Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Protesting NWA's Hall of Shame



Many Hip Hop fans are excited about NWA's nomination for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, a NC Hip Hop activist and journalist is not one of them.
 
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott blames NWA for many problems that are still facing the Black community almost 25 years after the release of NWA's first album. He says that NWA replaced the conscious Hip Hop of the era with a culture of death and destruction.
 
Scott is asking that fans of real Hip Hop contact the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and demand that NWA be removed from induction consideration.
 
Instead of being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Scott says that the group should be forever condemned to Hip Hop's "Hall of Shame."
 
youtube clip
 
 
For more information contact info@nowarningshotsfired.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista  Website NoWarningShotsFired.com

 
 

Thursday, October 24, 2013

The Secret Relationship Between White Liberals and Black Power

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott exposes the White Liberal Conspiracy to control the Civil Rights/Black Power Movement

Click on Link



Militant Minded Radio: The decades old secret meeting that is still impac...: Download Podcast  

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Juicy J 50K Twerk Scholarship Secrets Exposed !




Hip Hop journalist , TRUTH Minista Paul Scott exposes the truth about the controversial Juicy J 50K  "twerk" scholarship. Recently, Juicy J has been telling the media that the scholarship was never  about "twerkin" but TRUTH Minista says "don't believe the hype." Scott is also asking college students to ban the "bands to make her dance man" and other ratchet rappers from their institutions of higher learning. For more info contact info@nowarningshotsfired.com
follow on Twitter @truthminista   website No Warning Shots Fired.com
 
The Secrets of Juicy J's Twerkin' Scholarship Exposed!!!!
 
 

Friday, September 13, 2013

The African Origins of THUG LIFE: Did Tupac Sell Out? Parts 1 and 2

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott and Sis, Tricey ask the question, did the late rapper Tupac Shakur sell the black community out?

https://soundcloud.com/truthminista/the-african-origins-of-thug

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

It's a Family Affair

This weekend in Redsville NC,  the Rebuilding the Block Initiative, local businesses and citizens will be putting on their annual Black Family Day celebration.



SPECIAL WORKSHOP FOR YOUTH AND PARENTS will begin at 12 PM until 2 PM and will include a special presentation on Psychotropic drugs, marijuana, pills, Ritalin, “Molly” and how to deal with their tremendous negative impact on youth. This will be held at the Reidsville Public Library located at 204 W. Morehead Street. 

 

The outdoor program will begin at 2 PM. at MARKET SQUARE, 307 South Scales Street, Reidsville, NC.


 

Black Family Day has been bringing all people together, since 1996, in unity, peace, and love to inspire and strengthen family ties and recognize the tremendous contributions of Black Families to this nation. The local version of this historic celebration was initiated by Min. Amon Muhammad, of the Nation of Islam, to help inspire and motivate the Black Community. Also, to offer educational workshops to improve the quality of life of local citizens.


Families are encouraged to register online. Vendors may sign-up online Call 336.344.0217 to schedule an interview.  http://www.facebook.com/blackfamilyday or http://www.blackfamilyday.org

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Readin', Writin' and Ratchetness


 
Readin’, Writin’ and Ratchetness:
Why Rappers Say the Dumbest Things

                     TRUTH Minista Paul Scott



“Class in session as I give the lesson
To prove to another rapper that I rule in his profession”
                                                                     Get Down -Big Daddy Kane




It is that time of year again when young folks across the country are headed back to school and are frantically scramblin’  to pay for books and the outrageous cost of tuition. What is a future scholar  to do? Well, enter this year's Hip Hop “Captain Save-a:Ho;” Oscar winning,  former 3-6 Mafia member, Juicy J.  Recently the rapper set Twitter on fire with his announcement that, out of his deep sense of moral responsibility,  he was gonna reward the best twerker on the planet with a 50 grand scholarship to the institute of higher learning of her choice.


Since the tweet, quickly and mysteriously disappeared , some people took the kind gesture as either a sophomoric prank or a marketing scheme for his soon to be released CD. Others were not amused as such a childish escapade could not have come at a worst time.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVPas1bTcWo                                  
 
 And although Juicy J had deleted the evidence before he was forced to pay up, it was too late to prevent news of his philanthropic endeavor from  reaching the mainstream media.  Adding yet another weapon to the arsenal of many people in this country who feel that African Americans are academically retarded and only enter prestigious universities courtesy of Affirmative Action, basketball and now, twerkin’.




