That was a great thing to listen to, I think there were a lot of both positives and negatives that came out of that panel discussion.
First off for KRS-ONE, if he truly has a problem with another person who is a part of the panel on which he is speaking, but the panel is so important to him and what he represents as Hip-Hop and it's culture and movement, as a respect to the movement and culture and as a respect to everyone involved, the speakers, the people watching and listening, he should have kept those thoughts and feelings to himself, at least until after the panel was over and then approached the person he has the problem with and settled it. KRS-ONE is a highly respected educator of Hip-Hop, for him to use his time to speak, to verbally attack another person, no matter what problems they have between them, was not a good look for the purpose and toward the out come of the discussion. For him to speak of the other person not being a thug, for him to say he wants to come across the table and beat his fuckin ass is a display of the ignorance that Hip-Hop tries so hard to get away from.
Second, I think Davey D made some wonderful points about Hip-Hop coming full circle, especially when he was talking about the Bay Area Hip-Hop scene tying in with the rest of Hip-Hop in other areas, I think that was very important and I appreciate him for bringing that up, for mentioning people like Keak Da Sneak and the Hyphy and Thizz Movements, and how they tie together with the rest of Hip-Hop and help it come full circle. BUT he also made some very valid points about how even though Keak and a lot of other popular artists are running radio, there is almost no presence of groups and artists like Hiero, The Coup and other artists who may not necessarily fit the mold of typical radio sound or topics.
Third, I have the utmost respect for the pioneers of Hip-Hop, like the ones on the panel, KRS-ONE, Busy Bee, etc... I have met DJ Kool Herc, Melle Mel, Sugar Hill Gang, Rev. Run, and it was a great honor to me. I am very proud to be a White person who is very much a part of the Hip-Hop movement. But what I did not like hearing from panelists like KRS-ONE and Busy Bee was element of separation that they really seem to want to put into action within the United States. They started off first by attacking the music that is out today, and repeatedly saying how it is not real Hip-Hop and is not authentic, Busy Bee repeatedly said He is a real Hip-Hopper, and nobody will debate that he is, but why can't what is going on today be real Hip-Hop. We are all products of what they created. We are and should be very proud of what they did for us. They tried to regionalize the issue as well, saying if you're not from some part of New York, you are not Hip-Hop, how can that be though, when you have people on the panel from Florida, New York, The Bay Area, and other areas. Now I do fully understand their frustrations with today's music, a great majority of it is senseless and does not say anything, but, all in all, it is still Hip-Hop, and by the music continuing on, it is a product and appreciation of what they created. Yes, KRS-ONE made some very valid points about how Hip-Hop and the culture is exploited and the money is not going back to the community, but I'm speaking of the music specifically, music today evolves as it always has, Hip-Hop is today what it was back then, but it has evolved into one of the biggest cultures ever created in this world.
Fourth, Continuing with the idea of separation, I also did not like the fact of the points KRS-ONE was trying to drive home at the end of the discussion. He spoke of wanting to seperate Black culture and people from the rest of the nation. He spoke of having a Black president, and Black voting, and basically Black separation from the rest of the people in this country. I think this is not a good statement and could be dangerous. Is this very thing that he is speaking of, not the very thing that Black people have been fighting so very hard for, for hundreds of years now, for equality, for acceptance, to be able to live and be recognized. Wouldn't what he is saying take things a step backwards? I understand he feels that this government and country does not represent him, but how can you truly have a country and a government within another country and government. Imagine if this took place, so then should there be an Asian president in the U.S.? Should there be a Latin president in the U.S.? and so on. It would be chaos. Isn't one of the greatest things that this United States has been built on, that it is a melting pot of people, cultures, races, religions, and backgrounds. And with that comes Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop is a wonderful melting pot of all backgrounds, nothing has ever been able to bring people together like this.
Lastly I do have to say, that even though he did later correct himself, for KRS-ONE to say that if you attend college, you ARE NOT Hip-Hop, that was a very wrong statement. He said if you attend college, you cannot be Hip-Hop, you better be an MC, a B-Boy, a Graf Writer, one of the 5 elements, but you cannot be in college and be Hip-Hop. That is bullshit, and just the fact that they were even at Stanford University speaking, shows that the students and faculty ARE HIP-HOP. There is a demand for Hip-Hop education in today's educational system. I do appreciate that he later corrected himself for that statement, but I still cannot believe he would say something like that. Him, who has spent so much of his life trying to educate people. I also was very appreciative of Davey D's rebuttable to the statement, and where he surveyed the crowd and asked how many of them are participating in some element or form of Hip-Hop.
I apologize that I typed so much, actually I really don't, because if you really are a product of this generation, you should be passionate about this and appreciate when somebody truly has something to say.
