I am glad someone posted at least abit positive about this. Since im a 17 year old white european (norway, a small unaware rich country)i try to learn about the world. And okayplayers has taught me much, about africa, african americans, hiphop, that not just my dad reads Tao and Zen, much more..

My mother says you should know as many sides to a case as you can before you tell your opinion. And i'm proud to see common doing the same as my father: studying Tao, Zen, the bible!

(Seing common live last friday was an experience for life! It hit me in the heart to see him there with a che guevarra t-shirt making the crowd (most white, some black, some latino) go "people unite" and freestyling about how hiphop builds and unites. A black boy and a white boy in front of me grabbed their hands and raisted it into the air, with common doing the same! Picture that..)

The title for this thread was "is hiphop for africa????". American hiphop? nah, bullshit. 99% is either too underground (talking about the endless struggle) or too overground (talking about the endless fields of cash and babes).

But common.. talib... mos def... the roots... Their music can reach much further out than the majority. Since common could touch the people of norway (both black and white, as if it should matter), i believe he can touch the people of africa. Senegal, Tanzania, South Africa.. Because he is global, his music is. Even just seeing DJ Dummy scratch like a dummy and then seeing common bring a girl to the stage to have her sing The light with him, i believe it will work on all continents. His message was "unite", forget about differences, and just get down to hiphop. From common's viewpoint he brings global music, just like bob marley is global.

His music can appeal to a chineese girl, a tanzanian boy, my norwegian father, a breaker from chile and an australian hiphop head.

I hope common acts the way he did in norway when he gets home to chicago/ny, that his unite-message just isnt for us. Norway has never had the slavery, africans that lives in norway are pretty african (not adopted kids, which is different), the latinos latino. In USA you have a difficult situation.

(An african man who stood in front of me reminded me of how you seem to be -from what i read in this thread- (a compliment). First he acted very intelligent (almost too much) and looked strange at those who freaked out 'too much'. He didnt smile but stood still with his hands folded and enjoyed common with closed eyes. Eventually he started clapping. In the end, thou, he danced like all others.. wild! He even smiled It took a while thou. That is a certain african type... But he did enjoy common.)

>They choose to ignore
>lessons in love that Africans
>seem to be so good
>at (both in the way
>we relate with each other
>-who else calls you brother/sister,
>regardless of where you're from?)

Yes.. true, but not all. You forgot that your africa has different types in different places. Different people. Some people are dead serious, never smile. Some always smiling. There is the people who dont take marriage seriously, and those who do. Those who smoke tobacco and just live life, and those who respect the traditions of islam. Those who want to join the western world and those who hate it and want to follow their traditions.

But.. yep, africa is known as the continent of smiles, no? It is partly wrong, since it is so variated. There will never be a true continent of smiles, a country perhaps, but a continent?

You can say the continent of life..! i get along with that one..

>This has been long, but my
>aim was to use OKplayer
>to stimulate fruitfull discussion on
>matters that affect Africans as
>well. There seem to be
>so many of you so
>well informed. Lets learn from
>each other as well as
>the rest of the world.

I like that, and i try to do that as well. I hope i wont give the only to reply to this thread. Africans, americans.. i'm sure many has more than me to say.

peace


Here goes my first sig common's been on my mind since my first okp concert. Cee-lo as well, thanks to this:

"You gon surely find there's no positivity without negativity
But one side you gonna have to choose
Any chance to speak I refuse to misuse
So how can you call yourself God when you let a worldly possession
become an obsession and the way you write your rhymes and
Can't follow your lesson
If a seed's sown, you make sure it's known, you make sure it's grown
If you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own
If you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own
If you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your own" g.o.d.

░▒▓█▌¹♥▐█▓▒░

proud okayphotographer: http://www.okayplayer.com/okayphotographers/

"Most of our assumptions have outlived their uselessness." — Marshall McLuhan