Hip-hop music and the Illuminati redefined

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So many people throughout 2010 warned us of the so-called illuminati infiltration of hip-hop music. Like, is Jay-Z down with the illuminati? We still don’t know for sure but people dissected and interpreted subliminal messages in the lyrics and visuals of various artists to determine whether they too were part of the secret, global brotherhood controlling the will of the masses.

In a recent conversation with Hakim Green of Channel Live and BDP fame, we talked about all of this in reference to a song he has on his mixtape Hip Hop Nation. On the CD, he has a track he and producer/emcee Marco Polo share called Illuminati with KRS ONE. On the song, Hakim begins….

Everybody talk Illuminati, I say who they? Is it the freemasons, the Bilderberg or the Boule? Is it devil worship? Well, how do you pray? Can I get an Amen like the eye of Amen Ra? The trick in tricknology is in the methodology. Religion without science becomes idolatry. Who builds churches; temple with an altar? Tell me what’s the purpose, Templars, Knights of Malta. It’s embedded in the math. Yall call it witchcraft. Kids learn to cast spells sittin in English class…..Let knowledge be the spark. The flame is so bright. The illuminati is my people walkin in the light.

(Hook – Marco Polo) Illuminati, Masons, when will it end? Bilderberg, Skull and Bones are you one of them? So many secrets lying dormant in the hearts of men, all we can do is speculate from the outside looking in.

We first started the discussion with a look at what the illuminati really refers to, which is the Sun. The Sun is the beginning light as recognized by ancient Kemet from thousands of years ago until today. In our conversation on shadesradio.com Worldwide Cypher Sundays, Hakim reflected on how the three major Western religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) say Amen or (A-meen) at the end of their prayers because “those three religions are three versions of the same thing. And they’re all worshiping the same deity.” That deity, he offers, is the Sun. Hakim went on to say in reference to the the group of evil men behind the scenes of world culture, “there are certain illuminated, light-bearers who choose to hide the light or keep the light from people. People who are truly illuminated want to share that light with everybody. They want to share knowledge and truth with everybody.”

About the hidden master influencing hip-hop music Hakim added, “This whole illuminati thing has gotten out of hand, where people are frozen in fear. Nah man, these people who run shit are human beings. They are flesh and blood. They are no more powerful than the next man (who studies enough).”

Somewhat surprising is that even though KRS ONE delivers a solid verse in the middle of the tune, Hakim Green shines most brightly on the track with Marco Polo adding a unique hook and very original sound quality both to his rhyme and the beat which he produced. Marco adds onto the rhyme with “Cuz I aint tryin to live my life hiding and scared, I’d rather live paranoid and try to prepare. So many things in hindsight, that’s invisibly there; like what they put in the water and release in the air. What they feed ya mind and make you think unclear, nothing but propaganda, lies and fears. But pick your words wisely, when you choose to speak, cause all this controlled by the ruling elite.” (FIYAH!)

In reference to Jay-Z or other rappers being down with the illuminati, Hakim replied “If you walkin around with money in your pocket, forget what you believe. What you know is, everyday you spend pyramids and eagles to feed you and yours. That’s your religion. In God We Trust. What God? You got the pyramid, the eye, these are the Gods they talking about. Every civilization is built on math and science not belief. It’s built on knowledge. That’s what it is unless you out in the jungle doin you.” So, instead of worrying about if Jay-Z is in the illuminati Hakim pointed out, think about your own participation. He concluded that in the Bible it says “render unto Caesar what is his. This is a reference to paying taxes. You can’t serve two masters. If you really want to be the real you, get out of the system. Niggas want money and jewelry and then be like, ‘oh it’s the illuminati.’ You’re the illuminati, but you don’t see it. The illuminati is my people walkin in the light.”

What aspect of Hip Hop came first?

What element of Hip Hop Kulture was expressed first in this modern incarnation? Since, there have always been poets and dancers and painters etc., we understand that Hip Hop expressions are just their modern forms. Superhistorically, Hip Hop cultural elements have always been present in our various cultures, but the modern forms we refer to as Graffiti, Breakin, Emceein, Deejayin, Beatboxin etc. were introduced in their recent form in the 1970’s. By the close of the decade, all of the elements (9) would be known character traits of those who considered themselves Hip Hop. But which elements came first?

We always have been inclined to give utmost respect to the deejay as the motivator behind the Hiphop concept. In that regard we shout out Kool Herc as the prime mover then Bambaataa and Flash, all as Deejays spinning in the Bronx. But who were they spinning for? What were they doing in between jams?

The Teacha KRS ONE, points out in a picture he has of himself and his mother while living on Sedgwick Ave, Bronx,NY in the early 1970’s, a Kool Herc tag on the wall in the background, evidence that Herc was also a graffiti writer to some degree. Noted Bronx graf writer Phase 2 points out, that graf writin was coming out of Manhattan as early as 1969 into the Bronx to influence him.

