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Hip Hop Peace Summit Davey D- I can remember just about a year ago when everyone around me was pickin' sides in this whole East / West b.s. (Seattle, WA). I can safely say that the true hip hop heads around here have put all that to rest. Of course, there'll always be a few knuckleheads fantasizing about a hip hop civil war, but they're in the minority now. I just wanted to commend you on your newsletter. Hip hop has been part of my life since about '88 and until now, I haven't let it affect me emotionally. But yo, I LOVE hip hop and while everyone is still waking up from this East/West nightmare, you've been just droppin knowledge left and right. I'll admit that I haven't really adhered to The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and his philosophies, but he's really guiding us to the right directions. The NOI Peace Summit was truly a milestone in Hip Hop- thanks for informing me about it.
G.
Wassup to all reading this, and Davey D for keeping everything real.... I just have a few questions, comments, concerns to put up for thought. (no offense to anyone involved/mentioned intended-just bare with me) First: I am assuming that Davey D is black (i'm not all that "politically correct"- sorry). I am a white DJ, The Real Hip-Hop Show, out in Arizona- no REAL hip-hop scene whatsoever-help!- for a college radio station. Fortunately I am under a DJ who has a much better understanding for the real roots of hip-hop etc. than most people I have ever met/heard. I was not aware of the summit at all...that's how bad it is out here. I am very glad to have the access to other outlets through the internet. Second: I mentioned the race thing above for a few simple reasons/concerns I have. For one- I listened to Louis Farrakhon speak at the Million Man March and being white I would have to say that to me, some of the things he said were offensive. I don't recall the exact words, but I do recall how I felt when I listened to him. I am very happy to hear what he is doing for the hip-hop scene, but I believe that it is more for the "black scene" in his case- risking myself sounding like an ass. I mean that is apparent by the reading of the Willie Lynch letter, again bringing up the division, white-black. Any person, no matter what color, could come up with the same plan for any other race. It just so happened that it was a slave owning ass-hole who wrote it down. Third: I have noticed the advocation of unity among those who are black and in the same community. I will just call them "black pride" type occurances...such as the Million Man March etc.- advocating unity among that race. I have also noticed that these type of programs serve to indeed unite race, but exclude the other races even further(especially white). I get crap all of the time from all colored people about the fact that I listen to hip-hop, the way I dress, etc. People say I think I'm black, or why don't I "act" right(white) and so on. On the contrary I am white and VERY proud of it, yet in that I still do not disassociate those other races. Get my meaning? I have two very distinct memories, one from high school and one from here at college, not too long ago. In high school we had, I guess you could say, a black awareness week, where the African-American club hosted a number of events throughout the week. Being friends with many of the black people at my school, I noticed that it did bring more unity amongst themselves, yet it defenitely caused more indifference towards all others. I heard some of my black "friends" saying things about others(other races) amongst themselves, that I have never heard come from their mouths before-I was offended. At the occurance here at school, I attended an Apollo-style talent show where a number of acts performed, and we would boo or cheer etc. One of the acts was a "poetry" reading by an African-American woman from on-campus who is well known and well respected by all of the black students on campus- In essence she is a role-model. Well she started this reading by giving snaps at blacks-talking about hair, color, etc.-just dogging. She then turned around and said all of these things were said by whites and went on to bash whites- the thing that stuck in my head was when she said "...those rapist-mother fuckers, that's right- I said mother fuckers!" Now up until this point I had been quiet and just heard her out, only saying a few comments to my friends sitting near me, but when I saw a girl I knew(she was white) get up and walk out crying, I couldn't be quiet any longer. Since it was Apollo style, and despite most of the people there staying totally silent, I stood up and booed. These types of things are what I gather from most of these "meetings". I mean Farrakhon is respected amongst the black community and for the most part disliked by the white...I don't know why others do, but I simply don't really like him for the fact that he constantly disses whites. He could go about the unity thing in a different matter- possibly promoting more "over-all" unity. Fourth: I do agree with all the conspiracy talk etc...that is a known. But as to who, what, why...??? Thanks for the time....respond if you want to...msanto@u.arizona.edu Draft P.S.- Go Cats---The damn NCAA champs bay-bay!!! You Knoo-oooww!! If you kill a man, you are a murderer, kill many, and you're a conquerer...kill them all and you're a god.
Yo thanx, thanx, thanx and thanx!!! Dat newsletter was so ill. 100% concentrated truth. It so obvious dat suckaz tryna pervert hiphop, by all means necessary. Thanx kingDave
Ill Crew Universal/Intensive Care Unit I feel the media had been postive & negative for hip hop. It has been a double edged sword & unfortunately the balance is heaviest on the negative side. The best example of this would be the Vibe articles on Deathrow & Bad Boy. I feel those articles were more antagonistic then they had to be. Of course the artists are responsible too for how they portray themselves. I believe a lot of the problem lies in the fact that there are not enough media representation from the communities from which these artists come from. Those with the most access to hip hop have no stake in the communities that these artists come from. So maybe that's why they don't seem to be too bothered with the way these artists come off. Many times when I've read Vibe, I've wondered if this magazine has any love for hip hop at all. The articles play up the negative aspects of the artists while downplaying the positives. Some of the articles are flat out disses in which they seem to search for the worst pictures of the artists and then talk about how bad they look. Also we need to analyze why the most violent and overtly sexual aspects of hip hop have overtaken all other forms of hip hop in our communities as well as in the media. What larger purpose is this serving? And who is benefitting verses who is suffering from this phenomenon? Lastly, these artists have to start checking themselves first and look at how they are representing themselves, then they need to use their power to bring more individuals with stakes in their communities into positions of power in the media, that's the only way a change will come for the positive.
Christina Abram-Davis
What up Davey, Big ups on the NOI Peace Summer info. Is there any chance I could get a copy of some of the speeches (video, cassette, whatever)? Respect for always providing a thought-provoking insight into hip-hop today... I feel a lot of the same things -- I've been listening since I was in 2nd grade (13 years ago... damn) and have watched so many trends come and go, styles and sounds, messages and battles... some times I just have to sit down and watch Wild Style to ease my mind with all that's been happening in hip-hop recently. Being a rapper has become a dangerous occupation...
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