American Hip-Hop's Worldwide Influence

By Andrew Woolford
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/salinger101

In a search for hot topics in the Caribbean I ran across an interesting article in the Trinidadian Express. The headline read: “G-Unit Member Shot Dead” so, I open the link thinking: 1. God I haven’t watched T.V. in a while; 2. About time another one get shot, and; 3. Which one got shot?

But in reading the article my prejudice about G-Unit was destroyed, proving that I’m truly pompous.

G-Unit is a bona fide gang in Trinidad and Tobago, and the gang member that got shot was 48-year-old (yes Ripley Believe it or not) Berresford Ash aka Berry. The schematics of his death are a bit graphic and straightforward. What was interesting was the general response to the article made by the Trinidadian people. They blamed American Hip-Hop for the negative cultural influence on the tiny twin island. And they were serious.

In 2007, Bling’d: Blood, Diamonds and Hip-Hop, a documentary about the influence of hip-hop on the diamond industry and culture in Sierra Leone, West Africa, was released. The very enlightening documentary was produced by hip hop journalist Raquel Cepeda. In the flim, Cepeda takes recording artists Paul Wall, Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan and Tego Calderon to Sierra Leone so they could hear first hand the atrocities that come with the demand for diamonds.

Hip-Hop in Sierra Leone is becoming a big part of the country’s culture. When Raekwon asked a crowd if anyone could “spit a freestyle”, viewers of the documentary get 2 minutes of off the top of the dome ripping and rhyming.

These artists were shocked by what they saw and heard; they were oblivious to the effects their music had on other cultures.

Raekwon spoke for the hip hop industry when he said, “Our music is an expression of us, [and] we’re not praising it". So, why are people constantly blaming hip hop for cultural problems?

Hip-Hop critics blame Hip-Hop artists for calling each other a “nigga” and they also blame them for misogynistic lyrics that perpetuate words such as whore, slut, bitch, tramp, and my personal favorite slore (a hybrid of slut and whore, talk about Phuzing it). Now the conscious world and the international community are blaming Hip-Hop for the formation of gangs and gang related violence.

Who knows if this global influence was the goal or the inevitable consequence of gangster rap, but what is known is that there is a break down on communication from 50 Cent’s mouth to the foreign listener.

Now Ash’s death was an unfortunate event, but to blame hip hop influence for his death is just ridiculous. G-Unit stands for Guerilla Unit, for those who bob their heads and don’t read. Guerilla is a type of warfare, where combatants attack and then run. Why would there be a need for a Guerilla Unit in Trinidad?

Trinidad is among the largest economies in the Caribbean, being the only island nation to produce and manufacture petro-oil, and being able to cope with the rise in food prices. Why is there a need for militia on an island where there is no war?

MURDERER:YOUR INSIDE MUST BE HOLLOW

Written by Anessa C.M. Hodgson

What do Samuel Harewood, Keyanna Jones, and Nathan Allsbrook share in common? No, they are not big time entertainers nor are they famous politicians. Truth is, to most people they are just random names lost in a sea of faceless individuals, who we read about on page 6 of the newspaper on our way to work every morning. In fact Jones, Harewood, and Allsbrook are just 3 minority teenagers from inner city New York who became the victims of heinous crimes all of which resulted in their deaths all within days of each other. Keyanna Jones, the first of the murder victims died at age 15 after being stabbed to death in a commotion which occurred only moments away from her home. Like wise Allsbrook and Harewood both died steps away from their doorsteps in fatal shootings. Harewood lost his life at 17 and Allsbrook at 15. At 15 and 17 you should be thinking about sweet sixteen’s and the promise of becoming a legal adult, but for these young teens life was cut short by the continuing cycle of violence which has taken a stronghold on inner city communities across the United States. Violence has become a serious issue within urban culture. There is no justifiable reason on this earth why young people should live in fear of losing their lives at the hands of violence especially in their own communities. These individuals were stabbed and shot, left for dead, as the air slowly escaped their body only leaving behind the remnants of lives that were short lived. Is this the message which society is sending to the youth, go ahead and pat yourself on the back if you make it past 17 because in these communities you can die from violence at any given moment? If anyone has said it, Tupac has said it best. “They say there ain’t no hope for the youth, well the truth is then there’s no hope for the future.” If three teenagers who all hail from the very same city can all die within 4 days and due to violent crimes then what are the statistics looking like for tomorrow. The issue here lies far deeper than the loss of Keyanna Jones, Samuel Harewood, and Nathan Allsbrook, the issue lies deep in the fabric of the communities. It is unimaginable that one day the whole world will unite and hold hands singing “Koombyah”, but is it too much to ask that people behave as civil beings and acknowledge the fact that we are all strokes on a universal canvas of humanity. The violence in this modern day society is deplorable, shameful, and downright inhumane. With all the knowledge we posses of morality , there are still people who act barbaric, stabbing and shooting one another as if this a game. There is no game here, no humor, no light actions; this is an issue of a severe magnitude. Killing teenagers is wrong, killing anyone is wrong. There is no righteousness and no admiration to be found in a murderer, one who takes the life of another is a being that is cold and heartless. These teenagers were not given the opportunity to flourish or develop, they were given no choices; their development was stumped and cut short by individuals who saw fit to deprive the world 3 more possibilities of greatness. Isn’t the very essence of life learning and growing, not killing and mayhem? The teenagers that lost their lives in New York City and across the United States will soon only be drops in the bucket as this societal ill continues to infect the national community. Violence should not be something looming over one’s head as they go through their day to day life. Put down the guns and knives, if not for yourself then for Keyanna Jones, 15, Nathan Allsbrook, 15, and Samuel Harewood, 17, and all the other children who have paid the ultimate price.