Monday, August 4th, 2008

Bakari Kitwana On Luda & Obama

Bakari Kitwana on Luda-Obama. A worthy read:

“Obama will likely weather this storm even easier than the previous ones. But what the Ludacris controversy reveals for the hip-hop activist community is much more profound: the baggage presented by hip-hop’s public image compromises the hip-hop activist community’s attempts to place its issues on the national agenda.”

posted by Jeff Chang @ 8:53 am | 3 Comments

3 Responses to “Bakari Kitwana On Luda & Obama”

WestIndianArchie says:

August 4, 2008 at 9:29 am

Maybe hip hop doesn’t belong in politics?

Can’t young people of color come together without a soundtrack?
Zentronix says:

August 4, 2008 at 9:43 am

i think that’s a good argument to have. been reading mk asante’s new book coming out this fall ‘the rise of the post-hip-hop generation’, and it’s got me rethinking some things about the role of culture in politics and vice versa. what’s your take?
EAsportski says:

August 4, 2008 at 11:10 am

bakari’s on point as usual, though i’d like to see a bit more anaysis than this brief take.

as for westindianarchie’s comment, “Can’t young people of color come together without a soundtrack?”

the short answer is no. if you think about it historically, we always had a soundtrack before there was any kind of political platform, so why should this change? the real question is, is the soundtrack “move bitch” or “move on up”? imagine the civil rights era without sam cooke’s “change gonna come,” black power without james brown’s “say it loud,” or the reagan years without “the message.”

hip-hop would still be politicized even wiithout any attempts to organize, simply because of where it comes from. but artists and activists alike need to think about where it’s going. there are far too many contradictions on both the activist side and the artist side.

obama’s candidacy represents a chance for hip-hop to grow up and become part of a larger process. there’s a huge difference between a debate and a battle rap; you just can’t call mccain a “sucker mc” and be done with it.

as for the role of culture and politics, well, i guess that depends on what culture and whose politics, doesn’t it?

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