"Message to the Grass Roots" is the name of a public speech by Malcolm X at the Northern Negro Grass Roots Leadership Conference on November 10, 1963, in King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan.[1] In the speech, Malcolm X described the difference between the "Black revolution" and the "Negro revolution. "Message to the Grass Roots" was ranked 91st in the top 100 American speeches of the 20th century by 137 leading scholars of American public address"- wikipedia
Monday hosts a cultural throwback to a formative time in america: the civil rights movement. The seat of politics always held relation to the african diaspora in many forms, specifically in the civil rights struggle of the 1960's many movements were born. from united fronts, organizations to idealogies to gear the "black revolution". Legendary controversial figures as malcolm was part of a wave of activism, and idealogies like black theology,accompanied with others as martin; and political groups as the black panther party (pan-african socialist group). Below is an example of malcolm's worldview, communicated during a heated time in american politics: -Strong words at a time that called for social justice- fast forward to the modern day. Where we feature a brief introduction of international artist of social justice, Nneka, whose origins hail from nigeria, africa.
"When i say im livin' large all you see is the struggle, when i say im still thuggin all you see is the trouble"
~Aint mad at cha
- TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR
The muscle, milestones and misunderstanding's of the urban experience. Words fitly spoken by the late tupac amaru shakur, describing the collective ideal of many seeking financial success and holistic wealth; exceeding mental and social barriers. Notably in the urban plight, the portrait of minority's are often stained with negative sterotypes; to overshadow the means of struggle and the intent of the people thereof: "This is all God's plan it was meant to be, gotta handle that mentally, and i cant let the stress get the best of me"-
-Two lyrics reflecting personal outlook, and social conscious. Most standard classification of genre's via hip hop through the screen of pop culture, means of capitalism and stereotypes at times also cloud the voices of artists who seek to communicate, clearly to the people. The late keith "guru" elam , starting at a formative transition of hip hop during the late 80's, has shown ultimate progression as an legendary artist; with his group gangstarr, and post the active gangstarr years he sought to be progressive; both in content and buisness, even unto his passing as stated in the last interviews:
- We close with indepth understanding; as shot by bronx new york's upcoming video/film director Jayonez, CEO of money shot films. Peep extrodinary footage as told by independent artist Ques, E.Daney, and an exclusive single lead by mysonne, d.o.t. and Brand nubian's Sadat X.
"Young Artists for Haiti is a movement to engage Canada's young musicians to continue to inspire an ongoing effort and contribution to Canadian charities for their work to help the people of Haiti overcome the devastation from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked the country on January 12, 2010. More than 50 of Canada's best and brightest artists gathered at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia to record a rendition of renowned hip hop artist K'naan's "Wavin' Flag". -
wikipedia
"Three months after the earthquake, some of the customary cadence of life has returned. People still argue and laugh, they still fight and kiss under the trees. Babies still cry in the middle of the night. But the neighborhood has changed. We fervently wish that the precarious tents and other reminders of the catastrophe would disappear, yet we remain aware that to go forward we must rebuild with that infamous Tuesday in mind." -
Monday hosts a brief reflection of janurary 12, 2010, where the poorest country in the western hemisphere was hit with a massive earthquake. This particular tragedy culturally awoke the world to high degree; in personal reflection, and global relief efforts. One current example is canada based "artists for haiti" which includes drake and many others. The harvest of the earthquake brought the globe under one collective train of thought: "viv ayiti" which means "long live haiti". In conclusion we close with two great minds at that: mos def and blacksmith's tsidi ibrahim, (jean grae), live at the every drop counts benefit concert.
Mos Def Speaks On Haiti Live @ The Independent:
The above example is just one arm of thursday's feature; the plight of the next generation. The afrikan proverb "it takes a village to raise a child" is not only meditated on, but practiced through programs, the changes and reformation of school systems, and simple mentoring; even right here in our own backyard, america. In regards to the ills this generation is exposed to, and the hard numbers of statistics,many see the importance of giving the next generation a sense of direction; an alternative, to make a conscious decision as to what choices to make in this lifetime. Opposed to the negative footage we witness both in realtime and media to the tribulations of america's youth, positive outreach is still relevant. As illustrated in the composition between independent artists blitz the ambassador and industry veteran john forte:
"DYING TO LIVE" In closing we feature independent artist, my family "Da gif" with a socially conscious take on the life and times of america's youth, along with a documentry on one institution that has been the catalyst for change, and one of the faces of reformation: youthbuild.
"You don't have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being. "
Malcolm El-hajj Shabazz
"Hip hop activism is a term coined by the hip hop intellectual and journalist Harry Allen. It is meant to describe an activist movement of the post- baby boomer generation. The hip hop generation was defined in The Hip- Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture as African Americans born between 1965 and 1984. This group is situated between the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the assassination of Malcolm X on one end and hip hop's explosion during the 1970s and 1980s. But the hip-hop generation can be more loosely defined to include minorities born between 1965 and 1984 who have grown up within a culture of hip hop music, dance, fashion and art. " -wikipedia
Monday features the "stream of voices in the crisis": the current plight of palestine and its relation to music:
"The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing civil war between Israelis and Palestinians, an enduring and explosive conflict. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionistyishuv and the majority Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or British rule. "-wikipedia A growing movement of palestinian effort not only in the states, but in the very land of palestine; where hip hop culture is harnessed for social empowerment, enrichment of culture and the theme of resistance. A political fight world reknowned, laced with tragedy, mainly based on territorial control, is recognized by the industry and the streams of political activism, via college campuses and programs. One annual event at temple university is "hip-hop for palestine":
We feature words from Ilana weaver(Invincible) and M1 on the current crisis, and a ultimate look on life in palestine through an up close documentry, and movements of hip hop therof; featuring DAM, one palestinian rap's leading voices.
