Forum discusses origins of hip-hop

The discussion helped celebrate Black History Month.

By Campbell Massie

Published Feb. 19, 2008

Hip-hop doesn’t deserve its bad rap, said a group of panelists in a lecture Wednesday.

The panel, made up of entertainers, hip-hop fans and scholars, gathered Wednesday night at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center to discuss the early history and the sociology of hip-hop from its roots to its popularity on the airwaves.

The discussion helped celebrate Black History Month and hip-hop’s place in black history.

The panelists said hip-hop doesn’t deserve its reputation because hip-hop acts as the voice of the disenfranchised and is nothing more than the sociological truth being sold over a beat.

“I think they brought experience and knowledge from the industry,” Black Culture Center Director Nathan Stephens said.

Doctoral candidate and panelist Jessie Adolph talked about the sociological beginnings of hip-hop in gospel spirituals and spoken word poetry like Langston Hughes as well as the oppression early hip-hop rebelled against.

Adolph talked about fighting against oppression such as slavery and the Jim Crow era.

“I think that the importance of the poet storytellers were for to inform the younger generation,” Adolph said. “Also, to inspire the youth to carry on that tradition and take it one step further.”

At the end of the discussion, the panel opened the floor to questions, which included disagreements about the problems of modern hip-hop, how certain songs became popular and the business aspect of the hip-hop industry.

The panel took on a discussion of Soulja Boy, whose rise to cult status with his original homemade track and video through the use of Youtube.com. Some attendees expressed regret that the song gets more attention than songs that advocate a positive message.

Stephens said he was impressed by the song’s marketing, which relied on making YouTube surfers believe they would be watching a hit rap video.

“I respect the hustler,” Stephens said.

The panel also discussed the business side of the music industry, which they said commandeered hip-hop to make money.

“Whenever it goes mainstream, you lose it,” Columbia entertainer Tyree Byndom said.

Members of the panel said the business of hip-hop changed when record labels realized entertaining rather than uplifting songs made more money, St. Louis entertainer W-A-R-R-I-O-R said.

He said there has not been enough protest from the listeners to cause any change in what is heard on the radio.

“If you don’t like some records on the radio, then don’t listen to them,” he said.

Stephens said songs from the younger days of hip-hop, like “Fuck tha Police” by N.W.A., express the frustration the generation felt and other songs try to inspire youth to reach for a better life beyond the projects.

More than 50 people came to hear the discussion, including fans and students who had interest in hip-hop or had it touch their lives in some way.

“It’s passion and anger that can be directed both ways,” MU freshman Max Prince said. “It can be directed at someone who is oppressive that can be directed at someone on the street.”

Prince said his family owns a small record store in St. Louis.