Hip Hoppin' Soviets: Marx Was Breakdancing in Munich in 1844

"We sick and tired of your 'ism' schizzim"
--Bob Marley

Hip hop gets a complete historical revision by the Nation (y'know? The radical left review where they offer Caribean boat cruises to self loathing champagne socialists?), courtesy of Jeff Chang--a hip hop historian whose credentials include "He heard the seminal rap single "Rapper's Delight," by the Sugar Hill Gang, at age 12 in Honolulu". Wow, Jeff, ya really grew up in the thick of the action. Hardcore. I mean, Honolulu? Dope.

Anyways, this guy points to the social conditions of the Bronx as the real creative force at work. People power revolting against the man destroying their urban environment. It wasn't an individual act of genius by DJ's rapping over beats in Kingston during the '50's, it was America destroying her own during the late 60's. Of course! Why didn't I think of this:

Becoming a DJ--a uniquely Jamaican thing--was another way of making his [Kool Herc] name and establishing himself within the Bronx. He throws a party, and then he takes the party outside as the parties get bigger and bigger. People start migrating from across the borough, because the gang turfs have melted away. They come from across the borough to see him play, and he's playing a lot of music that's not on the radio--a lot of black power music from James Brown and stuff with hard, funky breaks.

The next generation of DJs is inspired by his outdoor parties. In the same way that the gang idea took root and spread as a virus, you now have this idea of partying spreading like a virus across the borough, from the west where he's at, east to the southeast Bronx, the Bronx River Projects, where [pioneering DJ] Afrikka Bambaata is at.

Whoa, wait a second: Partying was an idea originating in New York? Insane. James Brown wasn't played on the radio? Papa's got a brand new bridge in Brooklyn he'd like to sell you.

Wow, nothing about Lee 'Scratch' Perry. Nothing about the original idea of rhythmically talking over beats originating in Jamaica. It was social injustice and the creative rebellion of the 'people' that caused hip hop-not individual acts of genius, got that?

During the late '80s, major labels were like, "Damn, we know we have to be on this train, but we don't know what to do--so, oh, there's Ice T, let's sign him up. There's Public Enemy, let's sign them up. Let's sign up Boogie Down productions. Let's sign up Paris." And at some point it becomes clear that these folks are not necessarily on the same corporate team as the execs who signed them.

Damn, it was like, yo, the marginalization of a guy who wrote Cop Killer is not that surprising, ya heard me? With the emergence of great acts like the Streets or Kanye West or the Roots or BEP, or Dead Prez this whole BS about the future being dried up because the corporations are in the action is just lame revisionism. Yeah, some of the lyrical content sucks, but guess what? There is political rapping going on. Eminem has been pushing this for the last while.

They want to criticize Bush, they want to talk about police brutality, about creating 5,000 black leaders, and they become liabilities. Not just political liabilities, but liabilities to the bottom line.

Lame, yo! You mean the Republican rap establishment (haha) that pushed hardcore mysogyny and killing had the exact same agenda as the Democrats? That's nuts! How come Ice Cube never got elected, yo? It was his label (aka: the man). Damn, Jeff.

Oh yeah, Ice Cube was on his label talking about killing cops in '94 well after all these events, and while still signed to a major.

The interviewer for this gong show goes into nutbar territory for a minute:

Clearly, one of the most urgent issues in your book and for hip-hop activism is juvenile justice. For example, in 2000 a California ballot initiative, Proposition 21, made it easier to try juveniles as adults and expanded juvenile sentencing--three years of jail time for $400 worth of vandalism and the death penalty for "gang-related" homicide. How does the hip-hop generation respond to these "divide-and-conquer" tactics?

Damn Jeff, I mean, if you're like, in Honolulu and you're trying not to get served so you off some hommies in da hood and then rap about it, the man is going to come get you? Damn, I mean, it's as if you just spent the entire interview trying to say that people are viewing minorities through a filter of false images propagated by modern rap and then come out and say in your book that homicide laws are targetting hip hoppers.

Damn Jeff, you's a wanksta.