“One thing ‘bout music when it hit you feel no pain. It’s bigger than hip-hop.” Dead Prez, “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop”, Let’s Get Free. 2000

“But what is it that y’all do?” This is a question I was asked recently by a colleague during a discussion on hip-hop as a leadership practice.  The emphasis was on the “do” part of the question and the “y’all” preceding it; indicating a certain kinda behavior that this group of people engage in. Yes, the hint of sarcasm you hear in my voice is real.  So I’ll call “these people” hip-hoppers. And for the sake of quick clarity, “the y’all” are a diverse group of people born after the height of the popularly-known civil rights movement – a moment in American history that redefined perspectives on race, class, gender, and more than anything our approach to leadership. Herein lies the mission of The HipHop2020 Curriculum Project. And THIS IS WHAT WE DO: teach the TRUTH to the YOUTH.  To encourage them to use the hipness of their youthfulness to change the world.  To inspire the elders to get down with an improved leadership approach that requires the use of pop culture, new media technologies, and…yes Hip-Hop. Don’t believe me? Check out the approach taken by the Middle Eastern and Egyptian youth last February.

Most of these hip-hoppers are from oppressed populations. Like any other culture they express knowledge of self via common styles, norms, and kinship values.   Ideally, the point is to practice this consciousness through rap music, djing, breakdancing, graffiti, film, politics, visual art, new media, fashion, literary styles, and journalism. And regardless of the medium, the whole purpose of the HIP-HOP LEADERSHIP SWAG is to (1) CREATE YOU then (2) DO YOU without sacrificing one’s integrity or the integrity of the community. The other piece to the ideal is to always always always speak truth to power.  Operating from this perspective, we got classically influential songs like The Furious Five’s “The Message”, Public Enemy’s “Public Enemy No. 1”, and Ice Cube’s “A Bird in Hand.” But as we all know commerce, capitalism, and the threat of selling out is a tightrope we hip-hoppers walk on a constant basis. Why? BECAUSE IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MUSIC! No one really wants to get their pass revoked. So hip-hop as a community of practice is forever trying to figure out how to be authentic and real about its message AND make $$ at the same time.  This is the moral of Dead Prez’s song “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop.”  Actually I would extend this and say it is both ABOUT hip-hop and BIGGER than HIP-HOP. Why? ABOUT hip hop because hip-hop is the medium through which we learn it’s bigger than hip-hop.  That the wonderful world we live in STILL suffers from the consequences of global racism, poverty, excessive materialism, violence against women and children, community terrorism, militarism, and a media powerhouse that only suspends a man that calls the President of the United States a dick!!  A la Chuck D hip-hop is the CNN of the underworld.  Its tradition is to bring the message of the people through the music, as well as all the expressive elements that fall victim to hip-hop’s allure – formal education included.

The DDR: For the next 30 days, the creative geniuses here at The Daily Dose of Realness will use a variety of hip-pop resources to encourage, inspire, and educate our readers and supporters to keep it real at the intersection. So far TI has been requested, and so has Common, Mobb Deep, and A Tribe Called Quest. We are powered by The Lead Network, and we are still taking requests. So comment below and let us know who you’d like to see intelligently remixed with our wisdom and experience.