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dear hip hop,
I can’t believe you are 50 years old.
It has been inspiring crowds for 50 years, starting with DJ Kool Herc’s house party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx in 1973.
But there are some scratches.
Some of them were self-inflicted, like perpetuating and monetizing the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry. Most others stem from outsiders trying to silence you. Like in 1989 when the Grammys established your category by waiting until you were old enough to drive. This is just one example of America trying to silence you. Your coming-of-age movie begins with Tipper Gore buying her 11-year-old daughter a copy of “Purple Rain,” the first act 2 Live her crew has with its black-and-white “Parental Her Advisory.” It ends by becoming sticker attached to it.
opinion columnist
LZ Granderson
LZ Granderson writes about American culture, politics, sports and life.
During a congressional hearing during this series of events, folk singer John Denver testified: So did Nazi Germany. That is why in many places today those in power fear the consequences of a knowledgeable and educated people. “
Thirty years later, the 1619 Project was banned in schools and “critical racial theory” became public enemy number two.
The title of Public Enemy No. 1 has already been mentioned.
Despite what Wayne said in a 1971 Playboy interview when Public Enemy’s Chuck D pointed out that John Wayne was racist in the 1990s “Fight the Power” , the rapper was the one who received criticism from America. “
In the 1950s, Los Angeles Police Commissioner William Parker aggressively recruited white men from the South to patrol the predominantly black neighborhoods of Los Angeles. He called black people “monkeys” in newspapers, but it was the lyrics of people who grew up in these conditions that provoked America’s contempt.
You had the world’s attention at that point, but the spotlight was grim.
When the NWA began singing the anti-police national anthem for 30 seconds on a Detroit stage in 1989, chaos ensued and the show ended abruptly. It turned out not to be a gunshot, but a cherry bomb fired by the police.
“I’m the one who was literally two feet away from the police when they lit fireworks and firecrackers,” NWA’s DJ Speed ​​told GQ in 2020.
At that time, America was beginning to understand that George Floyd’s video showed what the NWA was trying to convey. Today is a video of Tire Nichols. Decades ago, there was a Rodney King video. Through it all, two things remain true. America didn’t need a video to confirm that racism existed systematically in the first place. And you, hip-hop, have never been afraid to point it out.
we just needed to listen.
That is why so much effort was put into trying to silence you.
But as with other forms of music that emerged from the African diaspora, such as gospel, jazz, reggae, and rock and roll, you only grew stronger from your attempts to silence yourself.
In 1989, the Grammy Awards did not air the Rap Awards presentation. In 1990, a rap album spent his most weeks at number one on the Billboard charts. Because it was a sound from people whose voices could never be silenced. This is why the ‘1619 Project’ documentary describes black music as having an ‘uncapturable spirit’. Hip-hop may be 50 years old, but his lineage goes back even further.
You can even see part of your life story unfold as Glendale, Arizona, prepares to host the Super Bowl this year.
Terminal 4 at Phoenix Airport is named after 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Comfort the racist. “
Goldwater lost, but King’s criticism remains relevant because of the rhetoric of people like Goldwater. Arizona voters refused to recognize a royal holiday.
Once again, hip-hop drew criticism. But through it all, you refused to remain silent. At 50, you are as healthy as ever. Your golden age begins with his two black starting quarterbacks appearing in the first Super Bowl. This position has been shunned by black men under the guise of not being intelligent enough for the position. This Super Bowl will be held in a state that once refused to acknowledge King’s greatness. And even now, in 2023, participants still fly to airports with terminals named after the man who voted against them equally.
“By the time we get to Arizona,” sure.
For the first 50 years America tried to silence you. Instead, you changed America. I can’t wait to see what happens in her next 50 years.
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