Thedewsperspective

by Cornell Dews

I saw a video today.  And it made me write this…

I’ve always loved Hip Hop and its culture.  I always will love Hip Hop and the culture.  My generation is the first that was indoctrinated in the culture.  We were raised alongside Hip Hop.  Alongside it.  Not by it.  But now I must admit that as a 52-year-old man, I deplore the fact that the most wretched facets of it have the greatest influence on our community. 

Now before you dismiss my commentary for being critical.  Hear me out.  And know this.  Criticism isn’t always intended to shame, insult or offend.  Nor does all criticism come from a place of jealousy or envy.  Sometimes you must pay attention to not only the message, but also the messenger.  If you know me, or get to know me, then you’ll know my critique is just a call to action to the people I love.

I’d be lying to you if I said I was never influenced by Hip Hop.  I wore/wear “shell toe” Adidas because my childhood superheroes wore them.  I asked for a lambskin coat because that’s what the b-boys adorned in the movie Beat Street.  The clothes, the style was impenetrable when I was a child in the’80s.  Growing up influenced by the culture.  The jewelry, 4 finger rings, dookie rope necklaces.  I wanted it all. 

But as I stated in my initial paragraph.  I was raised alongside Hip Hop.  Not by Hip Hop.  Those trinkets didn’t necessarily define me.  My foundation, my morals, values, principles were instilled in me by my family.  Those were the things that anchored me.  My family who was’nt influenced by Hip Hop culture.  I guess you could say the culture itself had yet to permeate the community dictating its identity.  And for that, I’m grateful.

The corporate machine was just starting to realize how Hip Hop could be used monetarily to the benefit of Madison Avenue and all its partners.  During the ‘80s corporate America observed the influence of Hip Hop and realized how to manipulate it for capital gain.  But sadly, it was ultimately done at the peril and demise of so many.

As a child and even as a young adult, Hip Hop influenced me.  I drank Alize because they rapped about it.  I thought smoking weed made you more creative because rappers said it did.  But there were also things that I never did that Hip Hop paraded.  I didn’t call women “bitches or hoes.”  I wasn’t misogynistic.  I wasn’t blatantly disrespectful or dismissive to my elders.  Because no matter how influential the music and culture were, it wasn’t more influential than how I was raised.    

Again, I say, my generation was raised alongside Hip Hop and not by Hip Hop.  It’s a grave difference.  Correct me if I’m wrong please.  Nowadays, it seems like Hip Hop has a greater influence on the culture. This influence surpasses even the homes the young people come from.  Maybe it’s because parents are now influenced by this culture just as much as kids are. This wasn’t the case when I was a child. 

In my home, I was more prone to hear Motown.  Along with everything the Motown sound influenced.  I heard gospel music on Sundays. It also played in the mornings during the week as I prepared for school.  But you know, as I’m writing this, what I’m realizing is we’ve always been influenced by someone or something.  I’m just now questioning the influence that I’m observing.  What is Hip Hop culture influencing us to do?

The music is so ingrained with the streets that it now dictates street code.  We rap about murders and discuss them freely on podcasts as if its normal conversation.  We glamorize illicit drug activity.  We flash money and imply that it was obtained from a lavish lifestyle we lived prior to becoming artist.  Apparently, everybody was a kingpin and gangster before becoming a rap artist.  The women are overly sexualized. 

Too few people understand the impact of these intentionally celebrated behaviors. They are rewarded and affect the impressionable minds of our children.  Children who are being raised by parents who are just as mentally and emotionally fragile.

Is that what Hip Hop culture is all about?  Debauchery and immorality.  Of course not.  Are there positive artists who aren’t being used commercially to push a certain agenda that goes unnoticed by the masses?  Yes, there are.  But for whatever reason, those are not the individuals who have the ears and hearts of our young people.  And that’s concerning to me.

Hip Hop was once referred to as the CNN of the ghetto.  Can we honestly say it’s still that?  We once said Hip Hop is just a reflection of the environment we come from.  Do we still want to say that?  Hip Hop may now be the reflection of the turmoil, dysfunction, hurt and pain told through the lens of artist solely for monetary gain.  And you know what, it may have been that in the ‘80s as well.  Without the foundation provided by family, community, and home, which are structured with morals, values, and principles, it becomes a dangerous combustion. This is prone to damage more than help. 

As an Educator, I see the impact the culture has on our youth.  I see it in the classroom and in the community as well.  I hear how our children engage with one another.  I listen to the songs they play.  I hear them discuss the shows they watch.  And most of the time I’m alarmed.  Because they’re kids.  Their innocence is being stripped too early.  Their influences are more external (outside the home) than internal (inside the home).  That’s problematic. 

I pray it gets better.  I don’t know if it will.  I’m not completely hopeless though.  There were a lot of factors involved to get us to the point we’re presently at.  Many were intentionally derived.  So, I realize it’s not just one thing you can pinpoint.  When I think about the culture of Hip Hop, it saddens me. I see how it’s being used. I see the impact it’s having on our community.  And I can’t figure out how to correct it.  If there’s a problem to be corrected, I want to be on the side of resolution.  It’s too valuable of a commodity to see it used detrimentally.

So please, don’t take my commentary as chastisement.  These words are uttered out of love, confusion and disappointment.  When you truly understand the greatness of an opportunity to benefit the masses by empowering them.  Creating true independence and entrepreneurialism.  Controlling your own narrative and shaping your future like you want it to be.  Just to name a few things Hip Hop has the power to do.  It would break your heart to watching children emulating the most wretched facets of the culture. 

If you could harness the spirit of Hip Hop, what would you use it to change? How would you control and direct it to create something new?