Thoughts on the Movement Potential of "Women in Hip Hop"

These thoughts flowed forth from reading Bakari Kitwana’s “A Hip Hop Response to Chris Brown and Rihanna.” Kitwana’s basic premise was that the Hip Hop political organizers could transform this incident into an opportunity by launching a public policy campaign around domestic violence. This got me to thinking about the issue, the Women in Hip Hop surge, and whether or not this is evidence that such a campaign could be effective.

Hip Hop needed its woman’s movement, and the last few years have been a blast. We needed our voices heard. We wrote books, dropped albums, made documentaries, launched initiatives, built youth programs, nonprofit organizations, conferences, shows, support networks, and Hip Hop Association even declared 2008 the “Year of the Woman in Hip Hop.” It was inspiring. I don’t know how many records or books it sold or how many careers it launched, but I know we all got a little more press. I also know that programs were funded, stipends were dished out by universities, and all of a sudden, everyone wanted a token woman in Hip Hop at their fund raising dinner. I also know that women who were the most active in their communities realized there was a whole network of sisters doing just the same all across the world, all because of this “Women in Hip Hop” spotlight. Was it self-empowering? Yes it was. Did this at all have an impact on domestic violence numbers? I’m guessing not at all.

The reason we have fallen short on impacting public policy is because we let misogyny dominate the conversation. It’s not exactly our fault; many of us didn’t know it was happening. Journalists wanted to know what parts of ourselves we were sacrificing to be in Hip Hop, feminist and women organizations wanted us to generate youth interest, colleges wanted us to speak on the subject, and we were caught off guard. But now we have to come back and face the consequences. In the field of the Hip Hop movement base -the artists, the hood, there are places where this conversation has not only alienated our male counterparts, its reinforced divisions between organizations and individuals on the local level, and even blocked open honest dialogue on sexuality and relationships amongst women ourselves. Here is why:

Liken misogyny in Hip Hop to domestic violence in relationships. Now, look at the detrimental impact that compartmentalizing the issue of domestic violence has had on families, especially in the case of people of color and immigrant communities in the criminal justice system. I was in court earlier this week and a Bosnian woman crying while pleading the judge to release her husband in custody. She said, “In my country when you call the police, they help. Here they don’t listen.” It’s also been show that public financial assistance programs also have divisive consequences in the relationship of parents, reinforcing a negative cycle of unhealthy relationships. Thus, the human rights advocacy and service provision framework that centralizes women as victims of either her partner’s abuse or his inability to provide is unhealthy because it is divisive in real life application. Likewise, focusing on misogyny is incorrect for the Hip Hop movement base because it removes real life women artists and activists from their relationships, family, and community context.

While I agree that Americans need to think change their thinking about dating violence, domestic abuse and gender equity, we need a holistic, empowering approach to reach the masses and address the root causes. For women in Hip Hop, in the context of the broader movement, this means refusing to let the misogyny and domestic violence discussion further criminalize our brothers, sons, cousins, and fathers, who are already either disproportionately imprisoned, or out dying on the streets. For a Hip Hop public policy initiative on dating and domestic violence to make real changes, we can't replicate the flaws of the criminal justice system and the state. We need to turn our energies toward healing our families and communities as one.

Hip Hop Congress, Explicit Ills takes a stand for Economic Human Rights

The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign and Hip Hop Congress are collaborating to promote the award-winning film Explicit Ills, which features an all-star cast including Rosario Dawson, Tariq Trotter (Black Thought of The Roots), and more. The story is about poverty, drugs, and the healthcare crisis in the United States, and is centered on a sick boy and the community that rallies behind him. But unlike many movies on this critical issue, Explicit Ills doesn’t stop at simply portraying, or even analyzing the complex dilemmas people are faced with. Explicit Ills chronicles the real beginnings of a movement led by the poor for Economic Human Rights, and shows how any community can channel their energies into making real change. Check the trailer here.

