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On Wednesday, May 9, 2001, an organization called "A Movement for Change", held a town hall meeting on the 3rd floor of the Adam Clayton Powell State building on 125th street. The meeting, hosted by Minister Conrad Muhammud, covered the topic of Hip Hop and whether or not it is ruining the African American Community. The event featured such hip hop greats likeWeldon Irving and "DxT", legendary rapper KRS One, hip hop journalist Rosa Clemente, and former Syracuse police officer Richard Bartee, with special guest appearances by Africa Bambatta and city council candidate Erica Ford.
The crowd shouted in praise, hanging on to his every word, as he stroked their ears with a poetry anything far from subtle. After serenading his ego, he handed the microphone over to famous hip hop producer Weldon Irving who had this to say about current hip hop, " The state of hip hop is confused and desperate like black people; solutions must come from usŠ" He went on to add, " So- called artists need to be artists and not whores for music executives.' To be whores, they must sell their services regardless of the outcome, not caring at all as to what they are getting into. Is this the case today with musicians? Rappers such as Dmx, Method Man, and Eminem, are they "whores", selling their services to the highesty bidder?
It is the parent's job to monitor the viewing habits of their children and not the artists. In turn the artist should take a measure of responsibilty when a child takes the life of another child while imitating his favorite musician. But this isn't just the case with musicians. Time and time again the news reports of a child taking the life another child while imitating wrestling moves. There is the prime example of Lionel Tate who recently killed a little girl while trying to body slam her (a popular wrestling move.)To sum up ,I feel it is up to the parents to monitor what their children are watching.
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Does
Gangster Rap degrade black people? Does rap discriminate against blacks?
Are record executives wasting their money on rappers? These are but
a few of the questions minister Conrad asked in his twenty minute introduction
speech, where he professed to his blatant dislike for gangster rap.
He also announced to the audience the verbal assault he received recently
from radio personalities Star and Buckwild of Hot 97. With a chest full
of pride and a head the size of Canada, he denounced the hit duo while
airing on one of their shows live, stating that they are two main contributors
in the moral decline of the African American community.
The
minister seemed to work the crowd the same way he would a church service
starting the meeting with a christian prayer, (despite the ethnic and
religious diversity of the audience). He spoke with power and emphasized
the middle and last word of every sentence which is commonly mocked
by comedians when imitating African American priests.
To
express oneself is one of the few freedoms we as a people and a generation
have left; it has been untainted by the world's ever changing morals
and views. Why would we give this up ? There is a part of me that agrees
with the empty words of Minister Conrad. Young; minds are impressionable.
Children look up to these rappers; they watch their videos. They see
their idols calling women bitches and hoes; they see them with guns
and drugs. They are being fed this with a table spoon of salt through
MTV and BET.
