Too often Hip-Hop gets a bad rap (pun intended) by mainstream America, and its often powerful message gets overlooked. Critics are too quick to point out the misogynistic references, the foul language and the poor grammar which Hip-Hop sadly, but usually, promotes. As a result, any positive message that exists is quickly dismissed. This is unfortunate, because despite what critics like Bill O’Reilly may claim, there is a lot that can be learned from Hip-Hop. I am a living testament to that.
I will never forget that hot, muggy summer afternoon of June 1996 that forever changed my life. I still remember it as though it were yesterday; it was shortly before I was to graduate from the seventh grade, when my older brother Carlos, who has since passed away, brought me out to his car and slipped me my first Hip-Hop album: The Score, by the Fugees. Although I had heard numerous Hip-Hop songs on the radio, my mother, being the strict Christian woman that she is, outlawed it in the house; this gift from my big brother gave me my first real opportunity to delve into the culture. From that moment on I was hooked. I was mesmerized by the lyrics, the style and the beats; it all truly captivated my heart.
At 12-years- old I had found my first love: Hip-Hop. Growing up listening to it, I can personally attest to the long lasting and life changing impact it has had on my life. Hip-Hop taught me how to dress, it taught me how to act and it taught me how to speak. Most importantly though, Hip-Hop taught me about life. Hip-Hop was my teacher. Maybe this is a “diss” to the school system, but I can honestly say I learned more from listening to Hip-Hop than I have from any one subject I studied in school. It wasn’t any political figure that sparked my interest in politics: it was Hip-Hop. It wasn’t studying the teachings of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King J.R or Malcolm X that pulled me into the battle against racial inequality: it was Hip-Hop. It wasn’t a sociology teacher that taught me the government sometimes has hidden agendas, like COINTELPRO: it was Hip-Hop. I learned the TRUTH about Thanksgiving and Christopher Columbus; I learned that George Washington was a slave owner, and that Abraham Lincoln didn’t care one lick about slavery, all through Hip-Hop. I learned about heroes such as Assata Shakur and Mumia Abu-Jamal through Hip-Hop. I also learned about social injustices such as poverty, police brutality, racial profiling, inequality in the educational system, modern-day segregation, racial inequality…the list can go on forever. I learned about social issues like the disproportionately high rates of teenage pregnancy, high school dropout rates, S.T.D.’s, lack of healthcare and single parent homes in the inner-city compared to suburbia. Hip-Hop has drastically shaped and influenced my conscience; it opened my eyes to a previously unknown world. I wouldn’t be who I am today, and I wouldn’t be where I am today, without Hip-Hop. For that, I am infinitely grateful to Hip-Hop.
I am also thankful for Hip-Hop, because even though my big brother is gone, I feel like Hip-Hop keeps him alive. Every time I hear a Fugee’s song, a few tears fall from my eye, and that summer day 15 years ago plays again in my head. Once a week I visit him in St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx, and plant new flowers. As I am doing this, I always have a Fugee’s song playing on my iPhone. I feel like no matter where he is, Hip-Hop will always keep us connected.
This article is dedicated to my big brother, Carlos Eduardo Villegas (1973-2006), I love you. GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.