On Saturday March 4th, 2006, I attended a roundtable discussion “Know-the Ledge: Hiphop Scholarship Meets Hiphop Media.” It was attended by an illustrious panel of Hip Hop journalists, artists, scholars, and multimedia specialists. Among the panelists were Davey D, Adisa Banjoko, Eric K. Arnold, Robert ‘biko’ Baker, Boots Riley, KRS-One, oldschool Busy B, Sticcman of dead prez, Giuseppe Pipitone, James Spady, Cathy Cohen, Michael Eric Dyson and many others. I was pleased to meet Ladybug Mecca from the Digable Planets who laced me with her new solo CD, “Trip the Light Fantastic” which is hot and I will be reviewing soon. Tommie Shelby, philosopher, political theorist, and Harvard professor blessed me with his book he collaborated on with Derrick Darby, “Hip-hop And Philosophy, Rhyme 2 Reason.” I look forward to reading this book in addition to Lyrical Swords Vol II: Westside Rebellion which I picked up from Adisa Banjoko.
The panels were followed by the dedication of Stanford’s Hip Hop Archive. I must admit it is a nice archive. I hate giving Stanford any props because I’m a Cal Bear and my sister who is a senior at Stanford loves to pop her collar from time to time about Stanford. The Archive has a library of dozens of Hip Hop themed movies, scores of magazines, interviews, and periodicals throughout the years, dozens of classic framed 12″ covers, and memorabilia like RUN DMC dolls. Overall, they have yet something else that I as a Cal graduate am envious of. The Hip Hop Archive was established and organized by one of my sister’s professors, Dr. Marcyliena Morgan. I know that whatever Dr. Morgan is doing, she keeps it very real because my sister has called me up asking me for the etymology of Bay slang words like “bootsy” while doing research for her papers.
As far as the conference, I arrived towards the end of the 2nd of 5 panels. The panel was billed “Get In Where You Fit In: Organizing Space, Place, Race, and the Digital World” and it centered on Hip Hop as a source of activism and social change and how it facilitates political organizing. Many of those involved blamed record labels and the powers that be for squelching political Hip Hop and contended that Hip Hop is and will continue to be a vehicle for political expression. I disagree. When I’m out DJing, my crowds request (demand) that I play the latest Hyphy jam, Juelz Santana, Ying Yang, Paul Wall, etc. There’s not much room for Public Enemy, KRS One, or even a recent positive song like Styles P’s “I’m Black” which was allegedly banned on UnClear Channel.
For years, I was a staunch believer in the death penalty, but now I’m not so sure. My staunch religious background taught me that it should be a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. But now I think an eye for an eye just makes everyone blind.