Love H.E.R.

It was love at first sight, for me. As an art form, Hip-Hop gave me an outlet of expression. I was 8 years old and sourcing torn linoleum so that me and my friends could do backspins and headspins. I was never really good, but I was in love. And that love for the art led me to embrace the culture. Our under-resourced and clothing insecure communities creatively cultivated styles that would become pop-culture and eventually, “high fashion.” It was a necessity. And all culture is born out of necessity. NYCHA prohibited rent parties and the pre-war apartments didn’t have the electrical output to support the DJ. So we partied in the park. It was a necessity. And we had a lot to say. In fact, too much to say for an eight-bar verse and a four-bar hook. We needed at least 16 bars to speak long enough to feel heard. To feel seen. It was a necessity. Hip-Hop culture was born out of necessity and became irresistible.

So, while the art gave space for expression, the culture gave marginalized kids an identity. But, I don’t want to conflate the art of Hip-Hop with the culture of Hip-Hop, the industry of Hip-Hop or the culture of Blackness. They are all very different things. And so, while I have deep love for the art, upon reflection, I am in conflict with the culture of Hip-Hop. The culture has been co-opted by industrialization.

And, just like any start-up company, once the principles of industrialization become the anchor of sustainability, the start-up transitions from speculative value to intrinsic value. This requires a reliance on commodifying the culture. The wrenching of culture to squeeze profits is a painful process for the creators to witness, yet necessary under capitalist value systems. But everything that we love is everything that’s getting squeezed out for profit. The five pillars of Hip-Hhop are Knowledge, MC’ing, DJ’ing, Breakdancing and Graffiti. Yet, Breakdancing, Graffiti and Knowledge are often left out during the distilling process of making Hip-Hop profitable. The only graffiti that’s celebrated is the ultra-expensive artwork that true lovers cannot afford.

But it’s still love for me. I love the art. Even if the culture is no longer informed by the art or developed by necessity, the history of the art is still beautiful. Even though Hip-Hop is no longer dangerous to the status quo, that’s the price of becoming pop-culture. And while it’s been hard to watch Hip-Hop evolve into something that is often unrecognizable, it’s reinforced a broader truth that I needed to acknowledge. Hip-Hop and Blackness are not synonymous. Hip-Hop simply provided a lens into Blackness because Blackness created Hip-Hop.

And this is my conflict with the culture. Blackness makes everything better. For generations Blackness made the church experience better, made food better, made the economy better and made music better. And, every time Blackness created something of its own, it was taken and repurposed by pop-culture. It happened with Rock-N-Roll and Jazz. Now, it’s happening with Hip-Hop. Besides creating generational wealth for the wealthy white owners of streaming companies and record labels, Hip-Hop has fostered and given cover to classism, homophobia (“pause”), misogyny and racism. But these flaws don’t define Hip-Hop, they just exist within the culture of Hip-Hop. And there’s the conflict. How can we love something that has been so instrumental in how we see ourselves, yet so troubling in defining our radical identities?

Our radical identities created something beautiful. But when it’s no longer radical or revolutionary, it’s no longer ours. And, this would mean that our relationship to the culture has changed. So, while we can love something unconditionally, relationships come with conditions. But the charge here isn’t to abandon Hip-Hop or just be judgmental. The charge is to take it back. Make it dangerous. Hip-Hop should be a safe space for those marginalized by the status quo. Hip-Hop should be the soundtrack for migrant refugees, women’s reproductive rights and the fight against the corporate rejection of diversity, equity and inclusion. Hip-Hop should be fueling the labor unions and striking workers. Hip-Hop should be broadcasting the affordable housing crisis, hyper-inflation and the mass-incarceration apparatus the government calls criminal justice. Hip-Hop is capable of doing all of these things while simultaneously applauding the successes of Jay-Z, Nas and Dr. Dre.

It will always be love for me. Hip-Hop taught me how to write. Hip-Hop taught me how to listen. Hip-Hop taught me how to teach. Hip-Hop taught me how to use metaphors and similes to illustrate my point. So, I’m not giving up on Hip-Hop, I’m just changing my relationship with Hip-Hop. Because, it will always be love, for me.