By Justin M. LaGrande--Black College Wire
Photo Credit:
The Gramblinite
Justin M. LaGrandeWe
A funny thing happened about a year ago…the hip-hop generation stood up in unison (almost) in support of Barack Obama.
We haven't seen rappers back something this strong since the " stop snitching" movement a few years back. The Obama movement stood for something a lot stronger.
Rappers like Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, T.I., and other "dope boy" rappers, have seemingly put aside their musical message of drugs and guns in favor of a more political one. In concert venues across the country, they and others urged their fans to go out and vote. I even did a review on the Obama mixtape.
All of this effort paid off with the election of our first black president. After I wiped away the tears of joy, I started to listen to "We Are One" by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, and I began to ponder how the hip-hop community and the African American community in general could squander this incredible chance to right a lot of the wrongs perpetrated against us.
An Obama shoutout at a concert is nice and all, but if you want to really uphold the promise this historic event
holds, then be proactive. Stop relishing in debauchery and ignorance. Use some of the money you allegedly made in the dope game before you became a rapper to improve your community. Stop disrespecting the black woman, and for god sakes, PULL UP YOUR DAMN PANTS! Obama isn't sagging his pants, and since we are supposed to aspire to do better, we can start by carrying ourselves as such.
I don't know about anyone else, but seeing so many people come together the way they did for Obama has made me feel proud to have stood in line for two hours on Election Day. For a moment, the hip-hop community -- and the human community -- displayed the power of the human voice.
We came together to make history, now I just want to know what exactly is the generation who has been called nothing less than a disgrace by their elders going to do to uphold the legacy of not only Obama's historic win, but all those who died for us to get to this point.
This movement was bigger than hip-hop, bigger than the black community, it was even bigger than the United States. People across the globe were pulling for Obama, and the hope that he represented. This election was the culmination of Martin's dream, Malcolm's movement, the Panther's war, Harriet's rescues, and the struggles and efforts of countless other African Americans who wanted us to see the achievements that we now take for granted.
This win started a discussion, not only with the seemingly affluent and elite members of our community, but with everyone in the country. When crack heads sober up enough to vote, you know things are real.
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Justin M. LaGrande wrote this article for The Gramblinite, the Grambling State University student newspaper.
Posted Nov. 09, 2008
Posted By: Jehan Bunch
Monday, November 10th 2008 at 3:21PM
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