Whats up. For my American Studies seminar I have decided to write my final paper on Hip Hop's influence on social protest and activitism among the African American community in the 20th century particulary focusing on the 1980's and 90's. As an introduction I am going to discuss artists that have influenced current artists that have revived the importance of social consciousness in music.

Some of the major artists that I would discuss are:

1990-present: Talib, Common, Dead Prez, Mos Def (Black Star), The Roots,

Late 1970's-80's: Public Enemy, NWA, Grandmaster Flash and the furious 5.

Influences: Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Gil Scott Herron, Fela Kuti?

I know I am missing some other artists. Any other MAJOR artists you think I should include? If so, why? I am aware that there are many others who talk about blasting cops and shit, but those arent the ones i feel are contributing intellect/consciousness in their music.

Oh yea, and the hardest part: I need resources! Anyone recommend any good books, articles, websites that I can use? Thanks for the input, I want to prove my professor that this project can work!

Peace.

"I'll bring a point to your ear like Leonard Nimoy" -UD

How about KRS-One?

which songs come to mind? his boogie down stuff?

"I'll bring a point to your ear like Leonard Nimoy" -UD

There are so many from BDP and from the KRS albums. Ones that come to mind:

Free Mumia- from KRS-One
Sound of Da Police, Black Cop- from Return of the Boom Bap
and pretty much all of BDP's Sex and Violence and Edutainment

I've got a copy of a talk KRS gave at some school on tape called "health, wealth, and knowledge of self" (recorded it off the radio). If you think you can use it, I'll make an mp3 file.



>which songs come to mind? his
>boogie down stuff?
>
>"I'll bring a point to your
>ear like Leonard Nimoy" -UD
>

for real ... he is the prime example of mixing standard b-boy braggadocious rhymes w/ politically and socially conscious messages

some key cuts missed from the above post ...

you must learn
ah yeah
who protects us from you


and while you're at it, i would talk abotu self destruction and we're all in the same gang too

also, the original poster mentions: "I am aware that there are many others who talk about blasting cops and shit, but those arent the ones i feel are contributing intellect/consciousness in their music"

isn't blasting cops sending a message? not saying it's right, but if some fucked up shit happens sometimes people feel that way .. how is that not contributing inttellect or consciousness? btw, several of the artists you mentioned do this, most notably nwa and dead prez



---- B EZ --------------

IM and ICQ name: reefdogg1 (number one at the end)

Mondays, 9pm-12pm EST - hip hop by stressed Brown undergrads (yes, black people do exist in the Ivies!)
http://www.bsrlive.com

"It aint all about economy
so the fact that these wack emcees is making G's don't bother me
Honestly, my number one policy is quality
never sell my soul is my philosophy" - Binary Star

This aint a dissto the Roots

-BUT:

Why does everyone include them in their "politically conscious rappers" list?

How have they had an "influence on social protest and activitism among the African American community"?

Firstly, the vast majority of their fanbase is white (actually the same can be said for all these acts, so maybe that's not that important.)

More importantly, where do they explicitly discuss social protest and activism? Although the Roots do not talk about guns, hoes, bling bling, etc., this does not mean they are activist or politically conscious. Most of their songs are basically just bragadoccio, with the occasional love song or "let's party and have a good time" song. The most explicitly activist material on their albums have been Ursula Rucker's poems.

"Episodes" and "Panic" discuss social problems, but they arent particularly analytical or activist. They are basically in the same vain as the typical "streets are rough" rap song, done by everyone from Tupac to Jay-Z to Tribe.

How do the Roots deserve to get mentioned in the same sentence as artists like Mos Def, Kweli, Common, and dead prez, all of whom explicitly discuss social and political problems and their solutions in several, or even the majority, of their work? Mos Def, Kweli, and dead prez especially have taken their music into the real world and participated in actual activism on the streets as well. The Roots have not.

As for artists you missed:

BDP (check several joints off edutainment, sex and violence, etc.) check for his role in the Hip-Hop non-violence colaition , HEAL, the Temple of Hip Hop, etc.

