First, I thought the attempt was noble, and BET definitely has shown its maturity by even producing and airing such an event; it was definitely a step in the right direction. However, I felt that the editing of the program was terrible. It seemed rushed, as if BET was forced to quickly put “something” together to quell the aggressively growing criticisms of the general public as well as the Hip Hop community itself regarding its programming.

Secondly, I felt that there were too many commercials and such commercialism made me question the motives behind the event itself. Pepsi, Jeep, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and even birth control being advertised during the breaks in the discussion raises my eyebrows as to the motives behind such programming. I thought the discussion (as with all discussions about culture and social understanding) should have been commercial free.

Thirdly, even though there was a second part to the “Hip Hop vs. America” discussion, for me the panel was inconclusive; it didn’t go anywhere, no resolution was created, no plan or agreement was reached, and the artists T.I. and Nelly seemed to be forced into positions of defending themselves for no reason. As Nelly pointed out “when did music become the life-line of Black people as a whole, period? If our music is right our lives is right? No, it’s when our education is right, our lives is right. When our education ain’t right our lives is screwed up.” This not only sums up the debate and the reason why we must begin to approach Hip Hop beyond music entertainment to even have such a discussion, but such a view also pointed out the lop-sidedness of the panel. Putting Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and even Reverend Al Sharpton on the same panel with Nelly made the panel in my opinion unbalanced and it degraded the seriousness of the discussion. Nelly nor T.I. have ever claimed to be “community leaders” or even men concerned with the state of their communities, Black folks or Hip Hop.

As Nelly pointed out, “I have a right to make the choice” as to the type of music he is going to listen to and produce, and even what kind of man he is going to be—and he is right. Morality, integrity, commitment to one’s community, etc are all choices, and if Nelly (or any other artist) chooses to promote an image contrary to that of morality, integrity, community, dignity, etc such is his free choice and legal right. Very plainly put, ARTISTS ARE NOT LEADERS! Leaders are leaders, teachers are teachers, revolutionaries are revolutionaries and drug dealers are drug dealers. The music they make reflects their life choices; even their life philosophies. Why bring up issues of leadership to those who are not leaders, nor claim to be leaders?

Lastly, I find it a bit frustrating to listen to all of these debates on Rap music lyrics and the social responsibilities of Hip Hop when my WHOLE CAREER has been based upon combating the very stereo-types that seem to dominate the debate. When I hear Master P say that he had no one to show him a more mature approach to Hip Hop and its effects on society, I cringe. I cringe because when Master P was at his heights in 1996 I was very vocal and active about Hip Hop and its effects on society however, he along with everyone else ignored me. Remember? I was too “preachy”, I had a “messiah complex”, I wanted to “own Hip Hop,” remember?

EVERY one of my albums discusses social advancement and Hip Hop’s responsibility to the society at large, even to itself, yet the Source magazine refused for many years to regularly promote KRS ONE on its magazine covers, and within its public events. The Source; the magazine of Hip Hop’s music, culture and politics; a publication that I helped to create, chose to ignore my work and in many ways degrade its importance and urgency.

I listen to these discussions and I feel sick to my stomach. I’ve already laid out the solution to Hip Hop’s seeming challenges—it’s called the “Hip Hop Declaration of Peace”—we’ve handed out over 20,000 peace declarations so far. I’ve also produced Hip Hop’s first and only secular gospel album (Spiritual Minded), and do I have to mention the Stop the Violence Movement (1989), Human Education Against Lies (1990), All In The Same Gang (1991), and the Temple of Hiphop (since 1996)? What about Zulu Nation’s work?

What about all of the Hip Hop conferences, workshops and summits that we produced, along with my hundreds of college lectures, community rallies, and now famous slogans like “rap is something we do, Hip Hop is something we live” and the whole idea of living Hip Hop as opposed to simply performing it. What about all of this? What about my latest 2007 album “Hip Hop Lives” and the video for it? For me, ALL THESE MEETINGS AND SUMMITS ARE BULLSHIT! I am now convinced that we really don’t want answers; we want more bullshit!

Of course, I have more to say and I have more insights to reveal (especially after viewing the sub-committee hearings on “African American Media Stereo-types” on C-Span) but I’ll leave it here for now—call me. The real struggle continues.

–KRS ONE

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