This has been a long summer for Black folks , as racial politics has dominated the news for the last three months. Not to mention that African Americans are still facing the usual issues from the elementary to collegiate level of everything from sub-par educational opportunities to the unfair suspension rates of African American children. If there was any time for us to get serious about obtaining a higher degree of knowledge, that time would be now.


The twerkin’ scholarship announcement also came at a time in America when it seemed that Hip Hop artists would be strong armed into taking the power of the words that come out of their mouths a little more seriously.. This expectation was heightened when news of Kendrick Lamar’s verse on Control was hailed as one of Hip Hop's 10 greatest moments as it seemed to signal a return to lyricism. However, what it really proved was that you can spit 100 bars and still say absolutely nothing of substance.


What the Juicy J scandal also showed was that old age and intellectual maturity do not go hand ,when a rapper darn near 40 years old can still make songs for adolescents. Proving that ,apparently, ratchetness does not have an age limit. (Grabbin’  the mic and yellin’ how you’ve been in the game for 20 years is nothing to be proud of when your lyrics have not matured in two decades.)

So the age old question arises, why do rappers do such dumb stuff at the most inopportune times?

Now the conspiracy theorists will say that it is part of the clandestine operation to dumb down black children, or what Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu calls “The Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys.” This could indeed be true if you point to the Wall Street Journal  article a few years back that reported that kids who listened to LIL Wayne’s Lollipop had lower SAT scores than their peers who fancied other genres of music,

One could also argue that the failure of the many “Hip Hop studies” programs that mushroomed after Dr. Michael Eric Dyson's book “Between God and Gangsta Rap” to come up with a solution to the misogyny, Black on Black violence and outright coonery that plagues much of commercial rap is more reflective of a studies program that was either created to give middle class , nerdy white kids an easy A or  a concerted effort to supplant the demand for serious Afrocentric education.




Now the Hip Hop apologists will argue that this is much to do about nothing and there is ,absolutely, nothing wrong with a rapper, whether serious or not, tweetin’ that he is gonna flip the bill for a couple of semesters of psychology if a sista does a five  minute routine off of “Bands to Make Her Dance.” After all, how else is she gonna to get that much tuition money? Working at McDonalds?  Do you know how many burgers she would have to flip to make 50K?

Whateva, man.

This is about more than a  phony scholarship. This is about the future of our young people and how they view academic achievement.

At some point , as a community, we have to say enough is enough!

So, I’m declaring a war on ignorance this school year. Consider me the "Joe Clark of Hip Hop" for the next 10 months, swingin’ a Louisville slugger and puttin' all remedial education, ratchet rappers on an immediate suspension from the culture.

Ignorance can no longer be used as an excuse to dumb down a whole generation because of ratchetness.

To borrow that classic line from comedian Kevin Hart.

“Ya’ll gonna learn today!”

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott ‘s  website is No Warning Shots Fired.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista
For more info on the Black By Nature/Conscious By Choice Campaign contact info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Monday, August 12, 2013

Fear of a Black Messiah

Fear of a Black Messiah

                         
For years, there has been a controversy in this country over what black parents should name their children. The argument was that if the parents named the child, "Winchester" or "Molly,"  the kid would have a bright future at some prestigious law firm. But if they named the kid something like "Naquan" or "Shauniqua" , the child would be doomed to a life of snatchin' purses from old ladies or at best, flippin' burgers at Mickey Dees. Well, now a judge in Tennessee , Lu Ann Ballew thinks that naming  someone "Messiah" is a problem, too.

According to news reports , Jaleesa Martin wanted to name her lil boy, Messiah, but the judge thought that in a predominately, Christian area, the name make cause the good towns folks to try to burn him at the stake on his first day of kindergarten. So, the judge anointed him with a more fitting name of " Martin DeShawn McCullough." Ballew argues  that the name,  Messiah,  should have been copyrighted 2000 years ago.