The Coup (Kill My Landlord)

Paris

Jungle Brothers (not very activist, but defintely very conscious. They basically set off the trend of Afrocentrism in hip hop)

Sista Souljah (she had more effect as an activist, rather than as an artist)

Peace

---------------------
Thursday, June 17th
Dujeous @ Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street (at Bowery)
w/Addison Groove Project &
Gutbucket
10PM~$13
DUJEOUS debut LP "CITY
LIMITS" INSTOSNOW.
Buy my shit.

I see your point about the roots. I guess what made me include them is that in my opinion, its their fanbase (black and white) that (and they themselves) support socially conscious groups. heck its because of them (?uest in particular) that we are able to engage ourselves in discussions like this right? i agree with your comments on their lyrical content. but its their affilation with these groups (like putting together the OKayplayer tour that gave all these artists exposer) and the music they PRODUCE (knowledgable music with live instrumentation) which they have used to bring other forms of music like jazz mainly, to a comtemporary young audience. ursela also came into mind when i choose them (the whole poetry thing). thanks for the input.

peace.

"I'll bring a point to your ear like Leonard Nimoy" -UD

>I see your point about the
>roots. I guess what made
>me include them is that
>in my opinion, its their
>fanbase (black and white) that
>(and they themselves) support socially
>conscious groups.

Do they really? Let's not forget the roots fanbase is at least almost a million people (they almost went platinum last time around). Do you really think the majority of these fans ACTIVELY and SUBSTANTIVELY support socially conscious groups? I wouldnt say so. OkayActivist is the least active board.

heck its because
>of them (?uest in particular)
>that we are able to
>engage ourselves in discussions like
>this right?

But that doesnt make them activists. Also, note that OkayActivist is on the bottom of the list of discussion boards. Note that okayartists (including Kweli, interestingly enough) don't participate much in the board.

i agree with
>your comments on their lyrical
>content. but its their affilation
>with these groups (like putting
>together the OKayplayer tour that
>gave all these artists exposer)

is this affiliation artistic or political? Do the roots collaborate with dead prez and Kweli politically or just creatively. Think about it...

>and the music they PRODUCE
>(knowledgable music with live instrumentation)

How is their music knowledgable? They rip mics, but I wouldnt really say they drop much knowledge, at least not in a politically or socially conscious manner.

>which they have used to
>bring other forms of music
>like jazz mainly, to a
>comtemporary young audience.

This doesnt make them activist or conscious either.

Sorry to seem like Im going off, its just that this whole "conscious" pigeonhole that every rapper to the left of Jay-Z get thrown into is starting to annoy me. Just cause you have a diverse, heavily headwrapped crowd, and you don't talk about funs, girls, and money, doesn't mean you're conscious.

Youre better off focusing on dead prez and Blackstar in terns of contemporary groups. When you're researching something and writing a paper, its better to delve deep into a few subjects and analyze them to the nth degree rather than touching on several subjects in a more superficial manner. Unless you're writing a paper over a hundred words, I would leave out everyone contemporary except these two groups. Definitely do KRS, PE, and X-Clan!

---------------------
Thursday, June 17th
Dujeous @ Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street (at Bowery)
w/Addison Groove Project &
Gutbucket
10PM~$13
DUJEOUS debut LP "CITY
LIMITS" INSTOSNOW.
Buy my shit.

You could use the "History Of Hip-Hop" book by Vibe Magazine. Although it's not award winning, the bood does provide some valuable information towards how hip hop has affected the community. Plus it goes through the various stages that hip hop has gone through from the beginning up to and including the later 1990's.

If I can think of anything else I'll post. Good idea and Good Luck.

hip-hop papers are my favorite papers to write good luck

Mrs. Harriston: "...Okay now class (enters tardy class-mate) Rashad! Why you come strollin in here fiteen minutes late?"

Rashad: " Man, I am just a lil late, why you trippin?"

Mrs. Harriston: "Look here young man, you gonna be trippin' wit me after school for a week, then we'll see if you come in here with THAT attitude!"

Class: "Ooooooooooooooh!"

Mrs. Harriston: " We don't need any "ooooohs" and "aaaaahs".

