Hip-Hop's Political Voice

by simon remark

Back in 1988 it took a nation of millions to hold back the political voice of Chuck D, and his crew Public Enemy. Chuck's lyrics addressed the ills of media, as well as various other political and social issues. On the group's 1989 follow-up, Fear of a Black Planet, Chuck D picked up where he left off on It Takes a Nation… by tackling the racist nature of film ("Burn Hollywood Burn") and other important topics. But today it seems as though hip-hop lacks a politically and socially aware voice. When Spike Lee released his brilliant film Do The Right Thing, which blasted PE's "Fight the Power" throughout, political hip-hop was all the rage. Now rap fans only want to 'shake they ass' to mainstream music.

In his book Fight the Power, Chuck D says, "I didn't want to rap about 'I'm this or I'm that' all the time . . .. My focus was not on boasting about myself or battling brothers on the microphone. I wanted to rap about battling institutions, and bringing the condition of Black people worldwide to a respectable level." Evidently, most current rap artists couldn't care less about battling institutions; and based on their videos, they obviously don't care about bringing the condition of black people worldwide to a respectable level either. Spike Lee claims that countless current rap videos are nothing more than modern day minstrel shows; thus, numerous rap artists contribute to TV's misrepresentation of blacks.

However, there are a few hip-hop artists who still concentrate on social and political issues. For instance, last year Mos Def and Talib Kweli, collectively known as Blackstar, put together an EP and accompanying not-for-profit foundation called Hip-Hop For Respect. All the proceeds from the EP went to the foundation. Blackstar invited numerous hip-hop artists to appear on one of four songs—all artists participated for free—to address the brutal murder of Amadou Diallo, a young black man who was shot 41 times by New York City police officers; the songs also focus on police brutality in general. Diallo was unarmed, yet the 'excessive force' (murder) charges were dropped.

Sadly, the EP's title track, "One Four Love Pt 1," didn't experience much commercial success. But back in the late '80s tracks of this nature were more commercially successful. For example, "Self Destruction," a song raising awareness about black-on-black crime, was very popular when it was released. "Self Destruction" was put together by social activist KRS-One and featured popular artists of the time Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Public Enemy, Heavy D, among others.

Similar to KRS-One and PE, Mos Def and Talib Kweli use their music to raise awareness about various important social and political issues, such as Diallo's murder. Other artists like Common and El-p also use their music to raise awareness about myriad issues. Mos Def explains that Hip-Hop for Respect, "...strives to encourage those who profit from the entertainment industry to accept responsibility and leadership roles in the very communities in which their fan base lives, works and plays." More hip-hop artists need to follow Mos Def's lead.

On his solo debut, Black on Both Sides, Mos Def covers problems ranging from the racism that has plagued rock 'n' roll since its inception to the emptiness of nightlife. But most of today's hip-hop artists stay away from such issues. Why? Because they want to make money, and conscious hip-hop doesn't make money. Commercial rappers stick to the formula that has proven successful: sex, sex, and videos full of sex. But who's to blame? The artists, or radio, TV and magazines? Because, as I previously mentioned, political hip-hop was commercially successful at one time—PE's It Takes a Nation… was a multi-platinum album!

Perhaps both the artists and mainstream media are at fault. Hip-hop artists have become increasingly apathetic when it comes to social and political subjects. And mainstream mediums such as radio and TV cater to an audience that's only interested in one type of rap music: the 'bling, bling ' (I loathe that phrase!) type. And the attitudes of today's rap artists are completely different from the attitude of an artist like Chuck D, who has this approach: "It's unique that I have a concern for what I put down because I believe words can resonate. I believe words can spark action."

It's probably safe to say that most rap artists today don't care about using their words to spark action. Apparently most rappers only care about making money. With all the corruption and injustice in our culture it's a shame more hip-hop artists aren't using their voices to raise awareness about important social and political matters. I strongly believe we need light-hearted, creative, and fun hip-hop. But we also need politically charged hip-hop. We need more hip-hop artists who are concerned with 'sparking action.' Hip-hop artists and fans need to recapture Chuck D's political fervor and Fight the Power!

Copyright © 2001 Simon S. Remark. All Rights Reserved.