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

Popular Rapper Roger Ratchet is Dead

(Atlanta) After two days in critical condition, popular rap star, Roger Ratchet is dead. The artist , born as Roger Sam Boman, who was in intensive care resulting from an Acme speaker being dropped on his head, last Wednesday was pronounced dead at 10 o’clock , Friday night. Strangely enough, the rapper seemed to be on the verge of a miraculous recovery when somebody snuck into his room and pulled the plug on his life support machine. When his death was announced loud screams of Hip Hop fans could be heard outside the hospital chanting, “Hooray, the Ratchet kicked the bucket!” The 20 year old rapper is survived by 15 children and eight baby mamas.

Is Drake Guilty of a Hip Hop Hate Crime?

Every Brother Ain’t a Brotha:
Is Drake Guilty of a Hip Hop Hate Crime?

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott


"Every brother ain’t a brother/cause a color could just as well be undercover"
Welcome to the Terrordome Public Enemy



They had procrastinated for years, but unable to ignore the issue any longer, the Hip Hop Supreme Court put the hottest rapper in the game, Fake Graham aka Frizzy on trial for hate crimes against the Hip Hop community. The rap justices ran off a list of charges against the artist including tarnishing the legacy of real Hip Hop, disrespecting women and most damaging,excessively using the N word, when, technically, he wasn’t even Black. While the charges were being read, Frizzy just yawned and nodded in agreement. It took five minutes for the justices to come up with a guilty verdict. But when it came time to decide what the punishment would be, they argued and debated so long, that finally Frizzy told them to call his people when they reached a decision , got in his limo and sped away...

People have been complaining about the atrocities done in the name of Hip Hop for decades and how the rapper of the month has sold out to corporate interests at the expense of the culture. However, when the question becomes, “ So, whatcha gonna do about it” there is never a definite answer.

Perhaps the best example, today, is Hip Hop’s glamor boy, Drake. The issue here is not the former kid show actor's, lack of “street cred” nor whether you find his music irritating to the eardrums. But the fact that he drops the N bomb in so many of his lyrics. Even on his latest track, “Enough Said” with the late Aaliyah , Drake seems to have a certain affinity for the word.

In all fairness, rappers have been saying n**** since the first Hip Hop park jams and you would be hard pressed to name one Hip Hop artist that doesn't use the derogatory term. But the difference with Drake is; he ain’t Black.

If you look at the Jewish mother rule, if your mama is Jewish, that makes you Jewish. And since Drake's father is an African American but his mother is a white, Jewish Canadian, that makes him the latter. (I didn’t make the rule, I’m just telling you what it says,) This is also compounded by the fact that you would be hard pressed to see where Drake even identifies with the dark side of his family tree, unless you consider hangin’ out with Lil Wayne and excessive use of the N word as evidence of his African roots.

Although, one may argue that the one drop rule and the dominance of melanin in his skin may make Drake racially "Black", that has nothing to do with what that makes him culturally. So what we are dealing with here is not race but the politics of cultural identity.

Who can and cannot say n**** has long been debated in Hip Hop. Latino entertainers like Fat Joe and Jennifer Lopez have gotten by on the “Latino’s are n***** too” argument and white women like V Nasty and Gwyneth Paltrow, supposedly, have obtained signed ghetto passes from Hip Hop’s elite, allowing them to use the word. However, it is an unwritten rap rule, that while a Black rapper can use the word at will, a white rapper is subject to a beat down for even using “nickel” in a sentence without clarifying his statement.

And most white Hip Hop artists aren’t that stupid. Although, they may hire Black rappers to use the word on their Cd's. they will never utter the word, themselves.
Case in point is when Dave Mays and Benzino, formerly of The Source Magazine went on a wild, witch hunt to find evidence of Eminem saying something even remotely disrespectful about Black people years back and came up with nothing really tangible besides a lyric in a long lost unreleased track.

But what if the person has dark skin, but, culturally, is a card carrying member of another ethnic group.? Should he be given a pass to use racial slurs without being called on it?

Herein lies the Drake dilemma.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAl71EWl3wg

There is a certain amount of hypocrisy surrounding Drake's use of the word . Although he will ,undoubtedly, use the Black half of his genetic makeup to justify using the N word, I doubt very seriously if he would ever use his Jewish half to justify using the “K” or “H” word. Nor would he hide behind the First Amendment and get a swastika tatted on his arm.

Nor should he.

However, if Drake did use anti-Jewish terms with the same frequency as he uses anti-Black terms he would not be celebrated in the media as the greatest thing in Hip Hop since Run DMC, but would be demonized in the press for “spewing venomous hate speech “ and forever condemned as an anti-Semite on some organization’s hate group list. To date, nobody has tagged him an "anti-Hamite" or "anti-Khemite."

Every ethnic group has the God given right to defend its culture, that is the only way to secure its survival for future generations. However, it becomes problematic when the blatant disrespect of a culture is roundly applauded on one side but, vehemently, condemned on the other.

Ultimately, it is not Drake’s fault for disrespecting the Black community. Nor does the fault fall at the feet of any individual commercial Hip Hop artist. The blame lies with every rapper who grabs a mic, every Hip Hop writer with a laptop and every Hip Hop fan who listens to the radio because we co-sign the madness.

