Inspiring Music

PINK MARTINI

Photo taken from http://pinkmartini.com/about/bio/

I’ve posted here some of my favorite songs from a Portland based music group called Pink Martini, formed in 1994. I would consider Pink Martini a classical jazz band that epitomizes interdependence  because they include music from all over the world in their creations. They encompass music with the inclusion of various cultures worldwide. The band’s director is Thomas Lauderdale- a Harvard graduate and remarkable pianist. Talented and beautiful China Forbes is the band’s vocal artist. They have been an international sensation and continue to appeal to  individuals of various musical preferences.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=08791D62DA3E256C

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Music as a Tool to Stop Violence

Find this photo at http://www.krsone.biz

Empathy can overwhelm a person’s feelings when hearing of violence occurring in the world, but when an individual personally experiences violence, then motivation to act becomes a response to violence. In a similar way, that is how Kris Parker (KRS-One) describes his view of violence in an interview on the Alex Jones Show. Parker, a Rapper who formed the group BDP- Boogie Down Productions with Dj Scott LaRock in 1986, witnessed the fatal shooting of LaRock during a BDP concert in 1987. Parker’s inspiration against violence, rather than a rage contributing to violence, led to the creation of the album Stop the Violence, released in 1989. The song “Stop the Violence” helped generate the creation of a non-profit organization called The Temple of Hip Hop- an organization leading an ambitious movement, attempting to redirect the Hip Hop industry towards influencing its audience to prevent and stop black-on-black violence.

Would hip hop be popular if lyrics promoting violence were someday eradicated? Is Parker’s goal of redirecting hip hop, an industry worth billions, a realistic one? In the remake of Stop the Violence in the album entitled, Self Construction, released in 2008, Parker along with twelve other artists remind the audience of Hip Hop the legacy the music has- seeking freedom from oppression. In this case, with the oppression of black-on-black violence, Parker and his fellow artists ambitiously desire to influence people’s behavior to reject violence.

To answer the question if Hip Hop can succeed without violent lyrics, we can consider the history of Hip Hop- it did not start out promoting violence. According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, Hip Hop emerged in New York around the 1970s. The music, influenced by African Americans and Jamaican immigrants, used freestyle and rap to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues. Although Rap and Hip Hop can be considered different genres, it is important to note that Hip Hop developed as a music genre along side the Hip Hop culture- an artistic improvisation movement composed of break dancing, graffiti writing, and rapping expressing freedom from Black and Latin American social oppression (Chang 90).

Since the 1970s, Hip Hop has been used to express more than societal oppressions. An increasing percentage of Hip Hop depicts sex, profanity, and violence. Much of the music requires censorship due to profane language. Parker’s goal of shifting Hip Hop back to the roots of uncovering oppressions sets a realistic goal of stopping violence through the influence of music. The contribution of opinions provided by twelve other Hip Hop artists, displays unity to stopping black-on-black violence, they thus, set an example of stopping violence through unity.

So, who are the contributing artists in Stop the Violence? Jamal Bush-The Rock, Nelly, Styles P., Redman, The Game, Ne-Yo, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, David Banner, and Lil Mama together rap about stopping black-on-black violence. Hip Hop uses its own style of language or slang, and the language used in the chorus penetrates the message: “Self Construction I said what we doin to each other What we need self construction. Cryin Mothers, dying brothers What we need self construction Never ever ran from the Klu Klux Klan. Shouldn’t have to run from a black man…” (KRS- One et al). The last line in the chorus evokes complex emotions and leaves one to consider the oppression African Americans have faced through out the history of the US. To consider the violence imposed on African Americans by other races throughout the past two-hundred years, allows one to question, should not African Americans be more united rather than divided? The division of black-on-black street violence should not exist, but rather the black community should unite to fight other oppressions and injustices they face together. By uniting, they can fight violence rather than encourage it. That is a message one can perceive from the Chorus.

Talib Kweli reinforces the notion of the responsibility Hip Hop has on society and the influence it has to encourage people to take action rather than simply discussing the issues: “Hip-Hop’s responsibility goes far beyond rappin we can talk about the happens, sing songs with action. Activist lyricism must enforce your lyricism This is how you gunna add violence and lying politicians” (KRS- One et al). The Game raps an important message of how witnessing violence motivated him to take action:

I never thought I’d tell anybody to put a gun down till last week I saw a 12 year old kid gunned down This ain’t what life’s about All this shoot em up bang bang you never think twice about that’s somebody’s son you shot somebody’s daughter you slaughtered I shed tears for our dearly departed and the shooters get Xd like Malcolm One dead in the grave one behind bars is the outcome (KRS- One et al).

Many important messages are embedded in this lyrical composition. The Game points out how he reacts to witnessing violence and he makes a clear point of the tragic outcomes of violence. Why live from violence when nothing good can possibly come of it? Unlike the other artists who rap about the violence, they are clearly trying to reach a young audience and influence them to reject violence. The Game not only reaches to a younger audience, he specifically addresses the perpetrators of violence and directly raps to the individuals who kill. He asks them to consider what they may not have considered before: “…think twice about that’s somebody’s son you shot, somebody’s daughter you slaughtered” (KRS- One et al).

Busta Rhymes discusses optimism of spreading the message of unity to stop violence: “Ayo, I’d like to see us open the lines of communication prioritizing and dealing with self preservation Being constructive is something I’m completing endorsing cuz the mind state of the youth kinda needed some reinforcing” (KRS- One et al). Again, Busta Rhymes adds strength to the goal that Hip Hop can influence and help structure a positive message for a young audience. He also brings about the concept of self preservation, like in the chorus, why should black-on-black violence exist after all of the injustices the African American race has faced and continues to face? By encouraging self construction, the artists remind the audience that they have the power to take control of their lives and make positive decisions that will increase unity among Blacks rather than division.

Parker’s movement for the black community to “self construct” rather than “self destruct” has inspired other famous hip hop artists to join in directing Hip Hop back to the roots of spreading an awareness to influence society of the negative reality the black community faces- one of black-on-black violence. Hip Hop has evolved since the 1970s to include a variety of styles and topics. Many songs in Hip Hop have included messages of profanity, sex, and violence. For this reason, rappers like Parker have taken on the role of spreading positive messages through music like the song Stop the Violence with hopes of inspiring action against violence. The lyrical composition includes messages directed to a young audience and messages directed to those who perpetrate violence. The message that “Together we can stop the violence” (KRS- One et al), reminds the audience that they too can take action and not just discuss, or listen to the issues. The fact that the black community faced so many injustices throughout history, evokes a strong emotion that because of that reason, the audience should “never ever have to run from a black man” (KRS- One et al).

References:

KRS-One et al. Stop the Violence. Self Construction. 2008. MP3 file.

http://www.duckdown.com/website/krsone.html

Hip hop.(2003). In The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/harvdictmusic/hip_hop

Chang, Jeff (2005). Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation. New York: St. Martin’s Press. p. 90.

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