It's bigger than Hip Hop, Hip Hop, Hip Hop

Dead Prez - Hip-Hip
"One thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain"
"It's bigger than hip hop, hip hop, hip hop"
"Who shot biggie smallls? If we don't get em they goin' get us all"
"Would you rather have a lexus or justice, a dream or some substance, a beamer or necklace or freedom"


It's so much more than music to me; Hip Hop represents who I was, am and who I want to be; Where I come from, am, and where I want to go. Hip Hop is the most expressive and moving form of music I know of. Hip Hop is my Art of War. It guides, inspires, and consoles me when I feel lost and alone. Hip Hop gets me out of bed in the A.M. although I never "sleep". Hip Hop speaks my mind when my voice can't be heard. Hip Hop reminds me to thank God. I didn't always love Hip Hop, I used to hate it because all I heard was the bling bling, gangster wanna-be, pimp stuff. That was back in the day when I used to bump Black Sabbath, Nirvana, Reel Big Fish and skate all day. I still like those bands, but they don't represent me, they merely entertain me. Hip Hop teaches you to make the best out of what life give you. The slang is a prime example of that; "sick", "ill", "bad", aren't states of being you want to treat, you want to be them.


Here are some of my favorite song quotes and my brief interpretation of them:

I love songs that touch on important topics like Tupac Amaru Shakur's "Brenda's Got a Baby". Tupac is able to express his discontent with the way young girls in the ghetto have to face incest, drugs, teen pregnancy and the impact on the community. This song is deep and real; I can remember the "Brendas" in my neighborhood and that songs portrays exactly how it goes down.

"The girl can hardly spell her name
That's not our problem, that's up to Brenda's family
Well let me show ya how it affects the whole community"

"Just cause your in the ghetto doesn't mean ya can't grow
But oh, that's a thought, my own revelation
Do whatever it takes to resist the temptation"

This Way by Dilated Peoples Feat. Kanye West
This is a hot song!

This was me back in the day:
My favorite girl wanna leave me just because I got a girlfriend
my freak girl told me "now, she a christian"
my white girl wanna move back to Michigan
I'm pullin girls off the bench like a sixth man.


This is me now:
"this time I made up my mind
this time I'm back on my grind
I know there's things in my life
that I'ma let go startin tonight"

"I wanna a good girl she want a gentleman
we sayin' the same thing like a synonym
I wasn't really spittin game I was scrimmigin"

Self explanatory...

Get By; Talib Kweli

"This morning, I woke up
Feeling brand new and I jumped up
Feeling my highs, and my lows
In my soul, and my goals
Just to stop smokin, and stop drinkin
And I've been thinkin - I've got my reasons
Just to get (by), just to get (by)
Just to get (by), just to get (by)"

This chorus keeps me on my toes, it reminds that every day is a new day and I can change for the better no matter what.

"The TV got us reachin for stars
Not the ones between Venus and Mars, the ones that be readin for parts"

This line is right on the money; everyone get's distracted by all the celebrities and trash on TV instead on staying on the grind and focusing on a way out. I wish we payed this much attention to people of substance like MLK, Mandela, The Bomber (Barrack Obama), Chavez, etc... But Noooooooo, we want to know who's dating who and what club they're hanging at. That the truth even here in Honduras, we have a little circle of entertainers and I swear they get more attention than the politicians.

"Me Abuela raised three daughters all by herself, with no help
I think about a struggle and I find the strength in myself"

This line reminds me of the struggle my mother endured while raising two men and how many other single women have to do the same in the ghetto.

B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad) - Outkast
"before you re-up, get a lap top. Make a business for yourself, boy set some goals. Make a fat dime out of dust and coals"

Get your priorities straightend out kids! Stop smoking so much herb and try to start something for yourselves.

The following quotes are represent what every parents want for their kids, only in the perspective of someone who grew up in "the hood":

Gettin it by Too Short
"Get your kids in school, so they can get an education, get a dregree and take a vacation."

IZZO by Jay-Z
Like I told you sell drugs - No! / Hov' did that so hopefully you won't have to go through that