www.LaneDavey.com
What is Hip Hop?

To say I am a Christian who voted for Bush might be frowned upon in the Hip Hop community and to write a positive article about Hip Hop would surely offend some conservatives, but the entity of Hip Hop itself may have been created to break down these barriers.

Most people today associate Hip Hop with rap on MTV which usually involves a lot of screaming about nothing, and a bunch of 1/2 naked women hanging off a glorified gangster dressed in doo rags, but draped in riches. For a while, I felt my own Hip Hop experience which started in the early 80s must of been some sort of a dream that no longer exsisted, until recently where Hip Hop pioneers have come out and encouraged a sort of second coming of Hip Hop.

While Hip Hop often gets a bad rap; you don't have to look far to see its true poetry. Kanye West who emerged onto the scene literally rapping "through the wire" of his broken jaw, has also made his recent song Jesus walks (with me) into a hit single. Akon on the same token is actually featured in jail for his hit song and video "Locked Up" which expresses his struggles facing society as a convict. P Diddy doesn't seem to be so Puffy anymore since he has lead this whole generation into understanding the importance of their right to Rock the Vote. So I ask, what other genre of music has this much passion, dedication and influence. Even some of todays rap that is so controversial is simply a voice of reality which quite frankly people don't want to hear. The truth is most pop stars don't even have a message and we are happy with that. They sing about their life and their little love songs and it doesn't bother us, but when someone is screaming out to us in poetry about their lives, in poverty, in gangs, in drugs thats not okay. Is it because its violent and vulgar or because we sit safely in our homes and don't want to hear about those who have to live that environment on a daily basis. I often see commercials for sponsoring a child in other poor countries, but after searching on the internet could not find one to sponsor or help our own right here in America. Bill O Reilly is constantly bashing gangster rap and trying to show that it hurts poor communities, but I have yet to see him put up and organization on the screen where we can all go to help these children. Hip Hop seems to be doing a lot more to help than it's opposition. I am confused as to why our churches, our missions and our media is quick to complain and accuse rap, but slow to listen and take action about what is being said. I have yet to hear anyone complain about gangster rap, but then turn around and pray for the gangsters. Sometimes people say its their own fault, that they have to live that way, but I don't believe that. I think its our fault and now that the same violence is imposing on our own children we get upset. The difference is our children did not turn the music off and therefore will know of the struggle because the music and the lyrics will live on with them for the rest of their lives, just like it did with me.

In the same way Graffiti as I have known it, was a way for the forgotten children of the ghetto to let their names and talent shine all throughout the city via the subway trains. Now I know at 34 years old, that its not right for our kids to be vandals, but there are parallels in such that day by day their names go up and day by day the city wipes them out. Wasn't it our own University who employed and paid a mainland company $5,000 to make our college a logo which in turn nobody liked. Why not pay our own art students even $500 to make a logo that represents them and can help them with their tuition. As much as everyone complains about Graffiti on the walls they buy the graffiti inspired graphics on their tee shirts, they have no problem with the clothing industry using graffiti and the images of Hip Hop to market themselves, Sometimes when the artists bomb the businesses I can't help from feeling like those might just be the same business who will turn our kids down when they apply for a job; not because they don't have the talent, but more likely because they don't fix their teeth, dye their hair or get a nose job. Is their really a difference in the politicians who have their names and faces plastered everywhere and our teens. The politicians are signs you say, they come down, yes, but they last a lot longer than the names in graffiti letters nonetheless. One of my friends the other day said, its really nice when those guys come and paint the scenics over the graffiti and what a gift they were giving to the community, but who are we to judge which style of art is better.

My first experience with Hip Hop came in 1983 and the banner over us was UNITY. At 15, I did not realize the significance that as my father took this picture of me breakdancing in NYC, it was with a race of people he had been brainwashed to believe didn't belong together and here we were, total strangers, laughing and having fun together right in front of a huge crowd of people. Though my Dad and I are still at opposite ends of this spectrum in some ways I now give him credit for just giving me the chance to break these chains in our family. Many folks from Mississippi where my Dad was raised would have not given their children this opportunity, even today.

I recently attended two events in L.A. which showed me that this message is still alive and in the 21st century has gone completely global. When I walked into the Freestyle Sessions breakdance competition their were dancers from Japan, France, Germany, China, Finland and many other countries. As I saw the 4 tier level concert hall totally covered in dancers from all over the world I felt tears in my eyes. This thing we had done 20 years ago in the streets on cardboard had not only been perpetuated, but to my surprise had hit every corner of the globe. I will also add that this was an event including teenagers of every race country and culture until 12 pm on a Saturday night and there were no fights throughout the event which was alcohol free. What drug-free organizations have been trying to do for our children, Hip Hop has accomplished. The very next weekend I also attended the B-Boy Summit which was even more significant to me because here was an event which had been perpetuating the essence of Hip Hop even in its darkest moments hosted by a woman dancer known as B-Girl Asia One. Not only did the Summit portray a powerful image for women but pioneers such as Grandmaster Caz and D.S.T from NYC had come to bridge the West Coast East Coast gap in Hip Hops Unity campaign. This event was more like how we used to do it, just a jam in the streets literally between two big warehouses one of the nights; no competition. It also included, panel discussions and tributes to Hip Hop Icons. The events were going on at exactly the same time as the Olympics Gymnastics so I remember "Olympic Style" dance moves being the best term to describe what was happening on the dance floor, but until you've been at one of these events and actually seen the battles or participated in them you just can't understand the power that you get from it. You feel like you've gone to another planet all together. My favorite part of the event is on an evening where I had the opportunity to hang out with some of Hawaii's Breakers after the show. We hooked up with their friends and friends of their friends and went in a large group to a Denny's in Santa Monica. As we entered the restaurant, you could have heard a pin drop as googled eyes from black men, white men and women peered at our group. Our group from which caucasians like me stood with African Americans, Hispanics, next to Japanese and Filipinos and even some dancers from France, That to me was the best definition of Hip Hop and what it stands for. That to me is why artists like Run DMC, Public Enemy, KRS ONE, Tupac and others may go down in the history books as pioneers of a whole new revolution of civill rights for all mankind.

“God is not interested in merely freeing black men and brown men and yellow men, but God is interested in freeing the whole human race. We must work with determination to create a society not where black men are superior and other men are inferior and vise versa but a society in which all men will live together as brothers and respect the dignity and worth of human personality” Martin Luther King

written by Lane Davey
aka B-Girl Yoda Laneski