Now, if you want to get all Biblical with it. "Messiah" means "the anointed one" and most religions have some figure who was chosen to save his people. Also, even in Christianity,  the names of Yeshua or Joshua predated the birth of the historical "Jesus" by hundreds of years. Matter of fact,  the name was not uncommon in Biblical times as the Children of Israel were always looking for someone to save them from their oppressors.

So, it seems that somebody needs to go to remedial Sunday school, ASAP.

This is also most disturbing when put in the context of the demonization of black youth in the media.

Since the end of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin trial, talking heads such as Bill O'Reilly have used their bully pulpits to blame  all the ills of society on the black "cultural " glorification of "saggin' pants" and "loud rap music." Seems like names like "Lil Wayne" and "Niki Minaj" have more to do with the social status of  residents of "the 'hood"  then the socio-economic conditions that created them.

So, following that warped logic, what kid has the best chance of growing up to be a great black leader, DeShawn "D-dawg" Jackson or Messiah McCollugh?

Of course, that is based on the assumption that America actually wants a black leader to lead African Americans to the proverbial Promised Land. What if all black children started to have aspirations of being "messiahs?" Who would be around to pour Miss Daisy's coffee every morning?

Oh, the horrors!

Back in the Civil Rights/Black Power Era, then FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, is said to have created the COINTELPRO program to prevent the "rise of a Black Messiah who could electrify the youth."

Apparently this "fear of a Black Messiah" is alive and well today in Tennessee.

"TRUTH Minista Paul Scott is an activist and Hip Hop journalist based in Durham NC. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 308-4233

Sunday, July 28, 2013

We Charge Zimmer-cide


 
We Charge Zimmer-cide:
Why Our Self Destruction is not Self -inflicted
                                           TRUTH Minista Paul Scott

You’re the one that was tryin’ to keep me way down/
Like the sun you know I found my way back round                                              
                                              Crooked Smile-J Cole



Last week , Wild Bill O’Reilly went on one of his frequent rampages against  rap , blaming the genre for all of the problems facing the black community. However, this time the Fox commentator went extra hard, obviously, more than a little miffed by the way millions of black folks are outraged  over the George Zimmerman acquittal  for the murder of Trayvon Martin. So Bill used his bully pulpit to lecture 40 million black Americans on how to solve “the race problem.”  In his twisted right wing logic, he seemed to infer that if there weren't  so many Black baby mamas who  listen to Hip Hop, Trayvon Martin would still be alive today!

Well , it’s time that somebody put Ol’ Bill on blast.

Now, O’Reilly wasn’t the first person in the last few weeks who blamed the Trayvon Martin murder on drugs, Black on Black violence,  rap music etc. But since he reaches millions of people every night, it is fair to say that  he is the loudest. O’Reilly’s Fox News team mate, Sean Hannity,  has had a field day with the Zimmerman Trial and former  "Mr. Party Like a Rock Star," Ted Nugent referred to Trayvon  as a “dope smokin’ gangsta wanna be”
 
From the first day of the trial, the murmurs of “forget Sanford,what about Chicago ?” began to float around the conservative blogosphere. This has produced what is referred  to as  “Zimmer-cide” - the act of killing innocent Black children with impunity under the pretense of fear, then blaming the black community for the act.”
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjT0sCTZkJs (Preview)
 
OK. I would be the first to admit that we have some major problems in the African American community and we do need to have a convo. But I refuse to sit idly by and let the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Ted Nugent define the parameters of the conversation and determine when we are going to have it!
 
So, instead of talking about what black people have done wrong, let’s deal with the evil that white men do.
 
Historically, white people have been incapable of blaming themselves for any of the atrocities that they or their ancestors have committed against not only African Americans, but the indigenous cultures of the planet earth.

Some may argue that it is against human nature to blame ones self for one's actions, as philosophers have had endless debates over the subject. Also, in his book, The Great White Lie , Jack Gratus attempts to use Kurt Godel’s theorem to explain the inability of the European to have an honest discussion on racism.

Whether they admit it or not,  history has recorded their many acts of genocide that make the southside of Chicago look like Disney World. From the Congo of Africa  to the Great Plains of America, the European  has a lot more blood on his hands than the “Chief Keefs”  of the world have on theirs.

Contrary to popular belief “genocide” does not just mean hauling people off and exterminating them in gas ovens.

