Five years ago, the American rapper Nas proclaimed that "Hip Hop is Dead." But while hip hop culture may have succumbed to the music industry in the U.S., four decades after its birth in the Bronx, rap music has become the soundtrack to the social unrest sweeping the globe from Tunisia to Libya and London.
Back in 1982, the lyrics to the hit American rap song "The Message" went: "Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge, I'm trying not to lose my head." And around the world, the movement of hip hop has catalyzed the passion, anger, and frustrations of young people who feel like they are living life on the edge of a precipice.
Many were shocked by the recent riots in London, sparked after the killing of a black man. But if we look to the recent history of major riots sparked by police violence, from the beating of Rodney King in the 1992 LA rebellion to the police-caused deaths of North African teenagers in the 2005 Paris riots, the events are not surprising at all. In all of these cases, it was something as routine as another act of police harassment, another young black person killed on the streets, that pushed people over the edge.
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Marcus Hines:
ReplyDeleteNo matter where you go in the world the message and the roots of Hip Hop are the same. I am not surpried at all that political issues and police brutaility are core issues are at the fore front as it relates to Hip Hop artists rhymes. Even though a lot of the people that list and can relate to some of the happy rhymes that some artists use; there is also another side to Hip Hop which pain, struggle, and violence hold it's roots. One would think that after all that has happened, at least the government would do something to stop police brutality, and try to solve political issues that clearly more often than not affect the people that are in the lower income tax bracket.