Another aspect of Kool Herc galvanizing the atmosphere in an organized manner thru the jams was the concept of what Herc calls the merry-go-round. This element of Deejayin where just the instrumental breaks would be played back to back was used to get the b-boys and b-girls excited. So obviously dancers were already freestyle rockin’ dances before Herc began to deejay for everyone. Here we see evidence of B-Boyin.

In orthodox Hiphop (consciousness) we speak of 9 Elements. The last four elements are specifically influenced by the urban environment; Street Fashion, Street Language, Street Knowledge and Street Entrepreneurialism. Each has a distinct impact and characteristic style that Hip Hop has made obvious to the entire international community. In the early 1970’s however, they were just forming into what we call Hip Hop today. Still, some of the more obvious trends and styles that become identifiable to any given culture usually include fashion. The specific kind of clothing choice also identifies ones peers as they interact. So were there certain Hip Hop fashion trends or slang terminology (language) that influenced the deejay? Probably. Of course knowledge goes hand in hand with language so without getting into the specifics of what Hip Hop Street Knowledge is as a cultural element; suffice it to say that it was probably a part of Kool Herc’s mentality as a deejay.

Emceein, Bambaataa says, can be traced to Cab Calloway, James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Millie Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, The Last Poets and many others before rappers like Coke La Rock started rappin over the breaks at a jam. It can even be argued that Beatboxin was around in the form of body music like playing the spoons or “hambone” an early version of the thigh/chest slapping of step teams. Plus, babies can beatbox intrinsically almost from birth. Then there are more complex styles like scattin’ where artists like Louie Armstrong imitated the sound of horns or other instruments with there voice.  Is Beatboxin just an extension of an earlier style? Was Beatboxin also around before Deejayin? It seems like all the elements of Hip Hop Kulture were present with the exception of Entrepreneurialism and making money specifically off of hip-hop (products).

Why then do we think of the deejay as the first element? It was because the deejay galvanized the elements together in almost a showcase format. The deejay brought people together so we could communicate and relate to one another. The deejay is like the first organizer of the group, and for that, we can in symbolic gesture, honor that place. So this is why we honor Kool Herc as the first deejay in Hip Hop, although even he is not technically the first organizer. There are two people you can say precede Kool DJ Herc as the first organizers of Hip Hop Kulture. One would be Afrika Bambaataa with the Zulu Nation est. in 1973, one year earlier than what we consider the birth of Hip Hop Kulture in 1974. The Zulus were a heavy influence on B-Boys and specific aspects of the culture and may not have however, spoken to all the elements at that time. Then there is Cindy aka Pep, Kool Herc’s sister. She was actually the organizer of the first jams and got her brother (Herc) to spin records for them. These are what we consider Kool Herc’s first jams in Cedar Park. Her legacy remains mostly unheard of by even true participants of the culture. For that reason, at the release of the Gospel of Hip Hop in 2009, Queen Pep and Herc sat a place of honor in front of the audience.

TSU WWC Sundays 102410 – Swiss Hip Hop Day

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WorldStar hates positivity and has a secret agenda

Worldstar Hip Hop reveals its true purpose. As we already know, the gossip and stereotype spreading anti-journalism site has no love for the truth. They exist to profit off the perpetuation of barely true statements and scandalous rumors. But every once in a while they show something positive or critical of the endless negativity such as Lady Luck reciting a heartfelt acapella called “Are We There Yet?” or Supanova Slom criticizing gang activity at a recent conference put on by Hakim Green in Newark, NJ. Both videos received mostly high praise in the comments section except for die-hard haters who frequent the site to criticize everything anonymously or gang members deeply brainwashed by tricknology. 

Worldstar was not satisfied with that however. Just one week later, the geniuses at Worldstar find it necessary to try and destroy any significance those two positive videos created by presenting “contradictory” images of both Supanova Slom and Lady Luck. Why would Worldstar be invested in defaming the only two positive stories they showcased in the last month? That is the big question, because the “contradictory” videos are not even contradictory when taken in context.

To discredit Supanova Slom, WS offered up a music video he did for a love song called “Midnite”. Slom is pictured with his shirt off singing/rapping in a tone reminiscent of Prince, to a female. On its face, this looks like homage to Prince done by someone who is a fan of his music, nothing more. Yes the singing is somewhat effeminate but anyone who knows Slom, knows that he is an eccentric performer. He is known to wear wild outfits, is heavily tattooed and tries to create unique shows mixing multiple music genres. And with the way he carries himself in everyday life on the streets of NYC, you would not think he was gay despite the insinuation of most comments posted on this video.