According to the 1949 United Nations “Genocide Convention," it also means “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. " So anyone who sets the climate for black kids in hoodies who listen to Lil Wayne to be murdered by overzealous neighborhood watch people are also , be definition, guilty of genocide.
 
Although  Bill O’Reilly mouthed off a whole bunch of statistics about the pathologies facing black people , as they say , statistics can conceal more than they reveal. While he  named rappers that degrade the black community, what he did not mention is that the top shot callers in the entertainment industry are old white men.  (But since we are supposed to be too  ignant to read books like Fredric Dannen’s , Hit Men, I guess we weren’t supposed to know that.)

Also, while commentators keep  preachin'  about the gang violence in Chicago, they forget the role that government agencies played in shutting down Fred Hampton’s attempt to stop the gang wars in Chicago as early as the 1960’s when COINTELPRO agents sent fake letters to Jeff Fort of the Black P. Stone Rangers ,claiming that the Panthers had put a hit on him.
 
Even though they blame drug dealin’ for destroying the hood, they can’t seem to remember Gary Webb’s  Dark Alliance accusation that claimed it was the CIA that put crack in the 'hood in the first place.
 
The list goes on, but you get the point.
 
What is most insulting about this whole charade , is that they are using their massive propaganda machines to paint the picture that there are not thousands black people across the country who have dedicated their lives to fighting social ills.
There are also many Hip Hop thinkers that O’Reilly , Nugent and their ilk would never face on the intellectual battlefield.
Those who would use the writings of Dr. Amos Wilson and Dr. Frances Cress Welsing  to properly diagnose  problems facing the black community and not just parrot some Moynihan report from almost 50 years ago.

No matter how much these pundits want to blame black folks  for the “race problem,” truth is the problem ain’t the music we listen to or the clothes  we wear. It is global white supremacy and all issues we face stem from that fact.

Like Wyclef Jean once rapped “Black on Black crime needs to stop/ya’ll can’t blame it on Hip Hop.
 
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com Follower on Twitter @truthminista  Be sure to check out Militant Minded Radio every Tuesday night at 9PM EST http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/page/militantmindedradio

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

We Charge Zimmer-cide !!!!



In 1951, William Patterson released, We Charge Genocide: The Crime of Government Against the Negro People.  In his petition, he tried to present the plight of African Americans to the United Nations. Now,  in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict, a Miami Hip Hop artist is saying.  "We Charge Zimmer-cide.
 
According to,  Yasin  360WiseGuy "Zimmer-cide " is "the killing of  Black children with impunity  under the pretense of fear , then blaming the Black community for the action"
 
Although, many people are using Black on Black violence in Chicago to justify the murder of Trayvon Martin, in his controversial song  Zimmer-cide (4 Those That Hate Us) , the artist blames white racism for the pathologies facing Black America.
 
The rapper is urging his fellow artist to take a stand against "Zimmer-cide."
 
"Today it was Trayvon, tomorrow it could be you or your child,"  says Yasin.
 
For more information contact: 360wiseguy@gmail.com   or call (954) 830-6426
 
Written by Yasin 360WiseGuy
Music by : Soundzhurtz Productions
Research courtesy of Militant Minded Mess-Age Music
 
 



Sunday, July 14, 2013

Feds Watchin'

Feds Watchin’:

How They Tune In When We Get Turnt

 Up Ima be fresh as hell if the feds watchin’

                                        Feds Watchin’  2 Chainz



Many people across the country are upset over the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin. And rightly so. The trial was a miscarriage of so called justice if I’ve ever seen one. However, the fact that we can’t sleep on. is that for the past two weeks the whole ‘hood has been on trial.

  From the day that the George Zimmerman trial began, most of the focus of the media was not on the death of an innocent 17 year old Black kid, but on how Black folks in Sanford, Florida and ‘hoods across America were gonna react if Zimmerman was found not guilty. While people in this country claimed to be on a nightly “verdict watch,” in reality, they were on a 24/7 “riot watch.” What is interesting is that the tactics the Feds used to monitor black rage in Sanford were the same ones that they have, historically, used over and over again when they think that there is the possibility of “urban unrest.”


