Hip-Hop is my Hymn

“‘Ain’t too many places a girl is safe on this Earth’, I said, ‘I understood,’ but I didn’t, the privilege and the skin that I live in… Think we could make this world a better place For all of our children?”

Flowers (feat. MAVI) – TOBi

On the train to AYA every morning, I listen to music. I sit, bumping my head, listening to the metaphors and similes of some of the greatest poets of our time– but they are not considered such. Why? Because, overall, society does not consider hip-hop to be poetry simply because it speaks to the black and brown struggle, and because society at large does not recognize the power and impact of hip-hop culture.

This is not to say that the narrative is not changing, however. In 2018, Kendrick Lamar became the first rap artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for his hit album DAMN. This was a huge milestone for hip-hop and rap, seeing as such genres were finally being rewarded for the art that they are. But ultimately, besides some good beats, why does hip-hop matter?

Well, hip-hop is, at its heart, a form of communication and culture that envelops the struggle of the Community, that being the black, chicano, or even Native community. Oftentimes, hip-hop has been a way for brown and black communities to communicate their struggles and to gain a greater understanding for the similarities found within our communities.

This sense of togetherness that transpires racial lines through hip-hop and rap is extremely powerful because, in order to truly overcome the roadblocks of racism, all minorities must unite to combat the real enemy– racial injustice. Clay heavily expands on this in “All I Need is One Mic”, but overall, youth, especially black youth, today utilize hip-hop to advocate for systematic and community-level social change.

My father, a black man, bonded with my mother’s brothers, Chicanos, through hip-hop and rap dating all the way back to the ‘90’s. Honestly, through personal experience, I would say that hip-hop is one of the most unifying factors between black and latine communities. Such is the beauty of a story to a beat.

Because of this unifying effect, hip-hop is such a powerful tool for civic engagement! Kendrick’s album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, released in 2022, opened up countless conversations in the black community, but because of his popularity and reach, it also opened up discussions in other cultures as well! His album touches on trans hate, the COVID-19 pandemic, and serious issues with the depiction of black love and parenthood. Personally, this album hit especially hard because of all the hate it received. Some claimed it was Lamar’s worst album simply because it spoke heavily on transgender issues, and others because of its claimed glorification of abusive relationships. 

However, my grip with these critiques is that they widely come from people outside the black community. Honestly, that demographic was not the target audience, and might not fully understand all the nuances behind the lyrics because of this. This is the danger of hip-hop’s growing reach– ultimately, it is created to depict the black struggle, to celebrate black joy, to support the struggling members of the community. I think that this is especially important to remember as the hip-hop network expands! 

As the dissemination of hip-hop culture increases, it is important to remember Stuart Hall’s theory of encoding and decoding. Most hip-hop artists encode their music towards a certain audience, the black audience, and so the black audience is the most equipped to decode dominantly, or as close to the author’s message as possible. However, as hip-hop’s popularity increases, its audience sometimes changes, expanding to non-minority groups, and I personally think that this is when issues arise.

Hip-hop is meant to be discussed, is meant to be debated, is meant to disrupt and spark larger conversation. However, when catered to the white audience incorrectly, I think that hip-hop loses a lot of that ability. 

So why does this conversation matter to you? You may not even listen to hip-hop! However, it is incredibly relevant to all people who are involved in pop culture, which in this day and age is almost everybody, because hip-hop and rap culture heavily influence all aspects of it. From sneakers to high fashion, designers to musicians–a recent example of both being Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton show– hip-hop is everywhere, and always has been. 

At this point, it is how we use hip-hop and the conversations that stem from it that matters. If you don’t want to read a book on black culture or have little access to explore black communities, then pick up a classic hip-hop album, and I promise that you’ll learn more than you might think.

“Hip-hop is our voice so we enlist that To express how we be feeling about this and that But music does reflect life And kids look up to what you’re portraying And mimic what you act like. 

It’s time for a new day, A new era in rap.”

Shallow Days- Blackalicious.