My hopes, dreams, and wishes for hip-hop’s semi-centennial celebration

I’m going to preface this by simply saying to my readers, you might get sick of me over the next year. I’ve already written my love letter to the culture, what it’s meant to me and others. The power of and the impact the culture has had is and deserves to be celebrated in full. With that, there are so many aspects of hip-hop that with more than five decades under its belt are so ripe to discuss. Consider that hip-hop is multi-faceted, multidisciplinary, and multi-layered in its representation and its application. To this day, the arguments still reign on whether it’s even a culture at all, or simply a genre or subculture parading as something more than it truly is.  Many people’s entry point has been of course the music, specifically rapping which we know is a global commercial and creative force. Many years ago the industry that sprung from hip-hop seemingly to support hip-hop went about dismantling and commodifying the elements, reducing them to versions that were the most bankable and separating them from one another completely. When the layperson thinks hip-hop, they see a lone rapper at the center of ancillary dancers, and maybe a DJ but more often musicians or nothing at all, simply a playback accompanying the rapper. In many people’s eyes, entrepreneurship, fashion and street hustle are more important to the culture than the foundational elements (its creative outlets plus knowledge) so it’s no surprise that in the outset of this much-deserved acknowledgment for the culture, a significant milestone what gatekeepers of the culture have prioritized. 

Before anyone stops reading this because they're expecting the rant of an old geezer in a kango, shaking his fist from the top of a project stoop telling people to get off his block, easy. This isn’t meant to romanticize the jam as some idyllic world where breakers and writers harmoniously spun and painted as a grandmaster DJ shaman played hypnotic breakbeats as a charismatic emcee preceded over the entranced worshippers of the almighty elements. We know it didn’t go down like that either. What we do know however is that the power and the impact of the culture never resided in one piece or aspect of the culture. In fact, beyond the elements themselves why the culture has been able to survive and thrive is because of the ethos that all of the elements both the foundational and the innovated ones espouse. Innovation, community, authenticity, knowledge, ingenuity, and justice. If hip-hop was simply a genre or a fad, there is no way that it would have endured, touching now at least three generations spanning every corner of the globe. If hip-hop was a commercial trend that corporate America could only cash in on, it would have been impossible for it to be the soundtrack and inspiration for more than one revolutionary movement around the globe. hip-hop could only change the literal face of history and countries if it had the expansive reach beyond what could be bought and sold or purchased via an app to be streamed or consumed. When we consider other artistic or creative mediums and movements the ones that endured are those that transcended the origins and purpose of its founder to impact and be impacted by areas and ideas not originally thought of. Many of the pioneers of hip-hop including Herc, and Caz have gone on record as saying they never foresaw what the culture would mean to the world when they started as young men themselves creating. Those of us that were first exposed to and participating in the cultural elements didn’t think we’d ever hear of hip-hop ambassadors or it being used to teach in classrooms or even be a field of study on its own! 

Hip-hop, the culture, has been more than just the music. It is more than its creative and artistic elements (even though, I, myself, would argue they are its most critical). Its power goes well beyond its most bankable assets, and revenue-generating and selling power. It is with that in mind that I’m looking forward to how all of the elements and all of its stories find their voice in this very special year and celebration. How has the music and its cultural  rituals inspired grassroots activism? How has it revolutionized how teachers approach students in the classroom? How has its creative practices and production served as bridges to other countries and communities outside of the United States? How has it  changed the history of the U.S.? Will we also think about at this halfway point to the centennial of what the next fifty years mean? Will there be room set aside to look at aspects of the culture that defy its conventions (the irony that at its core, hip-hop is about the unconventional and re-invention, so we should always be on the lookout for this.)? The Grammys did a fair job giving some honor and appreciation to emcees and the music given the time allotted and the institution that the recording academy is. I’ve seen nods to fashion icons and companies that contributed greatly to the culture and celebrations for many of the pioneers in DJing also. All of that is wonderful to see, expected and deserved. 

In this semi-centennial, what I truly wish is that those who are in positions to celebrate and acknowledge the culture, go both deep and wide in who are recognized, and the stories that will be uplifted and re-told. For those of us who are the artists, educators and practitioners we will have our own ways of marking this occasion. We don’t need the academies or the institutions to give us permission to make our personal tributes to the culture that we participate in every single day. This is more a call and a hope to the larger forces that have and continue to co-opt the culture for their own ends to hopefully give it the full credit that it deserves.