Original Body
pstrongNotes From The Hip-Hop Summitbr /
/strong/p
pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/376/photo_1_feature.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD
pby Jeff Chang (Portions of this article appear at a href="http://www.360hiphop.com" title="http://www.360hiphop.com"http://www.360hiphop.com/a)/p
pIt was, in some respects, just what you would expect from hip-hop./p
pNothing started on time. The rappers weren't where they were supposed to be.br /
Neither were their managers or the industry execs, off in some cornerbr /
backslapping and exchanging cards. Volumes and volumes of words werebr /
spilled. And NYPD sweated everyone in sight./p
pIn other respects, it was just what you wouldn't expect from hip-hop./p
pA high-level gathering, put together by Russell Simmons from Tuesday throughbr /
Thursday last week, to discuss improving hip-hop and the world—which drewbr /
massive media interest despite the fact that the media was barred from mostbr /
of the important meetings./p
pA hip-hop conference in which not a single fight broke out, and some beefsbr /
even ended up on the mend. A lineup of speakers that more often had rappersbr /
silently rapt, rather than shooting the gift or heading for the bar.br /
Sessions that actually resulted in tangible outcomes and real programs./p
pIn short, the hip-hop summit lived up to its billing as an historic event./p
p"We've accomplished everything we wanted to accomplish," said a beamingbr /
Russell, "and more."/p
pIt was, in fact, the third hip-hop summit in eight months, a sure sign thatbr /
hip-hop's elite are keen on pushing some of their wealth toward establishingbr /
political clout. /p
pThe first, convened by The Source last year at the Reverend Al Sharpton'sbr /
National Action Network headquarters in Harlem, gathered community leaders,br /
rappers and executives. By many accounts, the affair was better intentionedbr /
than organized, with many complaining that there were lots of answersbr /
proferred but little agreement about the problems./p
pShortly afterward, Minister Conrad Muhammad, leader of A Movement forbr /
CHHANGE (Conscious Hip Hop Activism Necessary for Global Empowerment),br /
called for another summit to discuss providing better images for youngbr /
people, and supporting hip-hop leaders for political office. It was held inbr /
May as an ugly public beef developed between Minister Conrad and Russell.br /
Russell called Minister Conrad a hip-hop critic in the mold of a C. Deloresbr /
Tucker or Bob Dole who did not have hip-hop's best interests at heart.br /
Muhammad accused Russell of "contributing mightily to the degradation" hisbr /
summit was trying to address./p
pRussell promised that his own summit would bring together hip-hop leadersbr /
with black politicians, civil rights activists, and intelligentsia to workbr /
out a specific agenda of action./p
pA long list of hip-hop celebrities showed up, whether officially invited orbr /
not, including pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flashbr /
and DJ Hollywood; "golden age" heroes like Chuck D, Will Smith, Eric B,br /
Queen Latifah, Naughty by Nature, Luther Campbell, and LL Cool J; and thebr /
nineties crowd, including Wyclef Jean, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Keithbr /
Murray, Redman, Krayzie Bone (with daughter on arm), Talib Kweli, Dead Prez,br /
Fat Joe, and Black Ice. They joined executives like Bad Boy's Sean "P-Diddy"br /
Combs, So So Def's Jermaine Dupri, Def Jam's Kevin Liles, andbr /
University/Motown's Haqq Islam./p
pThe summit also attracted Nation of Islam head, the Honorable Minister Louisbr /
Farrakhan, and a host of black congressional leaders, civil rightsbr /
activists, and public intellectuals, including the NAACP's Kweisi Mfume, Rapbr /
The Vote's Mario Velasquez, and the SCLC's Martin Luther King III;br /
Professors Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, and Manning Marable; Congressmanbr /
Earl Hilliard and Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The summit was presidedbr /
over by Minister Benjamin Muhammad./p
p(While many of the pioneers were not given invitations, they were escortedbr /
in by conference staff when they arrived on Wednesday. In one closedbr /
session, however, Zulu King and Rock Steady Crew member Fabel made the pointbr /
from the floor: "If you're gonna call it a hip-hop summit, you need to bebr /
inclusive of graffiti writers and b-boys." Minister Ben Muhammadbr /
respectfully noted. "We would not be here if it were not for the Zulubr /
Nation.")/p
