S.O.N.

My whole life I was taught to keep my back against the wall.  Its Us verses Them.  Us being Hip-Hop and Them being the outsiders looking in.  All we want from the world is acceptance, nothing more.  Everything else we can obtain on our own.  But finally being accepted would be our biggest reward.  From the beginning, this culture has been placed with a criminal label.  Sorta like the parental advisory label on your favorite new album, well not if you got it from Walmart.  Yes, there is graphic violence within some of the lyrics of our songs, but that does not make everyone associated with the culture a criminal.  The MC who wrote it doesn't have to be a criminal either.  For the most part, they are rapping about events that happen everyday in their neighborhoods.  Shakespeare wrote of many deaths, but no one labeled him a serial killer.  He's an artist, so why can't The Notorious B.I.G. by one as well.  Drive through Bed-Stuy and bump some Biggie and tell me he is not the tour guide.  These words weren't meant to be a tough guy act, but a simple cry from the ghetto.  A cry for help.  Something like an S.O.S.  Instead it reads S.O.N.:Save Our Neighborhoods.  A message all minorities or people from low income housing can relate to.  Hip- Hop is a way we can save our neighborhoods.

A Culture Ms. Understood

Hip Hop.  She's a beautiful one with many different characteristics.  A loud and vibrant culture that displays itself in a way that is outside of the norm.  From the outside looking in, I can see how she can be misunderstood.  Just as any other culture, it is just another way of doing things.  Another way of playing and dancing to music.  Another way of putting on clothes.  Hip Hop even has its own language that may vary from neighborhood to neighborhood.  That alone will have any average person raise their eyebrow.  Sometimes she might come off as a lil aggressive but that is just her representing the struggle and progress of the people.  Thats what she is.  Hip Hop, Ms. Understood, is simply a progressive movement.  Just as any other movement, it has its leaders and followers.  But in this movement, its followers can be, if not are its leaders.  She really is a mirror representation of America.  Promoting freedom and individuality throughout the masses.  Its not a closed culture like most will think.  She opens up her hands and warm heart to anyone willing to give her a chance.  For a chance to be understood, would mean the world.  But in the mean time, its us against the world.  Bonnie and Clyde style.

I Am HIP-HOP.

Hip-Hop.  What is this Hip-Hop?  It's more than just a lyrical rhythmic poem told over an ill beat.  What about those kids who jump around on cardboard and the paintings everywhere in the city?  Oh, the break dancers and the graffiti art?  These are just apart of the culture, a culture that goes way beyond the lavish lifestyle of the rich and famous that is portrayed on your local television.  All that flashy stuff is just apart of the music business that is associated with this lively culture.  But this still does not exactly explain what Hip-Hop is.  Hip-Hop is a lifestyle.  It's how you walk, talk, and present yourself to the world.  It is a way to be an individual, to express yourself.  Hip-Hop forces you to be different.  Nobody wants to be a copycat, it's corny.  It is not uncommon to see old ideas be recycled, but it is how that person flips it into their own that makes it Hip-Hop.  If you ever get a chance to visit the South Bronx, the question of what is Hip-Hop will instantly be answered.  Still might not understand it, but you will definitely know what it is.  It is a culture that represents the struggle; a movement to enlighten and empower the people.  With that being said, I believe Hip-Hop's origins go farther back than the South Bronx in the 1970s.  Hip-Hop started as early as the Enlightenment in aspects of reforming society and spreading knowledge.  Knowledge is power and Hip-Hop is knowledge.  It is more than just an urban thing, because it's a world thing.  Hip-Hop is about spreading knowledge and power around the world to make it a better place.  Changing the psych of society is the easiest way to do so.  We all poses characteristics of Hip-Hop, if we know it or not.  It's up to you on how you use it.  The world is Hip-Hop.  We are Hip-Hop.
I am Hip-Hop.