LANGUAGE OF ONE P. VI: THE ROTTERDAM JOURNAL

I don't feel like I need to preach to the world or nothing like that. I just feel like I share what I say, and if listeners get it, they get it. And I never underestimate the audience's ability to feel me. -

Erykah Badu






"Rotterdam (pronounced /ˈrɒtərdæm/; Dutch [rɔtərˈdɑm] (help·info)) is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the country, with a population of 603,425 as of March 2010. The greater Rotterdam area, best known as 'Rotterdam-Rijnmond'/'Rijnmond region' (Rijnmond is to be literally translated as "the Rhine's mouth", referring to Rotterdam's location at the end of the Rhine-delta and its economic position as Europe's main port) contains around 1.3 million people (by some standards it rather approaches 2 million inhabitants). It forms the southern part of the Randstad, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in Europe, with a population of 6.7 million;"em>

"Rotterdam has had a rich hiphop music scene since the early 1980s. It is also the home of Gabber, a type of hardcore electronic music popular in the mid-1990s, with hard beats and samples. Groups like Neophyte and Rotterdam Terror Corps (RTC) started in Rotterdam.


The main cultural organisations in Amsterdam, such as the Concertgebouw and Holland Festival, have joint forces with similar organisations in Rotterdam, via A'R'dam. In 2007 these organisations published with plans for co-operation.[9] One of the goals is to strengthen the international position of culture and art in the Netherlands in the international context. "-

wikipedia
The international context: such as the case of today's
feature artist who beyond their natural dialect communicates their mindset, struggles and culture through music. Language of one visits the city of rotterdam, netherlands; where the grandiose ediface is countered by a stream of hip hop politically, mentally and socially charged. Influenced by the U.S wave of politically and street conscious groups as killarmy, affiliates as black market militia, immortal technique and others, the movement of the voices of rotterdam harness their own talent to communicate to the world their struggle and culture:

One artist, ciph barker and other conglomorates have extended to international borders. He has worked with black market militia, killah priest and many others he has served with production through his team "Gods wrath". Peep some of the highlights, reflections U.S hiphop culture and the voices of the netherlands.

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP 2010.

MUSIC IS LIFE P.VI THE AFRICAN DIASPORA P.II

"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.

LANGUAGE OF ONE P.IV: "VIV AYITI"

"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:




THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP

THE URBAN PROMISE P.II: THE LEARNING TREE

"I had to learn the hard way some really important life lessons. There was really no one there to say, don't do this or don't do that.”-

Lauryn Hill








"On December 22, 2008, Forté walked out of Fort Dix Correctional Institution to resume his life and tell his story through music, film and prose. In addition to working on his album, Forté is a contributor to The Daily Beast and is working with at-risk youth through organizations such as “In Arms’ Reach,” a community-based arts, counseling and mentoring program for the children of incarcerated parents. " -
http://www.johnforte.com/



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.





THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP




KEITH ELAM

July 17, 1962 – April 19, 2010

STREETS CONSCIOUSNESS PII:THE REVOLUTIONARY

“If you tremble indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.”
Ernesto "che" Guevara
Interview by Prop Anon – Immortal Technique is an artist in the lineage of Zach De LaRocha and Chuck D, and he needs to be listened to. His story is a testament to the power of the pen. Born in Peru and raised in Harlem as a child, he found himself in trouble with the law as a teenager and young man. After serving time in prison for a couple years and becoming free, in more ways than one, Immortal Technique worked his way up through New York City underground Hip-Hop in the early 2000’s battle-rap scene. During this period, Tech got a name for himself for delivering vitriolic rhyme schemes deconstructing a system that has repeatedly lied to many in order to benefit a few.-www.hiphoplinguistics.com

Z.A-The voice of hip hop culture is clearly evident in political matters..the jugganaut of activism has encouraged consciousness of our societies. From exposing the ills, and constructing solutions. The revolutionary in hiphop culture, seeks to change, and showcase the need for change. Especially in the plight of minortites. Monday shows full blooded revolutionary- artist immortal technique, and the people's voice dead prez. Below is "modern day slavery" joel ortiz feat.immortal technique, an exposition on the system in relation to minorties.







THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP