Wackness is a disease and I got the remedies!

To continue looking at the therapeutic qualities of Hip Hop, I want to briefly mention Lewis Parker's Rise 12”; one of my favourite UK Hip Hop records. What I love about it is how in both tunes ('Rise' and 'Visions of Splendour') Hip Hop culture is treated with almost religious awe. Parker places Hip Hop at the centre of his world, finding hope and strength in its various aesthetic elements. We hear his therapy expressed in and through the medium of beats and rhymes, not incense and bell chimes. Armed with a stack of records, some fat-lace puma suede's and a microphone, Lewis Parker attacks life's 'Wackness' in all its forms. Have a Listen...

These beats got me glue when life gets blue...

'Know this. It was the lack of money and other resources that caused Hip Hop to exist. Hip Hop existed outside of the mainstream and its validations. Hip Hop was what WE did independent of the World's value systems. Hip Hop was (and still is) our only salvation. Hip Hop is what saved us - nothing else!' (The Gospel of Hip-Hop, p. 35)

Big Claim! I believe Hip Hop is a positive movement that has little to do with the mainstream garbage that gets assigned the label of Rap or Hip Hop. But mad heads be hating on Hip Hop today: they see it as destructive, hyper-materialistic, even oppressive. Yet, as the quote above shows, there are many who see Hip Hop as a life-affirming movement, offering therapy (even hope?) to the disillusioned. Here are two opposing articles to consider...

1. Hip-Hop’s contribution to black poverty…

2. Lost Ones: How Hip Hop Provides A Voice & An Ear To Foster Children

Honey, Don't Front...

'For we have realized now that your culture is your religion, and it is impossible for us (Hiphoppas) to have a relationship with GOD through a culture that is not inherently ours. OUR culture is OUR direct connection to GOD... Others may have discovered other truths, but this gospel documents the spiritual truths we as a Hip Hop community have discovered at the birth of our civilisation.' (The Gospel of Hip-Hop, p. 28)

So I'm sitting thinking how best to introduce this next post... I think this tune puts it nicely. Before reading further, sit back, kool out, and give this a listen...

The Genesis

Peace to all web travellers, knowledge junkies, Hiphoppas, blog slingers and steady bloggers alike! Welcome to the first post of Blog's Son: a blog that looks at Hip-Hop through the eyes of a Theology student. Or maybe its the other way round...

The idea for this blog came from buying The Gospel of Hip-Hop; legendary emcee KRS-ONE's 'philosophical masterwork' written to preserve and advance the Hip-Hop movement. The book is a dope source for learning about the philosophy of Hip-Hop, and proposes some really interesting ideas. The main one being that, far from being a culture that manifests other religious traditions, Hip Hop is a religious/spiritual movement in-and-of-itself. This blog is therefore an attempt to explore this theme, which I will do by harnessing the book, my experiences of Hip-Hop, and the collective knowledge of the internet community.