Should Hip-Hop Be Illegal?

My quick answer: hell muthafuqing no. But I digress....it's at least something to check out for this Saturday...barring any car troubles and whiny midgets.

Every year, the Harvard Black Law Students Association hosts a Spring Conference featuring workshops and panels on current legal issues and their impact on minority communities. This year, for the first time, the conference will feature a Youth Summit. The Youth Summit will be held on the morning of Saturday, March 11th, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. on the campus of Harvard Law School.

For the summit, we are going to create an open forum where high school students can come and discuss critically the images and issues surrounding the current state of hip hop music and culture. The summit is entitled 'Should Hip Hop Be Illegal?' Our goal is to challenge the kids with a somewhat controversial topic so that we can get to the underlying beliefs that they hold. We are not looking to change their minds or opinions, but rather to help them come to their own understandings of why they believe what they believe. If we can get the participants to take another look at their opinions or view them from a different perspective, we will consider the Youth Summit a success.

The planning for this Youth Summit has been underway for quite some time and we are excited about this opportunity. At this point, all we need is the attendance of Boston area high school students. We understand that getting high school students to wake up early on a Saturday morning (the only morning to sleep in for some students) will be no small feat. To that end, we've secured DJ Chubby Chub, a popular DJ and radio personality from WILD 97.7 FM, to host the forum. We will also be giving away two iPod Nano mp3 players completely free. There is no cost of admission and this is going to be a great event for all who attend.

I have attached the flyer for the event which includes all of the pertinent details for the Youth Summit. I am seeking your help in disseminating this information to as many Boston high school students as possible. Feel free to print or email this flyer as widely as possible. [done]

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me via email at afloyd AT law.harvard.edu.

Thank you.
-Antonia L. Floyd

Enterprising businessmen shoot dice on the corner

Excuse me while I light my spliff but some choose to sip
So bullets hit brains, when bottles hit lips

I had the fortune to get invited to the inaugural meeting of Mayo Menino's Hip-Hop Roundtable. Headed up by a brother by the name of Larry Mayes, it was a gathering of host of hip-hop artists, activists, educators, and enthusiats all brought in to work on a collaborative effort to bring infuse hip-hop culture throughout the city in meaningful, positive ways that do the culture proper justice.

Who got the cocaine?
Don't tell me it's the little kids on Soul Train

I knew a few heads in the room from previous interaction, as there were also folks there whom I had heard of but never really met. To say the least, there was an enormous amount of tangible passion in the conference room - so much that you could feel it. I'll admit I had my hesitation about the gathering because of its timing. While the announcement made sure to recognize hip-hop in its entirety, I felt it was simply being used as a pawn to combat the recent wave and surge in youth violenece. And it's not that I'm not all for that. I just don't want 'positive' hip-hop to be seen as the only solution for it, which would imply that 'hip-hop' in general is the problem.

Subliminal hypnotism and colonialism
leaves most nigga$ dead or in prison
In Crook-land, right hand cuts off the left hand
to spite the hand, jealous of the next man

But nevertheless, the meeting went well. Some great ideas and thoughts. I wasn't feeling the discussion too much, though there were tons of valid points made. But I did like how we jumped in to solution-mode, where soapboxes were limited and tangible ideas had to be thrown out to all. There are a host of things going on and already planned, such as the Start Peace Movement and the UMMF 11th Anniversary Show. It made me realize the extent of the activism of the local scene and its struglle for recognition, support, and legitimacy. It strengthened my resolve to support Project Hip-Hop in a more visible role and start to do a lot more networking with all of these folks out there working with youth and for youth to make this city a better place for us all. What more could you ask for?

We steal from the rich and keep it

Dead in the middle of Little Italy, little did we know that we riddled some middleman who didn't do diddily
-Big Pun & Fat Joe, "Twinz (Deep Cover 98)"

Big Pun ripped the shT out of that line. No really. It has to be one of those silence-inducing string of syllables that renders untamed listeners helpless. It's that serious. Having an intense week of busy work, stalled clients, and whiny little boys with weak appetites, runny bowels, and random rashes. Sis and dem lost the conference tourny last weekend, so ended up in the ECAC tourney, which is for D3 what it is like in D1 going to the NITs as opposed to the Big Dance (March Madness). And so they took a dubya Wed night and have to head out to Western Mass Friday for a tough matchup against a team that beat them in the regular season. It might get ugly.

It's like you need to have steel just to feel relaxation

tons o' guns everybody's getting strapped
tons o' guns got to watch the way you act
tons o' guns real easy to get
tons o' guns bringing nothing but death

Had an ill convo this evening with my man Horace and this other cat U* who has started his own non-profit focused on high-risk youth. So we're gonna try this thing again on Sunday and try to get it poppin because the discussion ran the gamut from reasons to solutions. We talk about the state of affairs and how some well-off folk essentially neglected entire generations. And it was also the first time I had a ocnversation in which someone else echoed my sentiment that the crack babies were teenagers. That's been one of my primary thought streams and to hear it out of someone else's mouth was refreshing - unfortunate - but good to hear my sentiment was not solo. We also shot the breeze on the possible projects that a real collabo of committed folks could get off the ground. One idea was a shelter for homeless Black men because none seem to exist. So you know I'mma go have to look up everything that got mentioned. Plus, it was also mentioned that Boston is the only city without a hazardous waste unit in the police department. Umm...yeah lemme go look that one up too. BE right back.

tons o' guns are in the streets nowadays
it's big money and you know crime pays
check your nearest overpopulated ghetto
they greet you with a pistol not trying to say hello
-Gangstarr, "Tons O Guns"