The preemptive strike against the hood has gone on for decades. One of the strategies that they used in preparation for the Zimmerman verdict was to call together “local leaders” (preachers/community organizers) in order to get their followers to remain calm after the verdict was announced. They have used this tactic before. During the pre-LA Rebellion in 1992, the Po Po instituted a program called “Operation Cool Response” where they reached out to the same group of folks to keep the streets from gettin’ rowdy. So, since one of the current catch phrases in Hip Hop is “turnt up” maybe they call this ”Operation Turnt Down?”

Also, according to media sources such as USA Today, the Sanford Police Department set up snitching operations called “rumor control hot lines” to keep tabs on the streets. So, if you heard your next door neighbor blastin’ F*** the Police by NWA verdict night, it was your civic duty as a law abiding citizen to call the snitch hot line and drop a dime. This tactic has also been used before..

According to Dr. Patricia Turner in her book. “Heard It Through the Grapevine,” rumor control networks go as far back as World War II as “an effort to prevent potentially adverse hearsay of all sorts from gaining credibility.”

The media has, also, long played a role in snitching on the hood. I’m sure that many freedom fighters during the Black Power Movement were confused as to how statements they made to a mild mannered news person wound up in their court case file. According to Samuel Yette in his classic work, “The Choice: The Issue of Black Survival in America” , in 1969, the Justice Department subpoenaed the “unpublished notes of reporters from Newsweek, the New York Times, CBS and Time Life” who had interviewed members of the Black Panther Party.

I also found it strange that the pre -verdict police predictions of no violent protests in major cities across America was followed by a post verdict CNN map pinpointing protests across the country that they claimed to be nonviolent. So the question becomes, how did they know? There had to be some level of surveillance both pre and post Zimmerman verdict.

What is most ironic is that barely a month ago, white America was all up in arms by the “Prism” revelation by Edward Snowden that accused the government of using social media and cell phone data to spy on American citizens. If there had been an announcement that a Tea Party or a National Rifle Association protest had been monitored because of unsubstantiated threats of violence, you can best believe that there would have been hell to pay. But since many people in power think that Black people are only interested in rap music and reality shows, there was no such outcry.


African Americans did not really need an Edward Snowden to tell us that we're being watched, as researchers such as the late Steve Cokely ,warned us about the intelligence community 20 years ago. We have a long history of being under the microscope via the military or the Feds that goes back to the Marcus Garvey Era of the early 20th century.

And more information is being revealed everyday. One of the most interesting things that came out of the trial coverage was Fox News’ revelation that the US Justice Department’s Community Relations Service, took an active role in the Trayvon Martin rallies, last year. The agency was set up in 1964 and, supposedly, serves as a “peacemaker for community conflicts over race.” But the same question must be posed that was asked of FBI agents during the Civil Rights Movement, “are you protecting us or are you watching us?”

Although the powers that be would like to downplay the outrage in the hood over the Zimmerman acquittal it must be noted that they invested a lot of time. money and resources to keep the hood in check.

The tactics that were used against the Black community during the recent Zimmerman trial seem to have been taken right out of the Richard Nixon playbook on “Law and Order” and anyone one who cannot see that is either blind or stupid.

Like Dead Prez once said:

Can You relate/We’re livin’ in a police state.


TRUTH Minista Paul Scott can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com or call (919) 308-4233. Follow on Twitter @truthminista 
Be sure to check out Militant Minded Radio every Tuesday night at 9PM EST

http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/page/militantmindedradio

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Rapper Says Racism Ain't Dead in America (What U Mean Paula Deen?)




Hip Hop has been alot of things; "gangsta" "pimped out" and even " jiggy." But the one thing that it hasn't been in a long time is "angry." At least not angry about the social and political conditions facing African Americans. But that is about to change.

Frustrated by the new racism facing Black people in a supposedly, "post racial America," Atlanta based Hip Hop artist Sean Barnes has just released a blistering track called "Racism Ain't Dead (What U Mean Paula Dean?). The song captures the real frustrations of 'hood residents who are outraged over recent incidents of racism from the Paula Dean controversy to the George Zimmerman/ Trayvon Martin murder trial.

"Anybody who thinks racism is dead or "accidental" needs to be pimp slapped back into reality, " says Barnes.