pPerhaps the lasting impact of the summit will be that it brought togetherbr /
generations and sectors of the black community—some of which have, untilbr /
recently, sparred viciously and in public—to reason and build behind closedbr /
doors. /p
pAs the sessions commenced, twentysomething rappers and hip-hop activistsbr /
often had unkind words for their elders. But the elders took the criticismsbr /
to heart, said they were there to listen. West admitted that his generationbr /
had somehow dropped the ball. Dyson demonstrated he was paying attention bybr /
quoting verses from Nas, Lauryn Hill, and Talib Kweli./p
pKweli was impressed, "I see the dialogue happening and it's a beautifulbr /
thing."/p
pA two-and-a-half hour speech on Wednesday by the Honorable Minister Louisbr /
Farrakhan, focusing on responsibility and reconciliation, set the tone forbr /
the conference./p
pDuring the speech, Farrakhan refused to rebuke the rappers, saying, "Societybr /
wants you to clean up the lyrics but the society doesn't want to cleanbr /
itself up". He went on to point the figure at "gangsta government" as thebr /
real problem. "I'm not here to condemn you", he said./p
pInstead he gently nudged the artists toward their better selves, saying thebr /
speech he was giving that afternoon was perhaps the most important he hadbr /
ever given. "One rap song," he said, "is worth a thousand of my speeches."/p
p"The hip-hop generation is our best generation, not our worst," hebr /
thundered. "You are the most courageous generation, the strongest, the mostbr /
fearless."/p
p"The old guys didn't do so good. They didn't feed the flock", he said. "Ibr /
believe that you can change the reality of American life and racism—that youbr /
have the power to stop it."/p
p"The people are feeding you now," he said. "What are you gonna do now tobr /
show your appreciation?"/p
pSo the dialogues happened, aided by a decision to close much of thebr /
convention to the media, a gag order that left some journalists fuming butbr /
gave a certain gravitas to the proceedings. On the first day, unscheduledbr /
speaker Tricia Rose, the NYU professor, justified the decision, "Beforebr /
hip-hop became such a cultural force, we had much more cultural space tobr /
raise questions and critiques and to be in conversation, without everybr /
moment being magnified and picked up worldwide."/p
p"Black culture is no longer separate from mainstream culture," says Rose.br /
"That's why the dialogue has to happen in institutions that are not drivenbr /
by profit."/p
pAnd yet, the most newsworthy item was all about the bottom line. Almost to abr /
person, from Simmons to Kweli, participants voiced grave concerns with thebr /
FCC's June 6 decision to fine a radio station for playing Eminem's "The Realbr /
Slim Shady". Senator Joe Lieberman's and Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Media andbr /
Marketing Accountability Act" also loomed large over the proceedings,br /
although summit organizers denied it./p
pMainstream media picked up on these lyrical content issues, as hip-hopbr /
leaders repeated the mantra, "We're keeping it real." But even as hip-hopbr /
seemed to be repeating its past, it was eliciting bizarre speculation aboutbr /
its future. Take this spacey discussion on CNN's "Take Five" talk-show:/p
pMICHELLE COTTLE, CO-HOST: Jake, you're a big hip-hop fan. Are the sexistbr /
and violent lyrics just poetry aimed at the establishment?br /
JAKE TAPPER, CO-HOST: That's Mack 10, by the way, in case you're wonderingbr /
what that video was. You know... I had a bunch of these people from thebr /
hip-hop summit, Russell Simmons from Def Jam Records and Chuck D and a fewbr /
others. /p
pAnd what amazed me -- yes, I like hip-hop. I am an adult, of course,br /
purportedly, and a lot of this music is listened to by children and it isbr /
affecting these kids. I was amazed, none of these guys would accept anybr /
responsibility for the lyrics and for the message they were sending. It wasbr /
really phenomenal./p
pJOHN DICKERSON, TIME MAGAZINE: Russell Simmons, in particular, since hebr /
makes money directly from all of this, and the others as well. One thingbr /
that's interesting, though, is you know a genre has made it when it startsbr /
navel-gazing. I mean, hip-hop is here to stay, and you know, there are abr /
lot of other types of music that haven't done it. This is now a fundamentalbr /
part of American culture./p
pCHRIS CALDWELL, WEEKLY STANDARD: Well, it might be a sign of demise,br /
actually. What might be happening is what happened to the folk musicbr /
movement in the '60s, where these things hang around until they get more andbr /
