It’s bigger than Hip Hop. By Wanja

This week a 16 year old boy in Chicago was shot and killed. Because of some online “rap beef” he had with someone affiliated with rapper Chief Keef.

This child was shot 17 times. And not only that, but his murderer and their whole crew and followers made cruel fun of his death. “Jo Jo was 16.He got hit 17 times so dats a bullet fa each year he was on dis earth plus da 17th 1 which was at his forehead, rest in piss”

Chief Keef himself tweeted this: “HahahahahhahahahahahahahaahhAAHAHAHAHA #RichNiggaShit Its Sad Cuz Dat Nigga Jojo Wanted To Be Jus Like Us #LMAO”

 Chief Keef just signed a major deal with Interscope. This is a person who, whether you like it or not, is the face of hip hop to the public. THIS is what outsiders affiliate with our culture, with our love. I’m not in the US but I bet on TV they say that someone got killed over rap beef.

And all those parents out there get scared of it.

Hip Hop saved my life. And now, it killed a child. A 16 year old, who hasn’t lived a life, who doesn’t know anything. By another child. Our children are KILLING each other because of rappers like Chief Keef. Because of a media & industry that chooses to promote Rap music that glorifies violence, ignorance, disrespect, drugs, miseducation.

This hurts me. This hurts my soul so much. Hip Hop saved my life.

And now it is being slandered and misused and manipulated and abused by money hungry people with power.

Many years ago I wrote a blog post stating that I believed the industry and government were pushing this type of rap music to make african americans look bad. To keep them down. This was when songs like “Chicken Noodle Soup” were popular. Intelligent rappers rarely make it on TV. And white people see the “Chicken Noodle Soup” image, the Waka Floka image. And they think that’s what african americans are.

My granddad (German) asked me a long time ago what my job was, I told him “Hip Hop”. He asked “Is that where they wear those pants that fall to the floor?”.

These are the images that are portrayed to outsiders.

But I could live with that.

What I can’t live with, is our children being manipulated into believing that killing another human being is normal, that drugs and disrespecting women is normal, even expected.

Hip Hop doesn’t want this. WE don’t want this. Rappers like Chief Keef are puppets. They are like actors, putting on a show. Like actors in a commercial promoting a product to the ones that are most easily influenced.

A kid won’t go online and dig for good music. Most likely they will listen to what’s served to them, on TV, radio etc. Yet music is one of the biggest influences on their lives and minds.

About a year ago I read an open letter by an anonymous source, claiming they were involved in a meeting in the 90s, of the music industry’s greatest influencers. At this meeting it was supposedly discussed how they were to push “gangsta rap” (like 50 Cent who was coming up at the time), in order to increase the incarceration rate of privately owned prisons. Because that is a huge market, with a lot of potential money to be made.

Obviously there was a lot more to this story, but it made so much sense to me, it was shocking. And then today, Rhymefest said this in response to the recent events:

“Chief Keef is a “Bomb”, he represents the senseless savagery that white people see when the news speaks of Chicago violence. A Bomb has no responsibility or blame, it does what it was created to do; DESTROY! Notice, no one is talking about the real culprits, the Bomb maker or the pilot who is deploying this deadly force (Labels, Radio Stations). Its easier to blame the bomb. Bombs are not chosen for their individual talents, they are tools used for collateral damage.

To think of the persona of Chief Keef as a person would be the first mistake, he will more then likely come and go without us knowing much of anything about his personal pains, struggles, great loves and ambitions beyond rap. He is a spokesman for the Prison Industrial Complex. Every corporation is expected to grow at least 4% each quarter, many prisons are privately owned with stock being traded on the open market.

If these corporations were to do commercials, jingles and promotions who would they hire? You got it, most of the main stream rappers we salivate over like Rick Ross the former correctional officer turned Drug Lord Boss rapper. Waka Flocka Flame gang bang “GO HARD IN THE PAINT” and Chief Keef the newest lottery pick in the “Get paid to destroy young minds, like we destroyed yours” Sweepstakes.”

And then I had to think of the story about that meeting again. This makes so much sense and is so scary. But also I think it should serve as a wake up call. To all of us who appreciate and love Hip Hop culture.
Are we going to let Hip Hop be used like this? Are we going to let our children be made into what we don’t want them to be?

I don’t want this for Hip Hop or anyone’s child. We need change. We NEED change!
And it needs to start with the kids. We can’t let our children be exposed to this music anymore. And we need to educate them about REAL music. About positivity. It is our responsibility to make a positive impact on the next generation!

Artists who make good music, that the radio is turning down, get it to these kids yourself! Don’t give up. Turn the radio off and say F*** em! Educate our children. Educate the adults if they don’t know better. Take good Hip Hop to the schools, invite kids for work shops, buy good music for your kids and make sure that’s what’s in their iPods.

The music a child, a teenager listens to is to the mind what the food is to the body. Letting them listen to this bullish** is like feeding them McDonalds every day.
Don’t let their minds starve.

I hope that this can make an impact on somebody. Even if it’s just one person.
Please share this with someone. Let this be the start to a revolution. Let us tell them that we are not gonna take this sh** anymore. Who are they to think that they can do this to us and our children, to our culture??

They don’t run this!

WE DO!