The Neglected Ones
by Ambra Nykol

When first daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush declared before the Republican National Convention that their very Presidential parents knew how to "shake it like a Polaroid picture", a good majority of the audience had no clue what they were talking about. Was Outkast's song "Hey Ya!" really being referenced at one of the most important political events of this election year? Indeed it was being referenced, and before an audience full of straight-laced Conservatives to boot. Whoever said Hip Hop and politics don't mix needs to enter into the 21st century.

Those who desire for the Hip Hop generation to just "go away" peacefully are in for a rude awaking.

Make no mistake about it. Hip Hop is no longer some trivialized stepchild art form that can be easily tossed to the side and ignored. It's the top-selling musical form and a cultural phenomenon that has captivated the hearts of many; including the President's own daughters.

There has long been a generally pervasive attitude on behalf of the "civilized" and "moral" (read: Conservatives) that Hip Hop has no redeeming qualities. Political pundits berate the culture without fully understanding its faults, and from city to city there are local church leaders going as far to declare Hip Hop "the Devil's music."

For the record, let's be clear on one thing: Hip Hop is amoral. It is neither good nor bad, but instead, takes on the persona, motivation and message of its constituents. It is merely a form of expression and culture so powerful that when perpetuated by the wrong people, has the potential to do more harm than good. There is however, an underground movement towards spreading a positive message through this powerful medium.

In spite of this, in their apparent life-long quest to repel the younger generation, Conservatives are seemingly on a mission to completely rid the world of Hip Hop.

In an article written shortly after the Republican National Convention, Constitution Party presidential candidate Michael A. Peroutka called the Bush twins' remarks "foolish, embarrassing, dishonarable to parents, and not funny." Perhaps we all would take Mr. Peroutka a bit more seriously if he'd spelled "dishonorable" correctly.

Needless to say, there were many others who weren't too happy with the twins' references to non-political topics. According to some, the pop culture references were deemed "inappropriate" for the venue. This serves as further proof that the entire Republican Party could stand to a) get more relevant b) remove the gigantic two by four from their collective rear-ends.

Throughout the entire election, there has been a failure on both sides, but the Right especially to make any tangible efforts to reach out to the Hip Hop community. Clearly, they are generation of people not yet deemed important enough to satisfy.

Admittedly, there have been pop culture low points this election. The "artificially blonde-haired people" had their downfall when Cameron Diaz acted like a fool on "Oprah." The "Hip Hop people" had their downfall when KRS-ONE opened his mouth at a New York festival panel discussion, remarking that black people "cheered" when the two planes hit the World Trade Center on September 11th. KRS ONE'S comments were less than helpful for a culture that already has its career critics.

Even prior to the generation's poor representation, many political parties, politicians, and partisan efforts failed to realize fundamentally what Nike, Pepsi, Toyota, and other major corporations have long discovered: Hip Hop sells. Not only does it sell, it communicates, teaches, and permeates culture and socio-economic status.

This election, there have been many independent efforts from new organizations to "mobilize" the Hip Hop generation of potential voters. Most notable efforts include Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' "Citizen Change" and Russell Simmons's Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HASN). Both organizations have spent considerable time and money seeking to both register and rally a demographic that has normally been absent from the polls.

One would think that registering the apathetic to vote is hardly an action with debatable virtues. Sure there is always that sweeping suspicion that most voter registration campaigns are entirely self-serving to achieve a specific political end (and they usually are), but the pro-voter registration argument is far stronger than its antithesis. Let's not however, underestimate the depths of the convoluted thinking that can be found amongst my fellow constituents who tout "the Right."

Fellow Washington Conservative activist, 19-year-old Hans Zeiger, textbook Republican and excessively proud Eagle Scout had some overtly harsh (and rather ignorant) words about Russell Simmons's (HASN). In his column "The Hip Hop Vote," Zeigler not only asserted that the Hip Hop Action Summit Network was "a perversion of responsible republican politics," but he also declared that the registration of rapper Eminem's fans to vote was only thanks to "the devil," noting the fact that both Eminem and the Hip Hop Action Summit Network have distinctly Leftist politics.

The HASN is Leftist, but Eminem is in a league of his own. Zeigler's summation of Leftist voter registration equaling the Devil would be fine were it an equal opportunity theory. Unfortunately, this calculated attack aims to discredit the mental capacity of the Hip Hop generation and no one else. In fact, it is quite certain that were Zeigler to make the same claim against all of Leftist America, the relative masses would be outraged.

Not all of Zeigler's commentary was botched. He spoke true words when he stated, "These gangster rappers and Hip Hop cons have an almost unparalleled sway over the minds and hearts of young Americans and in particular, young voters."

Besides Zeigler's inability to make the proper distinction between "gangsta rap" and everything else, his basic observation of hip-hop influence is one that has yet to be taken seriously by many political parties and politicians.

Hip-hop culture is currently the leading transmission of philosophy and political thought for the majority of the younger generation. We can continue to write the culture off as un-educated and irrelevant, but it will only be to our detriment. Nature abhors a vacuum, and those who choose to build bridges will get the political stronghold in the culture.

Ambra Nykol is freelance writer, Seattle native, and member of the "rebellious" generation. Visit her website at www.nykola.com.

Print Page | Printer Friendly Version