Well, this I have become, as I found myself as a presenter at the first Afrikan Hip Hop Caravan, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Zubz The Last Letta and Mic Crenshaw.
The caravan was conceived by a group of people in Cape Town and Khayalitsha, in the hope of engaging, in each city in which they stop, with like minded Hip Hop activists and so spread the notion of conscious Hip Hop throughout the African continent.
Hip Hop is an umbrella term, a movement, a cultural movement of like minded people, that consists of four elements:
- Rap/MCing
- Street dance: break dancing, pop 'n locking, electric jive etcetera
- DJing
- Graffiti
Hip Hop began as a means of social activism, even if the original cats were unaware of this. In the Bronx in the 1980s, young not white people were, by race and monetary backgrounds, unable to go to the upmarket clubs in New York. There were no provisions for clubs in the Bronx. And thus the social activism began.
Young people wanted to party. And so they developed the concept of a block party - some young people with boom boxes gathered in and around a block and partied together, claiming their rights to have a good time, even if a city block is not a "suitable" space. These young people also converted empty and/or abandoned parking lots and buildings into dance halls, often illegally attaching their power supply to a city connection, once again claiming their rights to party as young people. Young people brought their own music and started playing with scratching and mixing songs. The MC/rap element developed in response to the the need for a person to keep control of the crowd and the DJs. The DJs started experimenting with their songs, looping instrumental 'breaks' in songs to the hype of the dancers so started innovating interesting and never seen dance moves in response to the crazy sounds of the DJs.
Where people have nothing to gain or loose, this is where the heart of innovation lies. And thus Hop hop was born. Graffiti became a way to mark territories of party spaces, of gangs and a means to voice the socio-political ideas that passed around at these parties.
Now with record labels panting after rappers and hip hopers, clothing labels producing "hip hop" clothes and where money comes into play, singers these days have lost their hunger for innovation and instead stick with what makes and money - sick beats with little relevance to the message they are conveying.
And so the Hip Hop Caravan is an attempt to engage with Hip Hop activists on a conscious level to keep the flame of the movement alive; that is, providing a space for young people to engage with global issues without having to fear being "wrong".
Mic Crenshaw - USA
I sometimes wonder if us humans take ourselves far to seriously... Maybe we need to mock the other dancers "big dick" or lack thereof in the dance battle, and then afterwards, realise that it is all just in jest and that such things are not that important for the development of young people into whole people. Or mock a woman's breasts bouncing around in the dance battle and then acknowledge her when she beats you in the battle.
All this is obviously relying on the fact that the participants in these battles are conscious of the politics of "gender".
Great rhyme schemes (ie that are not lazy in their construction - for rappers are after all poets), great engagement with language and message and most importantly, great messages - this is what makes great rap.
Innovative dance and ways of engaging with the physical body as a 'text' to portray messages and challenge stereotypes - this is what makes great street dance.
Innovative engagement with music and beats, realising that this element holds the whole movement together - this is what makes for great music.
Education, understanding of all of the arguments and the plights facing young people, embracing freedom of artistic expression - this is what makes great graffiti.