Although the subject matter is harsh, the rapper says that he is just reflecting the mood of the everyday people in the streets and what they talk about in barbershops and at bus stops.

"Don't blame me, I'm just the messenger, says Barnes. "And the message is, like activist Fannie Lou Hamer said back in the 60 's, we are 'sick and tired of being sick and tired!"

For more information contact godsaidso@gmail.com (678) 678-3525

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

New Rap Music Makes Black Kids Militant

For years rap music has been accused of many things, from "dumbing down" Black youth to containing subliminal messages that are rumored to make kids violent.

However, there is a new stye of rap that is said to make Black youth "militant." Hip Hop activist and journalist, "TRUTH Minista" Paul Scott has gathered a group artists together to create a new style of Hip Hop called "Militant Minded Mess-Age Music. "

 According to Scott, the music contains both overt and subliminal messages that will cause Black youth to become "militant minded."

He says that in a time when Black youth are murdered by the likes of George Zimmerman and African Americans are "dissed" by the likes of Paula Deen, it is time for Hip Hop to "Fight the Power," a phrase borrowed from a song by the rap group Public Enemy in the late 80's.

The music mixes hard pounding beats with everything from speeches from Black Power Movement leaders like Malcolm X to African war drums. And just like the old plantation songs, that covertly gave instructions to runaway slaves and insurrectionists, there will be messages only audible to black ears. "

Don't be suprised if your child falls to sleep with his headphones on singing gangsta rap and wakes up quoting H. Rap Brown," says Scott.


For more information contact info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 308-4233 website http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Public Enemy Gets Key to the City of Durham


Today June 16th 2013, Public Enemy was honored with the Key to the City of Durham North Carolina.

Picture L to R        Malik Farrakhan, James Bomb, Durham Mayor William "Bill" Bell, Chuck D, Professor Griff, TRUTH Minista Paul Scott


 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Father's Day Warning to Male Rappers:Change Your Posture!

"Hip Hop has become a playground for punks, pervs, and pedophiles."


At least that's how a "Washington, DC" rapper/activist , Yasin 360wiseguy feels about the current state of rap music. The artists has issued a strong warning to the male rappers, "Change Your Posture!"

According to Yasin, Hip Hop has done something that 400 years of slavery could not. It destroyed Black manhood.
"There are no real men in commercial Hip Hop today, says Yasin. "At least back in slavery our manhood was taken from us, now we give it away."

Yasin states that the males in Hip Hop have been castrated which is why it is not uncommon for many of them to wear feminine articles of clothing such as skirts and skinny jeans.
He is also concerned that many rappers in their 30's and 40's are targeting adolescents with their music that promotes sex, drugs and violence.

"Most of the songs are like a pornographic versions of Sesame Street, " he says.
"These dudes should be charged with the statutory rape of rap."

As a solution, Yasin has started the "Change Your Posture" Campaign demanding that rappers stop bowing down to the entertainment industry and stand up like real Men.
On his website http://changeyourposture.org he has a list of rappers who need to change their posture and the reasons why they need to do so.
(1).Lil Wayne (2).Rick ross (3).Drake (4).Trinandad James (5).Chief Keef (6).2-Chains (7.)kayne West (8).Gucci Mane (9).Tyler the Creator (10).Juicy J
The artist has also just released a scathing video that he hopes will shame rappers into being better role models called "Callin Ur Bluff."

For more information contact (202)239-2929
twitter @Iam360WiseGuy
email- info@360WiseGuyMusicGroup.com
website http://www.ChangeYourPosture.org

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Is Hip Hop Hooked on Crack?

 
From Black Music to Crack Music:
What Happened to Hip Hop?

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott


“I blame my mama for turning my brother into a crack baby."
Keep Ya Head Up- Tupac Shakur






This is Black Music Month and just like clockwork people will ask the age old question, what happened to Black music, especially Hip Hop? However, like previous Black Music Months, June 30th will find many scratching their heads, filled with more questions than answers. However, the real answer is quite simple.

Black music got hooked on crack.

Following the death of college B-ball superstar Len Bias, in 1986, a great fear struck America . There was a new drug on the street that was gonna turn the hood into a kingdom of the walking dead. As Public Enemy put it , an eternal “Night of the Living Baseheads. “Worst than that they would spawn a horde of crack babies who would be destined to become career chain snatchers and riders on the prison revolving door. And since mainstream America was just getting turned on to Hip Hop, the destinies became intertwined.

