Although I have recently moved out of the state, I feel very fortunate to have been born and raised in New York City, the home of Hip Hop.

I came of age in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, being able to receive the best of Hip Hop culture in its purest form.  Having been born in the mid seventies, I was still too young to understand what was going on around me.  I do remember the block parties, and the DJ’s setting up their equipment in the local parks, tapping the street lights for a power source.  I also remember seeing the pop lockers and the break dancers doing their thing at the jams.  All I knew at the time was that this was really fun to watch, and that I had a whole lot of fun.

When the eighties came, and I was able to understand what was really happening, I relished in the fact that I was a witness to history in the making.  It was about finding our own voice, and not having to follow the status quo.  We didn’t have to follow what was expected of us from mainstream (a/k/a WHITE) America; we could live and thrive on our terms.  All of the brothers and sisters had embraced this music and culture with such a fervent passion that you almost knew that this was going to be something bigger than just a passing fad.  I knew so many graf artists, breakers, lockers, emcees, and deejays that it would be an anomaly to not know anyone connected to the music and culture.  Hip Hop influenced more than just a generation; its power is felt world wide!

Hip Hop is where I got my political start.  The “Golden Era” of Hip Hop (’86-’93) had such influential emcees such as KRS-1, Rakim, Public Enemy, Bran Nubian, X Clan, Poor Righteous Teachers, and so many others that dropped political thought into their music.  They talked about important Black figures in history that are almost never talked about, except in a negative way (Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, NOI, etc).  My Latino classmates that I went to school with had a great respect for Black people, and Hip Hop music and culture (at least, MOST of them did).  Having grown up together in pretty much the same neighborhoods, they also felt the sting of racism and prejudice, and recognized what time it was.  The music also taught them to have pride in their own history and culture, and to not sell out to the mainstream society; you didn’t have to assimilate, or die.   

I also remember the Latino foray into the world of Rap music.  There were some that were Afro-Latino and just basically ‘passed’; being part of an ensemble rap group, and never playing up their nationality.  I also remember the days of Mello Man Ace with his hit song “Mentirosa”, and Kid Frost with his own jam “This is for La Raza”.  Def Jeff did his own thing in L.A., Latin Empire represented in New York, and it was all over by the time Cypress Hills hit the scene.  Afterwards you had emcees like the Beatnuts, Fat Joe, Arsonists, Kurious Jorge, Lighter Shade of Brown, and many, many others since.

The pressing issue that I have started around the late 90’s during that whole ridiculous ‘Latin Explosion’ phenomenon.  I found it quite insulting, since Latino musicians have always been around.  I was a HUGE fan of Latin Freestyle during the eighties, not to mention listening to the music of Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada.  What was really galling to me was the arrogance of certain newly arrived Latinos that had absolutely NO respect for Black people, and wanted to lay claim to Hip Hop music and Dance Hall.  They wanted their due compensation, stating that if it wasn’t for Latinos and their involvement, Hip Hop music and culture wouldn’t exist.  They also wanted to lay claim to the creation of Dance Hall Reggae music, saying that it wasn’t a Jamaican-created music style, but a Puerto Rican creation.  Basically…Black people didn’t create ANYTHING…it was Latinos.

SAY WHAT?!?!?!?

I have actually seen a few articles in print stating this.  Naturally, I grew quite upset when I had read them.  First off…know your damn history.  1/3 of Latino culture is derived from AFRICANS!  Second of all…Hip Hop music and culture is NOT youth culture…it’s BLACK culture!  Don’t get it twisted!  This isn’t some corporate creation made by some office marketing team…WE created it!  Just because mainstream America kissed your behind for a hot minute doesn’t make you all of that.  This is by no means an attack on all of my fellow Latinos; just the phonies who hopped on the bandwagon, and blatantly showed their prejudice and self hatred.  That whole ‘Latin Explosion’ was nothing more than a whitewashing of who we are as a people.  It’s especially insidious for those newly arrived Latinos that show total disrespect to Black people without even knowing their history of struggle in this country!  But yet, you want to blast our music, and rock our clothing styles, and speak using our street vernacular, right?

Gee…what gratitude….

For my true Hip Hopistas out there, you know who you are.  You know the true history of the music and the culture.  Don’t let others who know nothing about the music (or the corporate vultures of the mainstream) denigrate and pimp our music and culture.  Let all of the haters and perpetrators know what time it is.  Don’t let others profit off of what we’ve built, and twist the culture for their own personal agenda.  It’s not about gangsterism or miscegony, or violence and greed. 

It’s about self expression and knowledge of self…

It’s about making your own way, not what society expects from you…

It’s about having pride and self love…

It’s about being true to yourself…

Just…keep it real!         

© Copyright 2007 Blacktino e-News Network