Class: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

>Mrs. Harriston: "...Okay now class
>(enters tardy class-mate) Rashad! Why
>you come strollin in here
>fiteen minutes late?"
>
>Rashad: " Man, I am just
>a lil late, why you
>trippin?"
>
>Mrs. Harriston: "Look here young man,
>you gonna be trippin' wit
>me after school for a
>week, then we'll see if
>you come in here with
>THAT attitude!"
>
>Class: "Ooooooooooooooh!"
>
>Mrs. Harriston: " We don't need
>any "ooooohs" and "aaaaahs".
>
>Class: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


Mrs. Harriston: "...Okay now class (enters tardy class-mate) Rashad! Why you come strollin in here fiteen minutes late?"

Rashad: " Man, I am just a lil late, why you trippin?"

Mrs. Harriston: "Look here young man, you gonna be trippin' wit me after school for a week, then we'll see if you come in here with THAT attitude!"

Class: "Ooooooooooooooh!"

Mrs. Harriston: " We don't need any "ooooohs" and "aaaaahs".

Class: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

that's an excellent topic to review and I praise your efforts to do some scholar work on this topic. I am a Black Star fan myself.

Artists: Tupac (his very first album and some songs on his later ones. People may sleep on him, but the kind of real suffering, humanity and hard concious isssues he carried on his music, are pretty amazing, do not dissmiss him just because he is in the realm of Gangsta Rap, also check out his family history and the influence the black panther party had on him, assata and Affeni Shakur, etc.....)
common: he has some amazing and positive things to say about our people no matter creed, race or religion.
Some songs from Guru. KRS-ONE, Public Enemy, Les Nubians(even though is Neo-soul).

Check out BLU magazine, which takes socialist stands against the capitalist oppression of the USA.
BOOks: My favorite author, Michael Erick Dyson- "Between God and Gansta Rap" and "Race Rules".

-Tupac- "rebel for what cause". I don't rememeber the author's name. It talks about the social aspects of the X generation (focusing on Tupac) and the 70s baby boomers (focusing on the involvement of her mother with the black panther party). Basically the book studies the impact of the Civil rights movement on social change and how the X generation feels totally disconnected to it due to the econmomic oppression and institunalized racism they have to endure averyday of their lives.

-Saul Williams, all his work.
-Nikki Giovanni, Assata shakur, Sonia Sanchez, and other poets.

-I am forgetting some important ones, I will get back to you later today.

P.S. I know you are trying to focus on Artists who are bringnig possitive content and solutions to the table, however is important to analize Gansta Rap as a tool of going agaisnt the System. Yes in a negative way, but is a social phenomena, with extremely valuable issues we have to raised in our comunity.

peace out,

Afro-Venezuelan

>Hip Hop's influence on social protest and activitism among the African American community in the 20th century particulary focusing on the 1980's and 90's.

1. What did the Af. Am community protest against in 80's and 90's

What are the significant political issues of our time as seen by our mc's?

- black on black violence
- gang violence
- crack cocaine
- police brutality
- racial profiling
(notice a trend here?)

- AIDS (more of a social issue, but it's also political)
- black education later renamed as diversity/multi-culturalism

In the late 80's and early 90's, you couldn't see a rapper who didn't touch one of these issues on his lp.

But are these the same issues that have concerned Afrikan American activists? I don't think that they are. If you just went by what Jesse, Al, and Louis were saying, the Mc's were just speaking on what set of related ideas, and not all the issues that concern us.

Did these mc's raise new issues and concerns within our community, or within some other community?

1. Who did our Mc's inspire?

Obviously it's folks like me and others on activist. But even without hip hop, I would be concerned about my people. My folks are conscious and instilled in me those values. I have a feeling that is the case amongst most of my peers here in Activist. It wasn't Chuck D that got us wondering about power structures, it was Mom and Dad.

Who among us was on the fence before political hip hop, and then became concerned afterwards? How many of us heard hip hop and were then informed about the problems in the black community?

Most folks know where I'm going with this.

