Social Issues in Hip Hop and Why We Study Kemet

¶ … Hip-Hop & Kemet

When discussing Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes with Mike D. And Jon A. I found their reaction to the issues presented in the documentary to be very similar. Given Mike D. And Jon A. have an extensive knowledge of music, it was easier to engage them in a conversation about the social impact of hip-hop and the recurring themes of the music genre.

The first and main aspect of the documentary that was discussed was the prevalence of masculine themes in contemporary rap music. We all agreed that masculinity is a common theme given the social history of blacks in America, which can be traced back to slavery and abolition to the civil rights movement. However, Mike and Jon argued that somewhere along the line of rap and its social historical standpoint, the message conveyed by black men became lost and instead of preaching for equality and justice, focus was shifted to "money and hos," as Mike so eloquently put it. Jon added that rap music would probably be taken more seriously now if rappers did not focus on how popular the song would be and advocate resorting to criminal activities -- as many rappers boast is how they became successful -- and went back to the original intent of hip-hop and rap: social commentary.

While I continued to explain more about what Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes was about, Mike D. And Jon A. became intrigued about the limitations of the documentary and asked why hip-hop, as presented in the documentary, only focused on the most recent aspects of popular hip-hop, that is, they wondered why the documentary completely ignored the roots of hip-hop and how it is interpreted by other social groups. Being children of the 80s and 90s, Mike D. And Jon A. are huge fans of bands such as NWA, Public Enemy, and Wu-Tang Clan and were shocked to hear, through our conversation, that there was little to no mention of these founding fathers of hip-hop and instead the documentary was focused on highlighting the pitfalls of hip-hop and how it perpetuates ideas of masculinity, money, and illegal activities as a path to success.

In a subsequent conversation with Mike D. And Jon A. about another topic, Kemet, I was intrigued with the limited amount of knowledge and information they both had on the subject and came to realize the study of ancient civilizations is not as emphasized in school as other subjects. It is this lack of knowledge that fails to spur an interest in the subject.

Despite their lack of information and knowledge on Kemet and the Kushitic origins of the civilization, Mike D. And Jon A. were eager, or at least willing, to learn more about the subject. I presented the arguments mentioned in the article by Dr. Jacob H. Carruthers named "Why We Study Kemet (Ancient Egypt)" as to why a person should study Kemet, however, Mike D. And Jon A. were greatly confused by the different reasons Dr. Carruthers mentions because they argued that while he provides reason to study Kemet, there is little to no evidence to support his claims. As I tried to explain the reasons Dr. Carruthers give, Mike D. And Jon A. asked for examples, which were hard to provide based on Dr. Carruthers' claims alone. For example, while I tried to explain that Dr. Carruthers argues there are similarities between Kemet culture and ancient Mesopotamian culture, which Mike D. And Jon A. were much more familiar with, they asked me to provide examples of the similarities so that they could attempt to form their own opinions and conclusions on the subject. Because there was no concrete evidence provided by Dr. Carruthers, Mike D. And Jon A. remained skeptical on the subject.