Hip hop is the soundtrack of our generation and we're in dire need of the creators of that soundtrack to become more socially responsible in how they communicate with their listeners. Chuck D was right when he called rap music the Black CNN because the songs of the Public Enemy-NWA era put the world on notice about the ills killing the Black community; yet, we've come to discover that the plight described in those songs wasn't limited to a racial group but rather was applicable to a much broader socio-economic class of people. Pardon me for restating the far to often stated, but as hip hop became increasingly embraced by audiences wider than neighborhood kids with boom boxes, it also became increasingly less informative about "what's really going on in the hood."
ALBC thinks this is of particular importance because our generation is the hip hop generation; we not only listen to volumes of hip hop music but we also spit our own rhymes and make our own beats (some more amateur than others). We are hip hop at home, in class, and at work...kinda. We're hustlers with swagger and we grind to get ahead. These things we learn from play lists on our iPods and the songs playing in constant rotation on the local radio station. Yet, we aren't social activists who understand the system and how the game is played. Well, we weren't until we were swept away by the phenomenon coined as "Change". Now while the 808s and Heartbreaks beat in our earbuds, we're also signing up unregistered voters, canvassing neighborhoods and preparing to protect against voter fraud. Through "Change" the hip hop generation has rediscovered its conscience.
In keeping with our tradition of mixing politics and culture, ALBC often posts videos of entertainers, most often rappers, expressing their opinions on civic matters. Typically the core of the interview is based on the coming election but what we've found most fascinating and stirring is their capacity to articulate how the civic process works and why citizen apathy has allowed poor communities to be neglected. Today we're featuring a portion of We The People, a video diary of sorts created by Big Boi. Know for yourself and don't download illegally.
You can go to that office anytime and tell 'em how you feel.Go down to the office, knock on the door, its and open door, they can't not let you in...matter fact, when I get home, Ima call somebody and go off on em -Bun B on calling the offices of elected official who represent your local, state and federal government
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