Well , a recent study has proven what many already knew. Don’t believe the hype.

In an article published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The idea of the “crack baby” has been exposed as myth. Although, the authors concede , that like with any drug, crack is not the best thing to put in your body, especially, while you're pregnant., social factors such as poverty really play a greater role in determining the future of children.

But what about the music that was supposed to represent the mentality of the “crack babies”. If the crack baby syndrome was a myth, the music must be fictitious, as well.

Let’s be clear. There is no denying the devastating effect that the drug trade has had on the ‘hood, from the heroin explosion of the 70’s to the crack epidemic of the Hip Hop era. And the music of the periods served as soundtracks to the misery, from Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman” to Biggie Smalls’ “Ten Crack Commandments”

According to Seeka tha Teacha, captain of the Hip Hop Liberation Army ,” Crack cocaine was introduced to Hip Hop for the purpose of destroying families and the well being of urban communities. It made drug dealers look rich in the eyes of the youth who were exposed to poverty.”

However, in this case ,we are not talking about the glorification of slangin’ rocks.that has permeated rap music since the late 80’s. That issue has been the subject of too many articles , books and documentaries to mention. Nor are we talking about the real life drug issues that have destroyed the careers of artists from Billie Holiday to DMX. Thus, murdering the message and the music.

The point here is how the whole idea of "crack music" is based on the media perpetuation of the crack baby (prenatal cocaine exposure) myth and the pathological behaviors associated with it have effected Black culture. And more importantly, how the stereotypical images associated with crack have affected our youth.

Some believe that the media hype around selling and using crack was really a self fulfilling prophesy. And if you pump crack pipe dreams in the heads of children, they will gravitate towards that even if they ain’t bout that life.

According to a recent Time magazine article , Dr. Maureen Black , professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine says that “once you label a child that way...there's no hope for the child. “
Durham NC substance abuse activist, Shareef Hameed , agrees saying that “crack baby became part of the American vernacular.. It was like labeling someone before they even got started.”

Hameed says that the signs of crack addiction are nervousness , paranoia and aggressiveness, which, ironically, are the same attributes reflected in today’s rap music. It was also rumored to cause ADHD (attention deficit disorder. ) Which explains why the music seems to be attractive to those with low IQ’s and short attention spans.

Crack rap can be distinguished from Hip Hop by its lack of subject matter and overly simplistic, pickaninny choruses And the music industry has sold the idea across the planet that this is the type of music to which kids are addicted.

Unfortunately, many Hip Hop fans have bought into this false reality, as well.

The idea of crack babies has its roots in the negative stereotypes of Black people stretching back hundreds of years with the “small brain theory” which claimed that Black people had small skulls which limited their capacity to absorb information. Not much different than the racist stereotypes connected with Hip Hop.

So, the crack baby myth is really a socio-political construct , a euphemism for the pathological behavior of some young Black males. The term is not really about a specific drug. In theory it's about a cocaine derivative but in practice it includes weed, malt liquor, molly or any mind altering drug that is promoted in Hip Hop.

What should be of major concern is how the crack baby hoax has served to demonize Black men. This is especially important with the upcoming George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin murder trial as the media has already tried to portray Martin as a crack baby only hooked on weed, in preparation for what will become the “Trial of the Century.” Also, of note is the recent media fascination with Chief Keef and his recent exploits including accusing a security guard of racist mean muggin’ when he was allegedly busted in a hotel room smoking marijuana.

Like any addiction, the first step to overcoming crack music addiction is admitting that you have a problem. We must admit that it hasn’t been crack that has had the most far reaching effects on the Black community but “crack music” that has propagated a hoax.

Unfortunately, a whole generation has gotten high on the hype.


This Black Music Month Hip Hop needs a detox.

It’s gonna be a long hot summer, socially and politically for Black people and we need our minds sober and ready for action.

Like Pac said on Revolution:

“Can you imagine the damage we could do if we weren’t high?”

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista
Check out Militant Minded Radio every Tuesday at 9PM EST http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/page/militantmindedradio