Mark Webber, writer and director of Explicit Ills, is the son of Cheri Honkala, internationally renowned human rights activist, and executive director of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPERC). Cheri’s reputation for getting the job done is driven by her action-oriented tactics which include housing and capital building takeovers, building “Bushville” homeless encampments all the over the country, and organizing tens of thousands of poor people in protests for the past three Republican National Conventions. At the 2008 RNC, Hip Hop Congress teamed up with PPEHRC, Rosa Clemente, and many others to unify thousands in The March for Our Lives through the militarized streets of Minneapolis. The march also included students from Hip Hop Congress’s Evergreen State College Chapter and HHC’s Portland head and emcee, Mic Crenshaw. Explicit Ills ends with a scene reminiscent of that march, where movie characters and KWRU and PPEHRC members, leaders, and friends march through the streets of Philadelphia demanding healthcare and other Economic Human Rights. “Working with PPEHRC to get the word out about Explicit Ills is a great opportunity for us,” said D’Labrie, HHC National Outreach Director, “We are trying to get out an important message: that Hip Hop has always advocated for healthy communities, health care, and economic justice for all.”

“What you have in Explicit Ills, the story of the boy, is the fictional depiction of a social catalyst, something that creates a surge of energy from the people, something we are experiencing more and more in our own backyards due to the state of the economy,” said Julie C, HHC’s Northwest Regional Director, “But the question then becomes who is channeling those energies where and why? If we’re not clear on the political undercurrents, our direction as artists and organizers is always with the wind. This is why relying on the star power of Hip Hop celebrities has never been an effective strategy for building a Hip Hop movement. It’s superficial. But cultivating our own networks to get around the distractions, that’s power. That’s Universal Zulu Nation, Hip Hop Congress, Silicon Valley Debug in San Jose, Global Fam in Portland, the Umojafest P.E.A.C.E Center and Hidmo in Seattle, J.U.I.C.E in Los Angeles, the Hip Hop Chess Federation in the Bay Area, Mississippi Artist and Producer’s Coalition in Jacksonville, Women in Transition in Kentucky, IMAN in Chicago, that’s a movement. Now, how do we all move as one to create some real changes?” Suntonio Bandanaz, Northwest Outreach Director for HHC added, “The more awareness people have that Hip Hop is actually already a part of this movement, the closer we get to realizing our strength. Hip Hop is not just a bunch of words and rapping [be it on tracks, in the classrooms, on panels, online, or in the magazines], it’s action and community.”

As Hip Hop Congress continues to build towards its 2009 National Conference in Seattle, Washington July 29th- August 2nd, the organization plans to utilize Explicit Ills in education and outreach, and their partnership with Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign as a part of their ongoing mission to provide the Hip Hop Generation and the Post Hip Hop Generation with the tools, resources and opportunities to make social, economic, and political change on a local, regional, and national level.

For more on Explicit Ills, including cities and screening information click here.

Seattle Hip Hop Community Tackles Tough Issues at NW Hip Hop Leadership Conference

"Approximately 200 people came out from across the greater Seattle Area to participate in the 1st Seattle/NW Hip-Hop Leadership Council on Saturday February 28th at Seattle Central Community College," wrote Wyking, co-convener of the event, "presented by the Seattle Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council, Bush School Diversity Speaker Series, UmojaFest P.E.A.C.E. Center and Seattle Central Community College Black Student Union, the conference provided a wealth of information beginning with history and socio-cultural analysis related to the hip-hop generation." Okay, so I was only able to attend one part of one panel, but I still gotcha covered. Here are the highlights I was able to collect from the comrades. Shouts out to Suntonio Bandanaz, Rajnii Eddins, and Toni Hill for helping me piece this together. Also, be sure to check out the rest of Wyking's write-up as well. If you missed this one, don't worry. We're about to set it off at the 2009 Hip Hop Congress National Conference in Seattle, Washington with Dope Emporium, Umojafest, Hidmo, 206 Zulu and more July 29th-August 2nd! More to come.


The Hip Hop 101 presentation was led by Silver Shadow D, Rajnii Eddins, and Suntonio Bandanaz.The 206 Hip Hop vets opened the discourse with a mini open mic of sorts, with participation from one young man and two sisters in the crowd. The discussion then moved to the basics: roots of hip hop culture and violence prevention, and Universal Zulu Nation, the inception of the music industry, and the progression of the movement behind the culture. Naturally, the dialogue progressed to the domination of the corporate industry, its role in undermining the political aspects of the Hip Hop movement, and connection of such interests to Cointelpro through entities like Interscope Records and more. “We went from Fight the Power to Reclaim the Media, basically,” said Bandanaz, “to return to the founding principles within culture’s art forms.” Suntonio Bandanaz and Daichi Diaz from Alpha P also dropped by KSER 90.7 community radio in Everett for an interview on DJ Nanino’s Boombox FM later to promote their March 18th show at Studio Seven featuring Spaceman, Specs Wizard and more! Be sure to check Daichi’s new vinyl “The Fight Lullaby.”

