Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum

from the Zion I e-newsletter "THA NORTHSTAR" #20

"REASONINGS

Since we've spent the month in NYC, we've been able to check out some pretty ill performances and jams. Yet, the pinnacle of this would have to be the KRS One, Big Daddy Kane, and Chuck D show we saw last week. I mean, talk about hip hop history fa real!! It was incredible to see the wealth of knowledge and information to occupy the stage at one time.

Let's be realistic....there were so many heads in the house, I know I'll miss a few, but here are the highlights: Poor Righteous Teachers, Bumpy Knuckles, Dj Red Alert, DJ Kool Herc, Rahzel, T La Rock, Bushwick Bill, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, the Treacherous Three, Curtis Blow, Jeru the Damaja, Kurtis Blow, Greg Nice, and the list goes on. Trust me, it was out of control! Its wild to see alot of the cats who I grew up memorizing all in one place at one time. Everyone jostled for shine time, but somehow KRS One seemed the obvious ring leader. At a point, he has remained the most relevant to today's scene by continuing to stay in the grind of it all.
To note, many of these performers were the bricklayers for hip hop's pop status today. Yet, most of them were never really compensated for their great work. Its apparent that the cats from the early 80's through the early 90's completely missed the big budgets and pop notoriety that artists now come to bask in. However, without them...there would be no us.
These are our hip hop ancestors, still alive and well, many still hungry for the mic. Yet, I am sure that many do not recognize these names, or how integral they are to the success of hip hop music. I mean, Kool Herc is credited with starting hip hop!! The architect of a culture??! That's real big! In fact he spoke on it, saying that hip hop is a cousin of reggae. If you don't know, Kool Herc is said to be the first one to juggle a beat at the hottest part of the break, thus creating the loop, the foundation of hip hop music. He said that he came from Jamaica, moved to New York, and copied here, what he had seen in his homeland.
Its quite interesting that these men and women are not paid. If they were the creators of some big corporation, they would be filthy rich. Yet, somehow, being the creators of a culture which has transformed countless lives does not register in the material realm. However, the spiritual contribution is apparent. Hip hop is alive and well yall. Respect the ancestors, those who paved the way. We've got to know the past in order to know the future. Guidance."

Nice post. It is good (in my eyes) that these artists didn't become 'pop' icons...That is probably why they could put out socially concsious music(like KRS-1, Poor Righteous Teachers, ect...)If hip-hop had been usurped by corporate motives like what has occured now, we would have had the junk most hip-hop has become, start earlier. :o Unfortunately the brothers and sisters who were the foundation didn't get paid...But that seems to be the trend in most African music generes....It's sad that most of the youth today don't get a good dose of edutainment like we grew up with. I can honestly give credit to KRS-1..1...1...(insert old school echo here)  for starting me on a path to self knowledge...Without the song "You Must Learn" I don't know where I would be now. That song made me feel stupid for not knowing what he was talking about...and I researched all the things he mentioned, and got angry I wasn't being taught to "know thyself"....(I'm still righteousely angrered) ;) That's part of what scares me about the music influences on today's youth...People try to say it is harmless(yah right) but is Little John really going to inspire the same thirst for knowledge KRS-1 and the like did for my generation? ??? The radio is used to teach. But this hip-pop crap is what the enemy wants us to learn....

Notice as soon as NaS moved away from trip-hop Jay-Z BS and became more culture conscious, heard most in songs like "One Mic," he lost his so called "street credibility," audience, and his air time.  It didn't happen overnight, but he's lost much of his audience.  

Young (mindless) people don't want music that makes them think.  They want music to "dance with the hoes to," sinking lower and lower to their filthy sinks of debauchery, intoxicated by the deafening bass beats coming from their expensive shiny cars.  That Kayne West piece summed it all up - what it's all about.  Hell, Jay-Z had a song called "Money, sex, hoes"  They speak for themselves.  Isn't the greatest percentage of rap album sales to white teenagers anyway?  It's a f***ing joke.
:-X

LET JAH KINGDOM COME AND CRUSH THIS FILTHY WORLD.

out_of_Zion:

i couldn't have put it better i-self! SELAH!!!