Ramble on.

I hope everyone is doing okay, and given the increased chaos in the Middle East that began last week and shows no sign of slowing down, appreciating the comforts that can be taken for granted in our everyday lives. Indeed, I have found myself contemplating many hypothetical situations, for example WW3, and ultimately conclude that the only thing I can pragmatically control is the aura or vibe surrounding myself, i.e., be compassionate, grateful, and carry on with life.

The book has been out for about a month now and I’m happy how things are shaping up. I’ve gotten lots of positive feedback, and yes people are pointing out the typos. That’s good, many people edited the book, but as the readers are finding out it is harder to remove all the typos in a book that one might expect. I hope to remove all the typos in the second edition of the book, should one ever arrive.

One person recently told me that my blog, aka this site, isn’t really a blog because I don’t post too much of my own opinions, etc. That’s true, and I don’t plan on increasing the posting volume of my own personal entries because my life is very busy. This site is mainly a resource for members of the Hip-Hop community to read interesting stories, find new Hip-Hop websites to browse, and of course BUY THE BOOK!!!!!

So, it’s been a while since the whole Adisa Banjoko KRS-One incident at Stanford went down. As you know the right-honorable Afrika Bambaataa has brokered peace between the two parties. That’s good because we don’t need two respected members of the community setting a bad example for the many youth that make up our culture. People come from all over the spectrum when talking about the altercation between the two men. Some are extremely supportive of one of the two, some think they’re both idiots, and some point out that one handled the situation better than the other.

I want to note one person’s response to this and give you my final words on the situation. Shane Walker, who I assume is a student at Stanford, blogged about the incident and as expected from someone who knows nothing about Adisa Banjoko was slightly biased in his coverage. And I quote…

“So basically, this symposium almost broke out into a serious throw down between a hip hop legend, and a hip hop something-or-other (I think he calls himself a scholar)… Basically, KRS One and The Bishop (a bit pretentious considering he doesn't actually perform in any capacity) have had a long feud about the definition of Hip Hop.”

The thing that struck me about this is the line about being pretentious since he doesn’t perform in any capacity. Clearly he was not familiar with Adisa’s past. Regardless, that whole situation is simply saddening.

My personal opinion is that there are things surrounding this situation that I am not aware of. Because of KRS-One’s anger during the event, he may have said some things that he did not mean (RE his comments about Hip-Hop and college and wanting to “beat Adisa…”). Similar to Zidane’s head-butt in the World Cup, it exposes to all the fans of KRS-One that this man is indeed a human and capable of mistakes in moments of intensity or extreme passion. ECCE HOMO.

I think it is moments like the one previously discussed that can cause people to become disenchanted with Hip-Hop. Is the Hip-Hop community going to foster a healthy, kind environment for people to compete, have fun, push themselves artistically and mentally, and pursue knowledge and peace? Or is it going to be a place of anger and hostility where many are not welcome, violence is encouraged through media and example, and any action is justifiable so long as it was in pursuit of material/monetary well-being or in defense of pride?

I’m not going anywhere with this other than to say that the world is, obviously, a crazy place. Hip-Hop can bring people together, and we should always utilize the power of Hip-Hop for peace. This weekend at the 2nd National Hip-Hop Political Convention many issues will undoubtedly be passionately debated. I will not be in attendance since I am working in CA, but I admire all those who do attend. Perhaps some major strides will be achieved in the quest to give the Hip-Hop community a stronger, more unified and effective political voice. That is a major step in the right direction. It is with this in mind, that Hip-Hop has great potential but a long way to go in forming political power beyond the positive externalities achieved through the already existing aesthetic aspects of the culture, that I remind us that before Hip-Hop can create world peace, it needs to be able to speak with a cohesive, coherent voice.

I am a humble, and relatively insignificant part of this journey I believe. I don’t consider myself Hip-Hop. I do enjoy and appreciate the culture, and therefore hope for the best…

Now if we can only agree on what the best is.