more pretentious and have these huge claims to want to reorder society,br /
which is... /p
pDICKERSON: Well, I disagree. There seems to be a whole raft of new hip-hopbr /
artists who are going to see this summit and want to do everything...againstbr /
whatever they are talking about in these closed rooms./p
pFELIX SANCHEZ, "P.R. CONSULTANT": But the idea of the summit, which was tobr /
organize the hip-hop constituency to have a political action committee, etbr /
cetera -- I mean, when Cornel West from Harvard has his own hip-hop albumbr /
about to come out to preach, basically, to young kids, I think that we'rebr /
missing the boat about this genre of music. But at the same time...br /
CALDWELL: ... it's like taking the booze out of Irish ballads, or somethingbr /
like that. /p
pOn Tuesday, behind closed doors, RIAA head Hilary Rosen led hip-hopbr /
executives to, if not take the booze out of their ballads, at least bluntbr /
some Congressional criticism—in particular Senator Lieberman and Senatorbr /
Clinton's Media and Marketing Accountability Act in late April, abr /
grandstanding piece of legislation that gives the Federal Trade Commissionbr /
the ability to fine entertainment companies that deceptively market violentbr /
or sexual materials to children up to $11,000 per day./p
pSince the introduction of the bill in April, the Beltway seemed girding forbr /
a fight with the hip-hop industry. The FTC began serving notice it was readybr /
to begin pressuring record companies, criticizing it publicly forbr /
advertising which failed to disclose potentially obscene or violent content.br /
Passions peaked the week before the conference with the FCC's Eminem fine.br /
Even Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) warned the summit participants,br /
"Washington can regulate you out of business if you do not have your actbr /
together." /p
pThe point was made: move now or face growing opposition. Some execsbr /
nervously whispered that radio promotion budgets (read: payola) andbr /
marketing budgets might be next. One rumor circulated that Russell would getbr /
Hillary Clinton to promise to sink the bill if the guidelines were adopted./p
pSo the execs emerged with new voluntary guidelines—which include expandingbr /
"Parental Advisory" and "Explicit Lyrics" stickering to all print,br /
television and radio ads, internet sites and posters—and a new party line.br /
On Thursday, Suzan Jenkins, senior vice president of marketing at RIAA,br /
said, "The labels very much want to be able to provide a vehicle for parentsbr /
to know what they are listening to."/p
pBut was it done under duress?/p
pDef Jam's Kevin Liles said, "No, we were not forced to do anything. We wantbr /
to make pro-active change before the government comes in and says, 'Hey, youbr /
have to do this.'" He added, "I want the consumer and the parent and thebr /
government to take some responsibility also, to know [that] when you go buybr /
a tape, know what you're buying. You do your research. You don't just go buybr /
a car."/p
pRosen said, "I do not expect Senator Lieberman to give up in his quest tobr /
silence this community. I think they try and make this be about marketingbr /
when we know it's about the lyrics, and I don't expect him to give up that."/p
pHaqq Islam was even more direct, "I think Lieberman is crossing a line thatbr /
he doesn't want to cross. He should wise up. I mean, it starts here butbr /
where does it end? At a Schwarzenegger movie?"/p
pBy Thursday, a new concern had emerged: rap profiling./p
pWhile Jay-Z was a no-show and Sean "P-Diddy" Combs' presence prompted heavybr /
Fruit of Islam presence, James Prince, the CEO of Rap-A-Lot Records, walkedbr /
quietly through the crowd, embodying one of the stranger incidents ofbr /
profiling in recent years./p
pIn December 2000, the Republican-dominated House Committee on Governmentbr /
Reform looked into reports that Congresswoman Maxine Waters urged Attorneybr /
General Janet Reno to drop a drug trafficking investigation against Prince.br /
Waters wrote that Prince had been a target of "racial profiling" by roguebr /
DEA officers, including illegal searches, surveillance, and racistbr /
harassment. /p
pThe DEA subsequently dropped the case and one of the officers wasbr /
reprimanded. But Republicans pushed for the hearing, and continued to pressbr /
for a reopening of the discredited investigation, even introducing lyricsbr /
from Rap-A-Lot artist Scarface into the record. Prince said, "They werebr /
trying to do their best to cover their ass as far as racial profiling isbr /