The next panel, Hip Hop the New Face of Racism, was a community discussion, which included photographer Inye Wokoma of Ijo Arts, the conference keynote and author of How to Hustle and Win Supreme Understanding, Aisha B from Lakeside School Hip Hop Congress, Charys Bailey, Tacoma artist and youth mentor, and others.The discussion evolved to the questions, what happens when a culture becomes an industry, how does the corporate Hip Hop industry cater to white people’s perception of who Black people are, and what is the impact of that on racism and racial identity? One student spoke on how while her friends listened to conscious Hip Hop, they still had a hard time dealing with and recognizing white privilege. According to Raj, the dialogue that followed reflected personal experiences on the complexity of institutional and systemic racism and white privilege. A social worker spoke on the immense caseloads and rigorous data entry that supersedes effective service provision, a doctor spoke on the lack of people of color amongst his colleagues, a mentor spoke on how policies in youth detention centers interfere with young people’s ability to talk and internalize their experiences. Others spoke about the subtly of racism in Seattle, and the difficulty of addressing it without being labeled as an ‘anger black person.’ Supreme Understanding brought up the need to give people strategic tools and to make solutions concrete so they have practical applications in combating racism.

Rajnii also did his best to help me piece together a quick summary of the next panel, From the Hood to the Club, Violence in Hip Hop. This presentation featured Kun Luv, Omari Tahir-Garrett, Supreme Understanding, Gregory Lewis, Merciful, and Ted Evans and was moderated by Wyking. When Raj came in, Merciful was asserting the importance of addressing the root causes of youth violence, and illustrating the role police play in criminalizing and antagonizing Black youth through militarizing communities. He also spoke on young people acting out on that misplaced aggression, and how that contributes to the overall environment of the neighborhood by having communities turn in on each other. Kun Luv took issue with the claim, saying that most of the violence taking place in Seattle now comes from someone having a beef with someone specific. Kun’s basic premise was that the intentional, premeditated nature of the crimes makes youth violence not a political issue in Seattle. Omari, an unsung hero in Seattle Human Rights and Black history, smashed on this by stating, “There’s nothing going on that’s not coerced and endorsed by the state.” Tahir-Garrett grounded his assertion in his own family history and his experiences as a community organizer and activist in Seattle, which provides him a uniquely thorough understanding of public policy as offensive strategy to quash social movement. “National Security Council 46 is the new Cointelpro,” Omari said, cross-referencing the Obama adminstration’s recent restructure of the National Security Council with the Carter-administration memorandum to the Secretary of Defense and CIA on “Black Africa and the U.S. Black Movement.” Understanding the reference may be especially pertinent since the Obama administration has picked up a surprising number of our region’s slimy political leadership. Do some research. I spent 3 hours on some google ish myself after Raj gave me that quote.

"Women In Hip-Hop was a power packed panel with lively discussion facilitated by Rahwa of Hidmo," wrote Wyking, "The panel featured artist/educators/organizers Toni Hill, Khmet, Moni Tep, Monika Matthews Exective Director of the Nia Center and Life Enrichment Group, student Caela Palmer and fashion mainstay FirstLady Beunique of Presidential Clothing
and Beunique Agency." Toni Hill told me, “The speakers on the women and hip hop panel were insightful, engaging and honest. The gift of performance that was shared before the discussion set the tone for an enriching experience and the audience participation. It was an honor to be seated in the mists of Queens and princesses. I was particularly impressed with Youth representation especially Moni Tep. She is a talented, articulate and courageous youth with infinite potential. She was an inspiration and breath of fresh air. I have spoken on numerous panels across the country, sometimes leaving with unsettling feeling that the youth voices were not properly acknowledged or that they(youth) had not absorbed the information presented by the elders because they are tired of many of the adults talking at them as opposed to with them. Rahwa did a great job moderating and I would be proud to be apart of future endeavors with this cast of brightly shining stars." Be sure to check out Toni Hill's record release party for her new album "Only Love" March 13th at Chop Suey!

There were many more panels and workshops, so again, check Wyking's write up on the event, and get ready for this summer. This year is gonna be a good one.