THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIP HOP

The month of November marks the Anniversary of Hip Hop. The Anniversary hosts a positive Hip Hop community coming together from all walks of life to celebrate the true essence and excitement of what Hip Hop was meant to be.

Due to their lack of knowledge about the whole of Hip Hop culture, many of our world’s youth are mistaken in thinking that activities such as: smoking, drinking, wearing oversized designer label, bling bling plastered across their chest, grillz, gun carrying and getting shot nine times or whatever, or going to strip clubs, are “Hip Hop”. Hip Hop is being portrayed negatively by today’s artists who work in the element of Rap (emceeing), exploiting the culture at the expense of the youth’s state of mind and morality. The culture has become get rich stop trying.

Zulu Nation urges us to let Hip Hop be about Peace, Unity, Love, Having Fun, Positivism, Creativity, Tolerance, Respect, Party and Participating, Going Back to the Essence, Being Open Minded, and Devolution: Each One Teach One, consciousness and the up-liftment of all people.

This year, this month, all Hip Hoppers to work towards eliminating the negative stereotypes in Hip-Hop's public image and promote the elements of Hip-Hop culture so that we may all unite in the common spirit of the culture. Let’s guide Hip-hop Culture toward freedom from violence, and establishes advice and protection for the existence and development of the international Hip hop community.

Next year will mark ten years since the birth of local hip hop and it would be good for all hip hoppers to gather and pay tribute and respect to the legends of this culture to pay to our local equivalents of Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc, NWA, Krs One, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Roxane Shante and Wu Tang like Hardstone, Kshaka, late Poxi Presha, KSouth, Mashifta, Mwafrika, Nazizi and others who have done local hip hop proud.

Lastly there is African Hip Hop Awards. The Awards are aimed at saluting Africans that have contributed to the establishment of Hip Hop culture in countries throughout Africa. This year they were held in South Africa on 27th of August. Coming year we should see as many Kenyans registering for the event if our Hip Hop is to get recognized by the world. The media should try and publicize such an event so that our artists can benefit just as they have been doing with MTV awards.

Meanwhile Anga Banga, Dandora Burning, Mwafrika Presents: The Muki Garang Mixtape, Shika DVD, Mashifta’s Classics album, Kenyan: The First Chapter, Nairobbery and Wenyeji’s DC, among others should take you to the roots, and to the basics of emceeing.