To counter the positive message Lady Luck released as the intro to her new CD, WS posted a video titled - Lady Luck (Feat. Babs Bunny) - Runaway (Luck Gets Her Booti Slapped on Camera). In the video Luck is pictured looking very feminine in tight spandex pants and glossy make-up at a backyard bbq, playing wiffel ball and dancing. At one point a guy grabs Luck on the behind and shakes her thigh as she sits across his lap. She laughs, as the scene goes by in less than 2 seconds and the dancing and frolicking continues in this light-hearted, inoffensive rap tune. What is the big controversy? As I stated in my last blog, Lady Luck is an attractive female who often dresses down (more masculine), which is a testament to her desire to be taken seriously as a lyricist. Some question her sexuality and ask if she’s a lesbian which seems completely irrelevant to these two songs though.

What is the relevance of posting these two attempts at controversy? Well, to do just that, create fake controversy. There is nothing wrong with either of the songs, unless you don’t like that style of music. WS called the Slom video - Supa Nova Slom (Blood Crip Who Was Speaking Truth At A HipHop Community Call) - Midnite [R&B Unsigned Hype] taking care to contrast this “less-masculine” video with the statements Slom made. To generate views and comments WS is in the business of creating “news” and controversy. For positive stories the only reaction is to go negative. WS has shown over and over that they have no love for anything positive and will denigrate and defame anyone who tries to portray it, with slanderous insinuations. WS not only thrives on negative images, racial slurs, ignorant behavior and the promotion of criminal activity, but they create negativity out of positivity. They actively try to turn something positive for the community into something its viewers should question. For all the videos of fake gangstas rapping murder, death and drug dealing does WS show a rebuttal video of them at home with their kids playing? No, they don’t. They let all those videos ride without critique. On the internet I looked for info on WorldStar, which is not Hip Hop but a mockery of it, and found very little info. You would think that with all the accusations of illuminati ties to so many rappers, someone would have looked at WS. I mean, what or who would possibly be behind such a low-life agenda of feeding misinformation and divisiveness to the world on a daily basis?

I did find some interesting clips on YouTube though. Only one highlighted Lee ‘Q’ O’Denat the supposed owner of WS himself. The content of what he was saying was questionable to say the least. But it may provide some insight into one of the reasons there is such a slant on homosexuality and sex in general on the site. Don’t get me wrong I obviously look at the site as a person interested to some degree in the lives of celebrities and what is supposedly hot in music today. I just hope for the day when someone creates a site with more integrity, common sense, and love for real Hip Hop. VladTV and AllHipHop.com are not as bad just a little stale at this point from being around so long. Thisis50.com has a unique platform and set of followers but comes off biased toward certain artists at the end of the day. So the point is to find better, reliable, more trustworthy sources. Do you have any suggestions?

Kurt Nice, HipHopLives.net/Examiner.com & NJ Emcee, Lady Luck

Lady Luck asks if we are there yet?

Finally a female emcee shines a ray of hope in the vast emptiness of rap music from the woman's perspective. Although it’s just an intro, Lady Luck’s acapella verse hits hard mentally and resonates clearly. It asks the question “Are we there yet?” It analyzes the journey of so-called Black people in this country through some sharp criticism of today’s generations. Not just a critique of the young, but there parents too; Luck goes in like a modern day version of the Message and talks about where we are and where we have been as people.

Some of her best lines include:

“Obama said change, we getting tired of waiting…my people got the highest drop out rate in the nation. Forty years ago we were dying for education….We were lynched, beatin and murdered, marched for civil rights, just for us to grow up and have no value of life…an epidemic, no more truth, it’s all gimmick….spiritually broken women given birth to the same children….men wit they whole ass out like a dancer, I drive thru the hood screaming at kids pull ya damn pants up….so far from the slave ship to be in the 21^st century and still thinking on some slave shit….Luck you getting too deep, spit some ignorant shit already, we don’t want to listen to hip-hop wit a dictionary….rappers claim they had to dumb down to sell records. Well look around, everybody’s dumb now…..combined we can’t figure out the plan yet, came a long way, just wanna know are we there yet?”

Visually the poem is shot simply with Luck alone on the bus and walking through downtown as she recites her bars or in profile thinking, all in black and white. No wild colors and weird sets. No fancy cars, concert jewelry or crazy outfits either. Instead we get, Lady Luck with a fitted, a hoodie and some jeans and very little makeup, if any. Imagine that. No colored wigs and booty shorts. And wait, natural beauty. No augmentation, accentuation or layers of make-up. Well, that’s refreshing. Who would have thought in the era of Nicki Minaj that a female rapper could do a video without all the extras. That stance on beauty may be one of the strongest statements Lady Luck makes with the video. Although, if glossed up and put in some sexy clothes Luck does look amazing, she proves that looks don’t have to sell rhymes if you’re a female. Still, on the underground tip there may be a beauty scale bias judging from the response to females like Jean Grae and Bahamadia both highly skilled yet ignored and possibly not as pretty.