2. What did any of the artists actually do for the cause?

Often we have to lead by example. And I can only think of 2 instances where rappers actually protested or did something to aid in a protest. (PE's by the time I get to arizona galvanized the MLK birthday issue in AZ, and Blackwatch (X-clan's political group) shut down a bridge in NY. Most of that is almost 10 years old)

I don't count charity projects and speaking engagements as direct political action. I also don't think the Unbound project raised awareness for folks it most concerns.

3. Were any of them successful?

The problem I see with your essay thus far, is that it can become a discography of what folks on okayactivist listen to.

roots, mos def, talib kweli, blackstar, the Coup, paris, early ice cube, pe, x-clan, krs one/boogie down productions, king sun, def jef, old nwa, old geto boys, success n effect, brand nubian, YZ, Kam,

And then there are all those mc's who have touched on various political issues when it was popular to do so. Too many to name.

In terms of modern day activism

- Uhuru - an organization that Dead Prez is involved with that wants to build a charter school. (charter schools incidentally are mostly funded by state money.)

- Nkiru bookstore - owned by mos and kweli

I think your essay might be better served by talking to students in social work undergrad programs, or civil rights law school programs. And the answers you get will suprise you. I guarantee a lot of those cats will say Yolanda Adams and Kurt Franklin as opposed to Chuck D and Brother J.

one
k. orr

http://breddanansi.tumblr.com/

---------------------
Thursday, June 17th
Dujeous @ Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street (at Bowery)
w/Addison Groove Project &
Gutbucket
10PM~$13
DUJEOUS debut LP "CITY
LIMITS" INSTOSNOW.
Buy my shit.

I think Hip-Hop was a gigantic tool in making me MORE concerned with the "issues" in our community at an early age(middle school). People like me were inspired to learn about more than what is in the history books, shown on the tv, and printed in the magazines and newspapers. Living in a place where ignorance is the "Order Of The Day" , Hip-Hop was a breath of fresh air to me and a PUSH to know more and act on what I know. I felt empowered by lyrics of the emcee's in the "black medalion, no gold" era. I even went and read El Hajj Malik Shabazz's(Malcolm X) Autobiography !Then I became curious as to who inspired them. Who was it who played the part they played for me? What were they talking about? Who is this I am hearing samples from? Why are they(the sampled atrists) so important to these people who are so important to me today? I WAS impressionable at the time, but I thank God for them. They made my already questioning spirit feel VALID. I had MANY friends and associates who fit in this category, there are waaaaay more than you think.

Peace

other artits:
Arrested Development, Black eye peas.

-BOoks: Bell Hooks has written good papers on Hip Hop and the Culture behind, also Carl George, and Kevin Powell--"keeping it Real"

Depends on waht issue you focus, these authors might offer some help.

peace out

"between God and Gangsta Rap" by Michael Eric Dyson (!)


_____________
"We haven't gotten freedom for Leonard Peltier yet. Maybe he's not Marc Rich enough." - Robbie Robertson when presenting the first Grammy for Native American music

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this subject, there are many avenues you take with a subject like this and its nice to get some feedback.

Peace

"I'll bring a point to your ear like Leonard Nimoy" -UD

man i was just thinking something similar to this this week!

i think the original social outcry and activism group in the aspect of the term "HIP HOP" as it was originally coined was:

Grandmaster Flash/Melle Mel and the Furious Five. why? Songs like:
1. White Lines (dont do it)- asong about either heroin or coke, or both,
2. The Message-about the woes of society
3. Survival (THe Message Part II)-also self -ex.,
4. New York, New York-about the ills and woes of new york city life (and b4 all the newjacks start talkin, let's learn a little hip hop history: New York, New York was Done by Grandmaster Flash/Melle Mel and the Furious Five in the 80's, that other junk came out in the 90's. nuff said)
5. Sign of the Times
and many more........

so definitely, give them props, as they were the TRUE FOUNDERS of conscious and social outcry hip hop.

however, the original conscious and social RAPPERS (and not HIP HOP) were the last poets. give them big ups too.


make sure you give them their credit where it is due, cause w/o them and other pioneers, we probably wouldnt be on this site now!