Shlep D-O Double Gizzle's Web Pizzle

Power and possibility continued

A while ago my homeboy Gautam wrote about the moment when you first "get it" after hearing a song. That certain mix of emotions that hits you the first time you hear a kick ass piece of music. It's the story of my life. Fist pumping 80's arena rock like Poison and Bon Jovi propel my childhood memories. Bands of the early 90s that changed the world of rock, Pearl Jam, Nirvavna, Smashing Pumpkins, play in the background while my own world changed during adoloscence.

But home was always hip-hop. It has grown with me, taught me, nurtured me, protected me. It has inspired me by its diversity, tolerance, adaptability, inclusiveness and most of all accessibility. You don't have to be a big star, with big hair and tight pants and expensive instruments. All you need is a mic, and your homeboy in the back with a couple of turntables.

Hip-hop has comforted me. It has provided me with an attitude, and more importantly, an identity. Growing up in the Texas suburbs, everyone around you is so white. Not just in skin, but white in outlook, in culture. In high school, there were approximately two people I could talk to about hip-hop. Everyone else I knew had a narrow-mindedness, a disturbing and frustrating dismissiveness towards this artform, just because it was different. Otherwise intelligent people, not only didn't know, but didn't care to know. If you don't like it, fine, but give it a real chance. It does have a message, it does have creativity, it is not just noise.

So hip-hop gave me my identity, my voice, strengthened by being forced to defend it. Its beats provided the backdrop for the good times, the parties. Its poetry enlightened me, gave me hope.

But there are two sides to any good relationship. Hip-hop has also frustrated me, often falling sadly short of its potential. It has betrayed me, if times are hard it has run after repetition, excessive materialism, and degradation.

But love is love. Hip-hop has always reinvented itself. It has always come back to show me new worlds, new possibilities. To open my eyes, to make me dance. To make me think, re-think, about what I know. To make me bob my head, like hell yeah, or, if its really good, to make me shake my head, like hell no, this can't be THAT good.

*****

So...When did I fall in love with hip-hop? I don't think I can pin down the exact moment. We've always just been there for each other. We probably always will.

Posted by sheelpi at June 4, 2003 04:29 PM