Judging from the response, what Luck is spittin in the verse is being overwhelming received with 99% positive comments on a site like Worldstar. Maybe it’s because she has tapped into what the Hip Hop audience has been craving from a female emcee, real lyricism and depth. Maybe people are slightly more receptive because she’s attractive. So what, as long as people stop to listen and think about what is said, I’m for it. Brothers like Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Common, and many others constantly kick knowledge but don’t get a second look. If it takes females to resurrect the consciousness in rap, I’m all for it. We need many more women who aren’t “spiritually broken, giving birth to the same (kind of) children.” Plus men follow women for the most part anyway. If more women in general were how Luck speaks and acts in this song, rather than how Nicki Minaj portrays herself, wouldn’t we be there already.

So many of the statements Lady Luck makes in this short verse are powerful enough to stand on their own in such a profound way that it’s better that it is not a song-chorus format. In this way, it is much more powerful and introspective. The listener has to ponder on the statements made and can’t be distracted by a beat. If Luck could figure out how to make at least four hot conscious tunes on her album, she may see a serious spike in her sales, judging again from the Worldstar audience feedback. It was nice to see such a desire for a real, lyrical message in a place that dwells on gossip, buffoonery, and the lowest stereotypes put on video. Much respect to Lady Luck for putting this one out. It was definitely a good move.

p.s. I’m glad she doesn’t look like Precious though, cause nobody would have watched it.

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Should Lil Wayne be in solitary confinement for IPod headphones?

To most True School Hip Hop music lovers, Lil Wayne is not on the top of the list. In fact, he is no where near it. He represents the pop sound and style over substance brand of rap that make classic Hip Hop fans cringe. While he seems to draw a random and misguided creativity out of his drug induced fog, which at times seems almost acceptable, he more often sounds like a babbling, crazy person. If Lil Wayne was 50 years old standing on a corner reciting the same lines he says in his rhymes, he would sound more like 50Tyson than Jay-Z. And 50Tyson has autism, if you don't already know. With that in mind, understand that I have no love for Lil Wayne or his music and basically wrote off his latest brush with the law as "he brought it on himself." I mean, he should already know he is a target being who he is, a rich rapper from the hood. So, to to get caught with illegal weapons on his tour bus doesn't garner much sympathy.

His latest news comes to us from behind bars at Rikers Island correctional facility in NY. It seems that Wayne was caught hiding a pair of unsanctioned headphones stashed inside a potato chip bag in his cell. Although headphones bought at the jail commissary are allowed, his higher end brand was not. For this infraction he is being given solitary confinement for the last 30 days of his 8 month sentence. This means he will be confined to his cell for 23 hours a day and permitted only one call to the outside per week. In light of the preferential treatment most celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton get, this does come off as harsh. Although his charge involved a weapon, this infraction unlike a failed drug test, has nothing to do with the original crime. He is after all a performer who must earn a living after his sentence is over, so to have a job aid in prison is almost like work release. If the effort is to rehabilitate him, this type of punishment could be very counterproductive. To be locked away, unable to move freely in such confinement, after the jet-set lifestyle Wayne has lead must be a harsh reality to face. To have made a living as the center of attention on stages in front of thousands of people only to be forced into a room by himself with no phone, no personal contact, and none of his usual coping mechanisms like drugs or alcohol must be torture.

For whatever reason, it seems that Lil Wayne has been targeted for some type of programming. The question is what message are those in charge trying to send? Are they sending a message to the larger community who follow Lil Wayne's music? Or are they trying to manipulate Lil Wayne specifically to affect how he makes music in the future? These questions only came to me after I watched the topic discussed on The Young Turks this week. Watching their take on the situation drew some empathy for Wayne's situation that I had not previously had. Now I feel there might be something deeper at work here. What do you think?

Iron Solomon vs. E Ness of Bad Boy, Making Da Band fame

At a rap battle that took place on the Memorial Day Weekend in September of 2010, in Miami called Grizzlemania 2. Here, two underground veterans took to the middle of the cypher and squared off with words. The battle was actually pivotal in the realm of battle rapping as it pitted so-called “street-rap” against undaground emceein.  Representing street rap was E Ness, a Badboy artist brought to fame on the MTV Making Da Band series in which prospective members had to walk to Brooklyn to get Puffy a slice of cheesecake. For Hip Hop, the undaground emcee was Svengali brother and End of the Weak-NYC showcase regular, Iron Solomon. As the battle surfaced on Worldstar Hip Hop, a significant buzz blew up around the footage on YouTube which reached around 250,000 views in about 3 weeks. There are two basic opinions that spoke to the outcome. The first was posted in favor of E Ness as the winner. The second one, I posted, the next day explaining how Iron Solomon won. Watch the video here, comment and subscribe. You can also check out part 2 on the Legends and Emcee Battles post.