of how they organized parties or engaged in battles, they raised great concerns for the state of the culture today.  DJ Tony Tone expressed the concern of parents nowadays being scared to get involved in their children’s lives and how parents should not accept everything that their children are into, but should still do what they can to bridge the gap in order to provide better guidance to upcoming generations. Afrika Bambaataa stressed the need for the community to play a more active roll in demanding that radio stations diversify their play lists. 

 

Dr. Shante criticized rappers who have college degrees but never say it; instead they present themselves as ignorant.  She also mentioned how insulted she is by the concept of the “video chick” becoming the most influential voice to young ladies in Hip Hop.  She emphasized the need for change and that higher standards should be set for ladies featured in videos, including requiring that they have a minimum of two years of college.  “Education is very important,” she noted.  Inspirationally, Shante concluded, “I am what I am today, but I’m going to be someone else tomorrow!”

 

Echoing the importance of education, Popmaster Fabel noted, “It begins with Knowledge of Self.”  He added, “Today we have the Internet where we can Youtube and Google our hearts away, but what’s really dead about Hip Hop today is that there are no more block parties, no more community.”  After referencing his own hard work with the youth in schools and community centers throughout New York City, Fabel said, “It’s really about being about it … Unless you’re ready to get dirty and get in the street and do something creative, it will not be enough.”  He ended by saying, “It’s time to utilize what we know about this culture and elevate it to its fullest potential.”

 

What the pioneers made clear is that it was the rise of block parties in the South Bronx in the mid to late 80s that kept much of the youth living there out of trouble.  As Grandwizzard Theodore put it to a group of us dialoguing with him after the panel discussion, “What a lot of people don’t understand is that while we were doing this we were saving lives.”

 

Later that evening several of the pioneers rocked Bailey Hall in classic Hip Hop style. Tony Tone grooved the crowd with Funk and Soul while Disco Wiz whipped out hard hitting old school breaks for the B-Boys and B-Girls on the stage led by veteran instructor Rokafella.  Grandwizzard Theodore got everyone hyped with his high impacting cutting and scratching; at one point even doing it blindfolded.  Grandmaster Caz displayed that he is still one of the best both on the turntables and on the mic, moving the crowd with constant chants and educating them with his brilliant story telling rhyming style.  DJ J.Rocc had everyone jamming for a great portion of the evening with an intense turntablism show – flipping back and forth through classic songs such as The Mary Jane Girls’ All Night Long, Maze and Frankie Beverly’s Before I Let Go, James Brown’s Funky Drummer and The Meters’ The Handclapping Song.

 

The following day was largely devoted to academic discussions on Hip Hop.  Among the most noted were Professor Mark Anthony Neal’s lecture on how Hip Hop has influenced academia in the past twenty years and Professor Tricia Rose’s talk on how Hip Hop has become the tool of corporations and what is needed to change its present state.  In the midst of it all what concerned me the most is how much access will the public have to the collection stored away in the library.  I especially had young people that are inspired by Hip Hop and its history in mind in respects to this.  Will it remain in a volt where only students and professors at the university will be able to utilize and analyze it for elitist type research? What type of work will result from the archiving of this collection?  The kind that are found published in scholarly journals that the general public has virtually little to no opportunity to look over?  The kind that are riddled with academic jargon that the general public has problems understanding?  There were discussions headed by Johan Kugelberg about digitizing the archive and having it available for K-12 teachers.  He mentioned to me how the process will take about 14 months and how he and the university are currently looking into applying for grants in order to make this happen.

 

I would say that these efforts are definite moves in the right direction on an academic level and Cornell should commended for this great work.  However, just because universities are now developing an interest in preserving our rich cultural history, it does not mean that we should just sit back and simply say “finally” and think that our work as an intellectual body of Hip Hoppers has ended.  Instead, it should serve as a sign of inspiration to many of us to do our own part and form Hip Hop archive organizations in our own respective cities to document their rich cultural histories.  Taking strong consideration for the rough economic times that we are in right now, I would emphasize that such projects do not need to be elaborative or expensive.  They could begin by simply starting up a website, a blog or even a myspace account devoted to the cause.  Educators that would be interested in taking part in the projects could serve as advocates in school systems, teaching students about local Hip Hop history and training teachers who are interested in educating their own.  Just as it was with the pioneers of Hip Hop, they may have started with very little, but they laid the foundation for something big. With the right level of love and commitment in taking this approach we can surely begin closing the gap between the Hip Hop generations and guide our youth more effectively to truth and righteousness.

 

Peace and much Love!