When the Roots proclaimed hip hop was the love of their life, your average observer may have viewed the comment as over exaggerated. But with hip hop it’s not. Hip hop is a living breathing art form that is woven into a life style more than any other music. On one hand it’s an extension of the civil rights and Black power movements and on the other it’s a living reminder to jazz, blues and old time black music. It’s the lucid premise of hip hop that has allowed it to effortlessly reinvent itself. Hell, how many rock acts would’ve been able to effortlessly entertain over 150,000 hardcore hip hop fans, like Jay-z managed to do with rock fans at Glastonbury. Many people that flirt with hip hop, can’t relate to the passion that black people and hip hop fans the world over feel when the ethos that established this art is eroded. If you ever find yourself in the middle of a heated argument, whatever you do, don’t say ‘its only music.’ Its more than that.
Krs-one argued that hip hop is the deliverance of the dream that Martin Luther King fought for. Another over exaggeration? Well in hip hop we have an art form that has enabled Black people to be themselves, to be respected as leaders, to influence the world, to talk directly to the children of people whose families were once oppressors and have them respect them as their heroes. Families that wouldn’t be caught dead with a Farrakhan tape, but would bump Public Enemy proudly throughout their suburban neighbourhoods; its no coincidence that 40 years since martin Luther king was killed, and 20 years since PE politicised hip hop, white children of the hip hop generation have no problem marking Obama on their ticket. And the world too seems to have no problem with Mr. Obama either. Hip hop has come along way from its late 70s Bronx inception. Imagine if you told Kool Herc then that in a few decades there would be a conference the other side of the world debating the importance of this sub-culture.
The bass festival is an annual month long celebration taking place in June. This year the festival focused on the importance of the word, culminating in a weekend long conference entitled MCs for life. It was a beautiful example of the legacy of hip hop. Panelists came from all over Europe, the states and the UK; whoever knew there was a thriving hip hop community in Italy, but journalist Guiseppi Seppi came to represent their voice. (Though France was a notable absentee, it was the language barrier that prevented their presence) Make no mistake, it was a special conference for all involved, over 50 artists representing poetry, production, rap & MC’ing, Grime, authors, Dj’s, programmers, radio D.J’s and producers. A Mecca of networking, we even had South Africa in the house. I couldn’t wait to connect.
