a perfect verse over a tight beat.
A few thoughts on hip-hop at 50 + reads & vibes for your weekend.
It’s Friday again friend and here we are! It seems like a lot has happened this week, so let’s dive in.
thoughts at large.
It seems like we’ve been celebrating Hip-Hop’s 50th birthday for almost two years, but today is Hip-Hop’s “unofficial but official” 50th birthday.
On August 11th, 1973, Cindy Cambell threw a Back To School block party in the Bronx. Her brother, Clive, aka DJ Kool Herc, was tapped to be the DJ, and he had spent his summer perfecting a style he would later name “beatbreaking”. Over 300 NYC kids were at that party that day, and Kool Herc had it so lit that he became a celebrity overnight, effectively launching a grassroots campaign that has grown into what we know today as hip-hop.
A culture developed by Black kids who were societal outcasts has now become popular mainstream American culture. In fact, it’s one of our chief exports. Our culture, one born out of struggle, poverty, and a hunger for expression by any means necessary, is literally the fuel behind a number of industries. But don’t get it twisted, hip hop culture IS intrinsically Black. It is the purveyor of cool, and it has now birthed generations of children. With each year, the culture grows wider, and deeper, now being stretched to places that many probably never knew it could go.
Hip Hop is like a family member. It’s influenced a lot of what I do in my life, from the way I speak to the way that I dress, and knowing it has made me feel like I’m in a very cool club that everyone can’t get into. It’s even given me the opportunity to launch my career and has gotten me paid on several occasions - it’s given me a space to share my voice and my opinion. I’ll be forever grateful for that, and I’m glad to call it mine.
With that said cousin hip-hop is not without fault. As a culture, we haven’t done enough to call out and internally police the general toxicity, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and violence that seems to run rampant in the culture. It hasn’t always been safe place for women. It hasn’t been a safe place for anyone who is considered different. If we care about it, it’s really time for us to have a conversation about where we need to grow. There’s a level of accountability that has to be present when things aren’t right - and if we want to continue to see hip-hop thrive, the time for that is now.
With love comes critique. I do it because I care. So happy birthday, Hip-Hop. Thank you. Here’s to more life, and more growth.
need you to know.
At least 55 people died on Maui. Residents had little warning before wildfires overtook a town
Judge Chutkan to hold first hearing Friday in already contentious Trump January 6 criminal case
Sen. Joe Manchin to skip a big White House event as he considers running against Biden
Tory Lanez After 10-Year Sentence for Megan Thee Stallion Shooting: ‘I Refuse to Apologize’
reads & vibes.
As Tory Lanez heads to prison, hip-hop needs to have a conversation about accountability
MC Lyte and Dream Hampton Want to Remind You That Women Shaped Hip-Hop
#FromTheFrontLines: These Entertainment Lawyers Break Down What Black Creatives Are Striking For
dream hampton’s “Ladies First” docuseries is live now on Netflix. It has interviews from everyone from MC Lyte to Latto. I’ll probably dive into this today!
I watched Michelle Buteau’s new standup special on Netflix this week and it was funny! Welcome to Buteaupia is available now, and I would definitely recommend.
The season finale of Swagger dropped today on AppleTV! If you’ve been following the show you know that the season finale is likely going to leave us with a cliffhanger. Check it out and let me know what you think.
The Update Weekly playlist has been updated! There’s new music from Miguel, PJ Morton, Tone Stith and more. Grab it here on Apple Music or Spotify.
That’s all for this week! Have a great weekend family!