Rapper
Talib Kweli Charting a Positive Terrain for Hip-Hop
By
Ike Mgbatogu, BA, MPA
<Onumba.com:
Posted January 25, 2003>
Twenty-four
year old rapper Talib Kweli has a stern message for
his fellow rappers in the lucrative hip-hop fraternity.
"We
can do shit with music. Entertain, yes, but also educate",
says Kweli whose Arabic first name means "The seeker
or student" and Ghanaian last name denotes "Truth
and knowledge."
At
a time when contemporary young rappers are motivated
by the seductive lure of "bling blingism"
and misguided machismo attitude flaunted through depressing
lyrical filth and pervaded music videos on BET and elsewhere,
rapper Talib Kweli is boldly taking the lead in voicing
the message that enough is enough.
Following
in the footsteps of veteran political rap groups Public
Enemy and Dead Prez, Kweli is determined to initiate
some long overdue changes in the lucrative rap industry
with a brand of rap that edutains.
As
evidenced by the three rap albums that constitute his
modest discography, Kweli is unwaveringly charting an
alternative terrain destined to take rap into a different
direction that promotes basic lyrical responsibility
and socially inspired marketing approach.
"If
I'm going to put something out, it's got to be positive,
it's got to build and progress the people. I can't just
tell you how fucked up the neighborhood. I've got to
show a vision for something better", said Kweli.
Kweli's
bold rejection of the entrenched culture of hedonism
and violence pervasive in the hip-hop industry comes
with the full awareness of the inherent rivalry between
rocking the party on the one hand and spinning out socially
and spiritually mature lyrics on the other. Yet the
Brooklyn New York native pertinaciously insists that
creating a lucrative career in hip-hip can and should
go hand-in-hand with showing a modicum of personal responsibility
to uphold the social, moral and spiritual vibrancy of
the community.
Kweli's
progressive and mature sentiments are a far cry from
the pervaded syrup of lyrical filth that drips from
most of the rap songs popular among today's youths.
Today,
too many contemporary rap artists are quick to articulate
furious demarche against a social and racial caste system
they bemoan for overlooking the social and economic
predicament of the urban underclass and working poor.
Yet they offer little or no satisfactory solution to
tackle the inner-city problems that they so furiously
lament. Rather, most of these rappers indulge in undue
and blatant expression of violent and vulgar lyrics
and adulterated music videos that indoctrinate young
people into deeper and deeper pervaded culture of sexual
promiscuity, ethos of material vanity and blatant hedonistic
arrogance, in the end exacerbating the very problems
they so brilliantly articulated on behalf of the socially
downtrodden and economically impoverished.
The
veteran rapper and actor Ice-T aptly summed it up when
he said, "Hip-hop is simply the latest form of
a 'home invasion' into the hearts and minds of young
people, including a lot of white youth."
Appearing
on BET Tonight with Ed Gordon, rapper and actor Queen
Latifah added, "We lack a lot of family values...kids
hanging out in the streets."
Invariably,
the seductive influence of this culture on the innermost
fabrics of the black communities drowns out the moral
teachings of church and family, often resulting in a
depressing package of teen pregnancy, out of wedlock
babies, fatherlessness, black on black crime, HIV/AIDS
and dangling youths plagued by chronic moral malnutrition,
lovelessness and hopelessness.
Quite
frankly, the furious orgy of this tragic phenomenon
adds up to a profound misguided rage successfully peddled
in much of culturally vulnerable, socially stagnant
and economically depressed black communities as legitimate
and credible social protest. It is not. These rappers
are not social crusaders. Rather, the unrelenting bombardment
of these seductive and adulterated lyrical grunge to
delicate and vulnerable young minds must be soundly
rejected as atrocious and capitalistic pimping of the
depressing situation of the economically hapless, politically
powerless and socially voiceless under class population.
These rappers brilliantly lament the inherent failings
of the American social system. Yet they profit monumentally
from the steaming pathologies of black youths most of
whom are tormented by father deprivation, community
neglect and societal abandonment.
The
question is not whether hip-hop is a legitimate black
art. Rather, it is whether that legitimacy can be morally
sustained and credibly condoned in the face of the prevailing
circumstance where a handful of its custodians amass
an incredible pile of wealth at the expense of the moral
decadence of the youths who patronize it.
If
this is the way parents have elected to go, we will
always celebrate the commercial and material success
of a few; yet lament the human and moral destruction
of many. A keen sense of radical self-critique and objective
self-interrogation must emerge as a credible path for
constructing a bold new paradigm for black youth development.
And in this onerous task, parents must lead the way.
Schools, churches and the governments must lend a helping
hand. We must reject and surpress this incredible habit
of applauding ignorance and denigrating intellect.
"We
are not talking about what other people are doing to
us, we are talking about what we are doing to ourselves"
said, Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie of the African Methodist
Church (A.M.E.).
Meanwhile,
Kweli's 1997 debut album Fortified Live effectively
introduced the young rapper to the global hip hop fraternity,
an industry suffering from the paucity of conscious
and spiritual rappers. In 1998 Kweli collaborated with
Mos Def to release Black Star, a highly successful album
that indelibly branded Kweli as a leading conscious
rapper known for his blistering socially uplifting and
spiritually healing lyrics. Most of the lyrics in the
album strayed significantly from the commercially driven
and depressing socially irresponsible lexis that typifies
much of contemporary rap vibes.
Kweli's
latest work completed with DJ Hi Tek, Reflection Eternal
for the most part sustains the familiar course. Reflection
Eternal offers a glaring highlight of Kweli's superb
talent evident in his ability to delicately weave socially
refreshing lyrics and melodically entrancing vibes into
a rare package of musical delight.
Ike
Mgbatogu, MPA, is the principal entertainment writer
and analyst for the Onumba.com - an on-line voice of
the nation located in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. He can
be reached at Ikeuzondu@onumba.com
or (614) 848-7747.
Copyright
© 2002 Ike Mgbatogu / Onumba Communications. All
rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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