When Has Hip-Hop Ever Not Been Political?

Since the amazing display of artistry that was last night’s Super Bowl Fifty-Six Halftime Show, I have seen a large variety of people and organizations share the following:

To all of you that didn’t “get it” last night...

First of all I believe one of the best things was it was a REAL SHOW and without ONE political message or stunt! Just music of a generation... remember your parents didn’t like or appreciate the Beatles or Elvis either!!

Plus really unless you were watching for the commercials or a Cincinnati fan, the whole game was about this concert!!!

From the first minute I saw this message, it was like a bee in a bonnet. I’ve spent a better part of the day thinking about it in some form or fashion, and I just had to finally stop and think,

“When has hip-hop ever not been political?”

Is that what Middle America needs? To believe that black folks are apolitical beings, and that all of their messages are void of politics to be palatable?

Bruh.

Please allow me to burst your bubble.

Hip-Hop is an American art form, born out of black community, specifically the Bronx borough of New York City. I won’t waste my time or yours giving you a history lesson on the roots of hip hop (I highly recommend the Netflix series Hip-Hop Evolution as a crash course. From there, pick up books. The options are damn near endless), nor am I an expert on the subject, but I am a student. As a former history teacher, I loved talking the history of hip-hop (an art form that so many of them consumed, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion) with my students, and offering them some insight as to it’s evolution of a cultural pariah to a cultural norm.

But as you learn, you’ll see that hip-hop grew out of African-American community, equally as a vehicle of joy, jubilation, pain and hardship. For every rapper or MC that was talking about the party, the fun, the chains; there were already rappers talking about the burnt out buildings, the pain, the struggle.

And as time has progressed, hip-hop has continued to be a reflection of all that we often think of as Black American experience. From the early 1970’s, whether the highest highs, or the lowest lows of the black experience, hip-hop has been there in lockstep, just as it’s predecessors gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, country, funk and rock and roll were prior.

Hip-hop is political because it has predominantly in its existence been borne of politics. It’s an art form born of black bodies in a society that constantly wants to separate them from the body politic…isn’t that political? Do we even need to discuss the full on assault of voting rights of people of color (my brown skin brothers and sisters included) by the Republican Party going on right now?

If you think the often politically and socially charged lyrics of Kendrick Lamar are far removed from the case of NWA vs. The Los Angeles Police Department, presided over by Judge Dre, in which the prosecuting attorneys MC Ren, Ice Cube and Eazy motherfuckin' E all started their arguments with the charged words “Fuck The Police” 32 years ago, you haven’t been paying attention.

Also, let us not forget why now seemed the perfect time for the NFL to feature an all hip-hop smorgasbord of entertainment. After joining forces with Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment company, it was (obviously) decided that something needed to be done to mend fences following the 2016 dust up of Colin Kaepernick and his kneeling during the national anthem as a protest of police brutality and racial injustice. Big ups to Eminem, who in kind kneeled during the performance. Yes, some people will do their best to liken it to a moment of respect to Tupac, who surely would have been a part of this performance if he were still alive (who else had more California love than Tupac?). But those of us who know the spirit that this amazing cadre of performers hold, we know not only what the kneel was about, but why Eminem specifically was the one to kneel. Let me know what you think the headlines would’ve read today if Kendrick had kneeled on the 50 yard line and raised a black leather fist to the heavens.

Speaking of Kendrick, you’ve obviously never listened to Kendrick Lamar if you are unaware that his hit song, “Alright” which became an anthem during the protests following the shootings of Laquan McDonald and George Floyd, is, to quote Yahoo Entertainment, “a powerful anthem protesting police violence against Black people.” Noticeably, a key word was dropped from the lyrics of the song, which actually say,

“And we hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho”

If you failed to recognize the political imagery of Kendrick Lamar, dressed in all black and surrounded on all sides by mean mugging black men, militant in their movement and their rage palpable, you better ask somebody. I was standing in my living room by myself and put a fist up.

As a note, I ain’t mad at Kendrick for censoring himself or being censored. It was far greater to have him on this stage than to haggle over a few words. Everyone who “got it” said ‘em for you.

Hip-hop is for everyone who wants and is willing to drink it in. However, let’s not whitewash this amazing art form by trying to strip it of its politicism. The essence of hip-hop as a vehicle for dissension in an often uninviting world is part of what makes hip-hop so powerful. Despite the naysayers and power brokers telling us it was nothing more than a passing fad, now those very same people want to hobnob and dress like our heroes. They all reviled Dr. Dre when he said “fuck the police.” Now they all want to kiss the ring and pay homage.

Isn’t that political?

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below. Did you enjoy the performance? Was there anything about it you didn’t like? Let’s chat about it. And may all of your children raise a leather clad fist to the heavens this week, regardless of skin shade and eye color. We can all dare to be revolutionary.

Thumbnail photo by aiden marples on Unsplash