Family

A byproduct of this movement is exposing new peoples to the genre of hip hop. As I work tirelessly (well kind of hard) to become a hip hop contributor on behalf of my area code, folks who share commonalities with me outside the music are starting to dial in. many of the comments I receive from fans are to the effect of “ I don’t normally listen to rap, but I like your stuff”. It’s clear the content of my work, as opposed to the actual demonstration of the art is winning some folks over, and that’s fine. I never got into hip hop until I saw Andre3000 wearing a turban in his video back in the 90’s. that connection served as a catalyst for a life long relationship with this artform I love. Hopefully in the future , the next great emcee or revolutionary will cite me as a reason they fell in love with the movement.


As much as I love the compliments, I don’t enjoy them at the expense of other folks in the art form. I was recently told that I take something that is so ugly and make it beautiful (specifically comparing my version of A Milli’s to Lil’Waynes). Hip Hop isn’t ugly, folks just need to take time to understand it. This Andre3000 line comes to mind


“I met a critic, I made her shit her drawers
she said thought hip hop was only guns and alcohol
I said oh hell nah, but yet it’s that to
You can’t discrimihate cause you don read a book or two”


The culture was bred organically, and obviously it’s had it’s share water thrown into the mixture to appease the pop consumer, but that doesn’t mean, those who are top, don’t deserve to be there. Music is food, and some foods appeal to a larger audience than others, we just need to ensure we have a balanced diet.


My priorities have been, and hopefully will always be, to do justice and further the art form known as Hip Hop. I view myself as a member of the hip hop community, and I feel the diversity within the community (the Souljah boys, Lauryn Hills, Jay-Z’s). As long as we under that umbrella, we family.