"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind" -
BOB MARLEY
"Popular culture (commonly known as pop culture) is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes,[1] images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, specifically Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century. Heavily influenced by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of the society. By contrast, folklore refers to the cultural mainstream of more local or pre-industrial societies.
Popular culture is often viewed as being trivial and "dumbed-down" in order to find consensual acceptance throughout the mainstream. As a result, it comes under heavy criticism from various non-mainstream sources (most notably religious groups and countercultural groups) which deem it superficial, consumerist, sensationalist, and corrupted."-wikipedia
"To each his own" in regards to this term, todays a.l.i.h.s.t. blog feature is not a discourse of the conscious artist, vs the the kings and queens of commercial pop-culture..but to showcase the hearts of the independant; the free thinker, in both buisness and idealogy. With today's digital age, and what pre-dominately reigns the charts in genre's like hip hop/rap, rnb and others, generate's the lion's share of monetary; at times leaving those who do not nessacerily reflect the same ideals in commercial music, in a different financial state, but with a strong fanbase nonetheless. Notably some examples, Dante smith(Mos def) for the last ten years of the digital revolution has left the progressive rawkus, understanding the means of promotion today, and has chosen to realease his latest successful project on the little known "downtown" record label, unconcerning himself with major label success and promotional relevance, for the sake of simply "putting out good music".
Another prime example is G.G.O (ghetto govt. officials), Black market militia/t.h.u.g. angels movement is an independant entity, having its roots wu tang's extended family. With some of the affiliates, hell razah and shabazz the disciple, t.h.u.g angels movement is a respected for its progressive movement, in spite of commercial radio's decline to play strong quality independant artists. The likes of mainstream artists as Nneka and dead prez, have maintained their idealogies and sound, starting labels along with being linked with major distributors.
Most independant voices bear the strong characteristic of originality, in this modern day the market is in the masses, but as you see in the above examples, they lean to create legacies. We close with throwback interview of Mutulu Olugbala (m1) from film journalist tao ruspoli..and updates to the upcoming hell razah/heaven razah lp, with hell razahs featured song "guns, oil and drugs"...
"I AM AN REVOLUTIONARY WRITER"-
JESSICA CARE MOORE
This week in april opens with homage to the femcee once again, this time with a double edged sword..the music the artists produce and the life and times behind it.
Out of a plethora of pioneers we host two..motor city's invincible and fellow associates, and my fam, blackwacth movement veteran lin que. We discover the voice they apply to social issues.. insight to their personal careers, and their currents. We cacth detail to invincible's "revival" documentry, following with a span of linque's career, to a single off her newest project "GODspeed".
"One of the most talented emcees I've ever heard black or white, male or female..." -Talib Kweli
"Invincible is one part emcee, three parts revolutionary, but the recipe is all Hip Hop." -Shook Magazine
"Little ghetto boy, you already know how proud life can be 'Cause you've seen so much pain and misery"
Donny Hathaway 1945 - 1979
"Ghetto: Originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live, a ghetto is now described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live; especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure." [1]-wikipedia
"The world is a ghetto"- the coined phrase by the early 70's rock band "war", still rings true internationally. The ghetto mindset, social atmosphere, and region all bear the same characteristic. I personally advocate social consciousness and change amongst the urban diaspora, esp. in the minority plight. According to social statistics a ghetto is formed three ways..peep the mindset on a global scale:
Ghettos are formed by:
1.As ports of illegal entry for racial minorities, and immigrant racial minorities.
2.When the majority uses compulsion (typically violence, hostility, or legal barriers) to force minorities into particular areas.
3.When economic conditions make it difficult for minority members to live in non-minority areas. Ghettos in occupied Europe 1939-1944 where the Jews were required to live prior to their transportation to concentration and death camps.
The definition of "ghetto" still has a similar meaning, but the broader range of social situations, such as any poverty-stricken
The Irish immigrants of the 19th century were the first ethnic group to form ethnic enclaves in America’s cities, followed by Italians and Poles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Due to segregated conditions black neighborhoods in the United States have been called "ghettos". Many of these neighborhoods are in Northern cities where African Americans moved during The Great Migration (1914-1950) a period when over a million[11]African Americans moved out of the rural Southern United States to escape the widespread racism of the South,
-Not only in a good percentage of hip-hop, but across all genre's the mind, social climate and emotions of the ghetto have been expressed. Rakim allah expressed this years ago in the early 90's classic song "ghetto". One good throwback LP to see the reflections on the conscious is the compilation " A rose that grew from concrete" by various artists, which features the poetry and writings of tupac shakur. The mindset of the urban struggle is shared from the slums of central america to the back streets of nyc and texas. Though its social ills may plague, having the knowledge, is only half the battle. Power..we close thursday's A.L.I.H.S.T's feature with words from one of the Godfathers of hip-hop.. and a graphic depiction of the ghetto from south philly's beanie sigel..100% actual.
The A.L.I.H.S.T series or any publication of the Urban Cry LLC is soley to promote the greater awareness of diaspora's within urban communities, and global matters. Each publication released associates and highlights principles, solutions, and the general acknowledgement of code of ethics. Within the topics addressed. The Urban Cry LLC is an entity that advocates people to think for themselves.
"Message to the Grass Roots" is the name of a public speech by Malcolm X at the Northern Negro Grass Roots Leadership Conference on November 10, 1963, in King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan.[1] In the speech, Malcolm X described the difference between the "Black revolution" and the "Negro revolution. "Message to the Grass Roots" was ranked 91st in the top 100 American speeches of the 20th century by 137 leading scholars of American public address"- wikipedia
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