First and foremost, let me congratulate the Valley Advocate for your continuing coverage of the burgeoning hip-hop community of the Pioneer Valley and for your coverage of the culture of hip-hop in general. In order for people to accept and appreciate a culture, they need to know a little something about it. Kudos.
But unfortunately…
One of the single most ignorant rants I have ever read in my life appeared in your last issue as a response to your coverage of the female hip-hop event at Hampshire College ("Hip-Hop Happening," March 6, 2008). I can't help but wonder if the gentleman who wrote it understands how ironic it is that the article he was responding to was about an all-woman hip-hop event and one of his main criticisms of hip-hop was the degradation of women in hip-hop? The event was meant to empower women through hip-hop and the journalist who wrote the article seemed to understand and appreciate that. I also wonder if he realizes that he directly cited the reason that the image of hip-hop has been severely distorted by corporations who only see monetary value in the culture? So the problem isn't hip-hop music, it is the bastardization of the culture of hip-hop.
Yes, culture. There is much more to hip-hop than just the music or the images that BET and MTV (who are both Viacom-owned companies) promote under the guise of hip-hop. There is even a stark contrast between hip-hop music and rap music (a fact lost on Mr. Bumpus). Hip-hop music is a creative art form done for the purpose of free and creative self- expression (an attitude and mindset derived directly from our predecessors in the jazz and blues communities), whereas rap music is music made mainly for monetary gain.
It's easy for people to look at cultures that they know nothing about and level criticism, but it takes a real effort to approach the subject with an open mind. Every generation in this country has a hard time understanding and appreciating the generations that followed them, but without that understanding and guidance the generations that follow are lost. So my advice to anyone who really believes that hip-hop has no redemptive value or that it is all negative (or that it is not a valid art form) is simply to reach out to the people who are actively involved in the culture and learn about it.
Inaccurate criticisms and a lack of willingness to learn about people (cultures, genres of music, etc.) aren't integral parts of a plan for a better future, they are simply representations of ignorance. Let us not forget (Wynton Marsalis included) that the very same criticisms of hip-hop that you hear today are the very same criticisms leveled at every other form of black music or representation of black culture (especially jazz and rock and roll) throughout the history of this country. Isn't it time to start appreciating and nurturing our own American art forms instead of just blindly bashing them?
Benny Black
DJ, Producer, MC
via e-mail