Even the most militant critic who continuously blasts the state of Hip Hop would become a 13 year old teenage girl if Drake just looked in his direction.

“OMG...Like...did you see the way that Drake just smiled at me? Awwww!”

At some point we have to begin to stand on principles.
Let's be clear. No one should use the N word , whether it be the hate speech of White people or the self-hate speech of Blacks.
And until we come to a general consensus as to what should be done to those who diss Black culture, we will still be talking about this 100 years from now.
Like Drake asked on the Aaliyah song, “Is this even still a discussion, don’t you ever wake up disgusted ?”

'Nuff said.

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott's weekly column is "This Ain't Hip Hop," a column for intelligent Hip Hop headz. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com. His website is NoWarningShotsFired.com
Follow on Twitter @truthminista

Is Drake an Anti-Hamite for Using the N Word?

A Ludacris Crisis: Does Hip Hop Hate Women?

A Ludacris Crisis:
Does Hip Hop Hate Women?

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott



"Every woman in America, especially black. Bear with me. Can't you see we're under attack"

White Man's World- Makaveli (Pac)



Tyanna Johnson wasn't sure how she got there. Three months ago, she moved from Mississippi to Atlanta for a better way of life. But when the crappy economy forced her company to shut down, she found herself standing at the intersection everyday holding a cardboard sign that read "Please Help Me!" Everyday she just stood there trying to hold on to her last piece of dignity. Then ,one day, a gold toothed rapper rolled up in a new Maybach and asked her to "do sumthin' strange for a little piece of change..."

Last week, Hip Hop superstar, Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges released the 1.21 Gigawatts mixtape. While much of the Hip Hop buzz has centered around his disses of rival rappers, little attention has been paid to the disrespect of his primary target; black women.

A few years ago, the song "Do Sumthin," where Luda and Rick Ross trade verses about the freaky stuff that they would make a starvin' sista do for a Klondike Bar would have just been written off as another strip club anthem. But with people facing dire economic situations, the song takes on added socio-economic significance. With single mothers in the real world strugglin' to feed their kids, millionaire rappers promoting ho'in as a viable option is done in extremely bad taste.

Do rappers hate women that much?

While the disrespect of all women is a problem for all cultures, the disproportionate economic suffering of black women plus the fact that they own most of the booties that are seen shakin' in Hip Hop videos makes this issue more race specific. This is compounded by the jacked up relationship between black men and black women that has been promoted by the entertainment industry for the last couple of decades.

Black men dissin' black women is nothing new, as its roots can be traced back to antiquity. Chancellor Williams in his classic work, "The Destruction of Black Civilization" wrote that the problem goes back thousands of years in Africa when foreign invaders raped black Egyptian women, causing the sons to hate their mothers and identify with the nationality of their fathers, the conquerors.

So the seed with which we are dealing today was planted eons ago.

Of course, this is not to say that white men have not exploited black women, as this has been well documented for centuries. South African, Saartjie Baartman was paraded across Europe as a freak show attraction because of the size of her badunkadunk almost two centuries before Niki Minaj appeared on the MTV Music Awards.

Nor can the disrespect of black women be totally blamed on Hip Hop, as Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones were singing "Brown Sugar," a song glorifying the rape of a "slave girl" and "Some Girls" a decade before The Bad Boys dissed "Veronica" and Slick Rick "treated em like a prostitute."

But that does not give black men of today a pass. Especially grown men with young daughters.

Dr. Frances Cress Welsing gave a psychological reason for rap's virtual rape of sistas in "The Isis Papers" when she wrote that "black males engage in this activity out of their imposed frustration and sense of political powerlessness and inadequacy."

However, some have pointed to a more insidious reason; a conspiracy to turn black men against black women and initiate them into a secret society known as the "Hip Hop He-Man Woman Haters Club."

If what Immortal Technique alleges in his song , "Natural Beauty" is true, that "men who don't even like women control the business" this is not only possible but probable as they take enjoyment from the gender war between black men and black women.

As noted historian JA Rogers wrote in his book "Sex and Race Vol III, " the deadliest form of the conflict and process of extermination within a civilization lies in the conflict between the two creative forces-Sex (woman) and Intellect (man).

Now some may argue that Luda is telling a true story and there are really women who act like that. But there are also women who act like Ida B. Wells, Assata Shakur and Kathleen Cleaver. Why are these stories not being told? Not to mention the story of the OG ride or die chick, Mary Turner, who, in 1918, along with her unborn child, was murdered and mutilated by a lynch mob in Valdosta, GA for reppin' her husband who had been murdered by the same mob. Some may consider the actual details of the horrific event, like how one of the members of the mob removed the fetus from Turner's belly and pounded it into the ground , too graphic. However, they are no more graphic then the acts rapped about on Luda's CD or in songs being played on the radio about black men riding around with "choppers" in their cars hunting other black men like prey.

Perhaps, if rappers were taught this history, they would be less likely to make misogynistic songs.

Personally, I think that a group of brothers should find Luda and kindly "escort" Mr. Bridges to the Folsom Bridge, the spot where Turner was lynched, and leave him there until he reconsiders his position on black women.

Either way, this madness has got to stop.

Like Nas said in "Black Girl Lost" "Say men are all the same? What we need to do is break this chain."


TRUTH Minista Paul Scott can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com