Hip Hop Children Children of a Lesser God
Min. Paul Scott
I always find it kind of funny when accepting an award
for his hit “Kill em all; Till they Fall” ; MC
Pullatrigga gets on the mic and says, “First of all, I
would like to thank God…” Or during a magazine
interview , Sexxx Thugstress, innocently, tells a
reporter how her close relationship with her Savior
gave her the strength to write “If the Escalade is
Rockin’ Don’t be Knockin.” As grandma would say,
“Chile let me move ’cause I know that lightnin’ is
fixin’ to strike….”
From as far back as history records, black people
have had a reverence for the Supreme Being. From the
African people who laid the foundation for modern
religion, to the old lady across the street who never
misses a Sunday service, rain, sleet or snow, we have
always had a strong spiritual connection with the
Creator. Many of us have vivid memories of receiving
our first whippin’ for mocking Rev. Jones or Sis. Ruth
Ann when she got in “the spirit” one Sunday morning.
We found out early that playin’ with “tha lawd“, was a
definite, No, No!
Historically, music and Spirituality have walked hand
in hand as music is more than just something to help
us get our party on but is a divine expression of our
respect for the gift of life. It was our spirit filled
song that helped us keep the faith, even when we were
being beaten by the slave master and forced to work in
the hot cotton fields from sun up to sun down and it
will be our song that leads us to the liberation of
our people from mental slavery The Spirituality of
African people has always been thorn in the side of
the oppressor. Our faith has been like that trick
birthday candle that no matter how hard you try, you
just can’t blow it out. We have been like a Spirit
filled energizer bunny playin’ an African drum, we
just keep going and going.
For many young brothas and sistas who are
disillusioned with organized religion, today Hip Hop
has become the faith of choice. Maybe for some, the
rules and regulations of the other religions were just
too hard to follow so they turned to the cardinal rule
of Hip Hop “if it feels good, do it” or more likely,
they simply rejected the idea that they had to have
the word of God interpreted by white kings and other
European writers. So, instead they traded in the King
James version of the Bible for the Gospel according to
the white owned media and entertainment industry who
at least had the foresight to put pictures of Black
people on the covers of their magazines. So, the laws
revealed to Moses were traded in for the 10 Crack
Commandments.
While many rappers reflect “the Life is Hell”
philosophy in their lyrics, I doubt very seriously
that any other religion outside of Holy Hip Hop
considers eternal torment living in a 5 million dollar
mansion with an Olympic sized swimming pool. However,
some rappers are helping to perpetuate the hell-ish
conditions that black people are experiencing,
globally by aiding our mental enslavement that keeps
us under the foot of the white supremacist system.
Sadly, many of the brothas and sistas in Hip Hop are
fully aware that they are leading black children
down the path of destruction but have made a conscious
decision to sell the destiny of our people for 30
pieces of silver or a platinum chain.
The problem is that our African Spirituality makes it
hard for us to believe that anyone could be so evil as
to use our music and Spirituality as a genocidal
weapon. So many have underestimated the depths that
white supremacists would sink to keep the masses of
African people oppressed.
Some will argue that it is “only music”, but as dude
from the movie, “the Usual Suspects” said “the
greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing
the world he didn’t exist.” The oppressor knows that
the only way to totally destroy a people is to
separate them from their connection to the Creator.
Once their Spiritual immune system is broken down, the
people are left open to all the vices that plague the
planet, drugs, disease, violence, etc.
When faced with this TRUTH, many young brotha’s will
defiantly shout, “Only God can judge me!!!!” However,
there is such a thing as corporate responsibility and
the actions of one member of the African family,
affect the whole, including future generations. So to
answer the age old question, “I am my Brother’s
keeper.”
Our African ancestors knew that it was not only the
right, but the responsibility of the elders to give
guidance to the younger generation because it was they
who would determine the future of the tribe. But today
even, our most learned elders seem to be intimidated
by children just because they can quote rap lyrics
like the old folks quote scripture. When the adults in
the Afrikan familiy stop trying to win a popularity
contest with 14 year olds and stand up and speak
TRUTH, then will the end of our oppression come.
Most religions have some sort of Judgement Day when
TRUTH is revealed; when a persons deeds are weighed in
the balance against the Universal principles of
Righteousness. A day when light (KNOWLEDGE) eventually
overcomes darkness (LIES). Even though some rappers
think that they can defy the law of Reciprocity by
raising hell all year long and giving out a free
turkey at Thanksgiving.
Rappers Bone Thugs-n-Harmony once asked “What ya gonna
do; when there ain’t no place to hide, when judgement
comes for you?” So Hip Hop, today is at the
Crossroads. We must make a decision as to which road
we will take, the road to liberation or the road to
slavery. The path that will insure a future for the
next generation or the path that will lead to its
destruction.
To borrow from an old Public Enemy interlude; “Right
vs. Wrong; Good vs. Evil; God vs. the Devil; what side
you on?”
****Originally Written 2002***
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283
