Part two of the two part piece that concludes a chapter in my exploration and articulation of why it is that I have such respect for the rap genre and everything it represents.
There is no doubt in my mind that I love it, but being asked that question of,
“Why do you like this kind of trash music?”
made me want to answer that question really for myself. I just knew it was more than the beats and the words, but I just didn’t have the words to articulate why exactly I continue to love this genre more than a lot of things on this planet. I was constantly exploring the art form and had the unsatisfiable curiosity that has led me through the doors, in which I now have the ability to articulate the answer to that question my ex-girlfriend had once asked me.
In an article titled Keeping It Real by Juliana Chang, Dr. Eithne Quinn, a professor at The University of Manchester states,
“[G]angsta rappers chose to mobilize explicitly the very social conditions they faced to forge their product. The ironies run deep: these artists turned the very social costs of urban poverty, violence, and social isolation into assets…”
The statement above couldn’t have better articulated why it is that I have such respect for the genre and everything it represents.
To quote the critically acclaimed lyricist Future,
”Where I'm from you either gotta murder, if you make it out, you a god”
Lil Baby ft. Future ‘Out the Mud’
Many artists similar to Future rap about how they turned their inequitable social costs linked to urban poverty, violence, and social isolation into assets with their imagery. Personally, I don’t think there is anything more inspirational and admirable than hearing about someone’s trials and tribulations and seeing them boss up in the most unfathomable way possible.
“Because of what African American men have to go through is tough, the ones who make it almost have a mythological power the world must acknowledge.”
Van Jones, CNN Commentator, Author
An specific artist by the name of Meek Mill has helped further this journey of mine. In August of 2019, Meek’s twelve-year legal case was finally closed. Now, the artist is 32 and is finally embracing the freedoms of life.
Meek grew up in the drug-infested slums of Filthadelphia where survival was in the forethought of thousands of African American males. In his Free Meek documentary, Meek recollects that as a four-year old, he recalls a scenario involving a dealer who is being pursued by the police throughout his neighborhood. Dealer finallys says fuck it and flings the duffle that was filled with drugs, more noticably the vials filled with crack. Meek vividly remembers the whole neighborhood rushing to the bag like roaches. Worst of all were the colorful tops that corked each vial. These colorful tops littered all over neighborhood floors, which began to normalize the usage of crack and caught the attention of children.Living underneath these circumstances, Meek was eventually imprisoned at the age of 19 and wrongly convicted for a variety of things. Meek understood at a very young age that if your zip code didn’t line up, your skin tone was the wrong shade or if you had no money or lawyer, being behind bars was inevitable.
“We live in system where it is better to be rich and guilty than it is to be poor and innocent”
Van Jones, CNN Commentator, Author
Perfectly laying out the conditions that affected many neighborhoods is put on display on Meek’s intro of Oodles and Noodles,
‘This shit right here for my Oodles o' Noodles babies
His ma’ smoked the crack while she was pregnant so he can't even help that he crazy
He goin' to jail, it’s inevitable, forreal’.
As I continue on this journey to explore the art form, stories about those who have turned around their lives that have been plagued by inequitable conditions in every vein of their life and have come out on top like they knew they would are the most fascinating to me.
The Reform Alliance, which was inspired by Meek Mill's recent stint in prison. Among co-founders are New England Patriots and Philadelphia 76ers, Robert Kraft and Michael Rubin. Reform founders: Jay-Z with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the 76ers' Michael Rubin, Meek Mill, Michael Novogratz, Clara Wu Tsai, Daniel Loeb and the group's CEO Van Jones.
So in efforts to answer the question that was once posed to me unapologetically, I’d say:
To hear about a young man who has been dealt the wrong hand his entire life and to see him prosper to become everything he’s always envisioned for himself is something that I hold very near and dear to my heart. It truly is inspirational to see someone arise from the trenches into a place of success and triumph that we mortals simply cannot comprehend. Visionaries like Meek who have now attained of level of success that few can understand now have the ability to collaborate with others who has influence and capable of great change.