concerned."/p
pHe added, "I feel it's a conspiracy to destroy people like myself that trybr /
and uplift my community and help my people to dream again. It's a sad thingbr /
but it's real, man."/p
pDuring the week at the summit, NYPD presence noticeably increased, withbr /
crews of officers filling the New York Hilton's driveway, and clogging thebr /
corners on 6th Avenue. They issued public nuisance tickets to bass-bumpingbr /
promotional vans parked by the hotel and stared down summit participantsbr /
entering the hotel./p
pThe profiling peaked on Wednesday, the day that more than a thousandbr /
gathered to hear Minister Farrakhan speak. Says Liles, "Everyone wasbr /
stopped, they were taking license plates and everything. They made my driverbr /
move 20 times. When we came out you saw the cameras flicking, you know whatbr /
I mean? You never know what's going on."/p
pBut they couldn't overpower the vibes upstairs./p
pAt the end of Tuesday, Chuck D had been convinced that, despite all thebr /
starpower in attendance, the summit would end up like any other, a lot ofbr /
talk and not a lot of action. He was dismayed about having to help mediatebr /
the feud between Russell and Minister Conrad Muhammad. But as the Wednesdaybr /
sessions began, he watched as the artists began to fire each other up./p
pIn a closed door session, Fat Joe told the crowd, "I think us as artistsbr /
need to interact more with the community. A lot of rappers seem to shy awaybr /
from talking about political things. I think they're scared to really saybr /
what's going on."/p
pSister Souljah exhorted the attendees to fill their appropriate roles, andbr /
help get it all together. "If our shit was tight, Al Sharpton wouldn't be inbr /
jail," she said. "Nobody is playing their position."/p
pAfter Minister Farrakhan's speech, Chuck D was as close to giddy as he couldbr /
get. "I'm satisfied," he said. "All my questions are answered."/p
pOn Thursday, the fruits of the summit were on display. The publicbr /
intellectuals announced the creation of university-based hip-hopbr /
think-tanks, with the first to be launched at Columbia. In response to onebr /
of Chuck D's recommendations, Def Jam offered an artist mentoring program,br /
"The Hip-Hop House"—part Motown, part "Fame" finishing school, the otherbr /
part 21st century media and image training boot camp—to be built in Harlem.br /
A "strategic alliance" of the NAACP, SCLC, Nation of Islam, and Rap The Votebr /
vowed to set up a hip-hop political action committee and a voterbr /
registration drive directed at the 2002 and 2004 elections./p
pJeff Johnson, the 28-year-old national director of the NAACP's youth,br /
college and young adult division, had opened the conference critical of hisbr /
own organization for failing to engage hip-hop generation. He left feelingbr /
very optimistic: "A lot of people have been doing work in a vacuum, now theybr /
can do it collectively."/p
pSean Combs said, "The things I've seen in the last three days have touchedbr /
me in such a positive way, and I think it gave a true representation to whatbr /
hip-hop is and what hip-hop is about."/p
p"What you're witnessing right now is history," he said./p
pOne sideshow to the summit ended happily in a moment of Farrakhan-brokeredbr /
reconciliation. Russell Simmons and Minister Conrad Muhammad's rift—a warbr /
which blew up in the press that week—seemed to be in the process of beingbr /
quashed./p
pOn Tuesday, Muhammad was barred from the summit. He had appeared on CNN tobr /
bitterly tell viewers that Russell had urged a boycott of his own summit inbr /
April. But by the next morning, Chuck D had got him in to see thebr /
proceedings. /p
pAt the podium, Minister Farrakhan began speaking about Russell and Ministerbr /
Conrad's beef. "No leader should fight another", he warned. "Because whenbr /
the leaders fight, the followers also fight." Farrakhan urged the two tobr /
quash their beef behind closed doors. "When you all agree, come on out andbr /
let the press see you," he said./p
pAs he spoke a clamor erupted at the back of the room. "He's here!" saidbr /
someone from within a crowd of journalists near the back door. Ministerbr /
Conrad waved to his mentor. Russell, sitting onstage next to Ministerbr /
Farrakhan, applauded and smiled. With shouts of "That's right!", the crowdbr /
applauded loudly. /p
pAfter Farrakhan's speech, Minister Conrad and Russell embraced, and withbr /
cameras flashing, they smiled./p
pEND/p
p-- /p
p"I could go on and on the full has never been told."-Buju Banton/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p
