The President's Hip Hop BBQ?

What most would refer to as a private 50th birthday party for President Obama last month, Fox Nation (an online extension of Fox News) decided instead to call it a "Hip Hop BBQ." But not just any hip hop barbeque, one that FAILED to create any jobs. As captured in the image on the left, Fox Nation chose not to highlight other notable non-hip hop birthday guests like Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and Rahm Emmanuel, but instead chose to draw a link between Obama and hip hop in what can only be interpreted as a negative connotation.

The image and headline attempt to tie the President to what many deem to be a dangerous subculture (hip hop). Further, the story and headline attempts to perpetuate the tired stereotype of "lazy" black men, who were partying, not working, as evidenced by the President's failure to create new jobs at his 50th birthday party.

According to the New York Times, the hip hop barbeque article generated more than 2,000 comments, some of which were virulent and racist. "A small number of the user comments on the article page were overtly racist, while others condemned the article; one such comment stated, 'Racism is still alive, and Fox Nation is exploiting it.' [Fox spokesperson] Mr. Shine said, 'We found many of the comments to be offensive and inappropriate and they have been removed. We also shut down further comments on this piece.'"

CFP: Rap and Hip Hop Culture SW/TPC & ACA

Call for Papers: RAP AND HIP HOP CULTURE

Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association
February 8-11, 2012
Albuquerque, NM
Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Center
Downtown Albuquerque
http://www.swtxpca.org
Proposal submission deadline: December1, 2011
Submit Paper Proposals Here: http://conference2012.swtxpca.org
Proposals for both Panels and Individual Papers are nowbeing accepted for the Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture Area. We had excellent representation in this Arealast year and we are looking to expand in both quantity and complexity for thisyear’s conference. We are particularly interested in proposals that address the following but accept any proposal thatdeals with rap music and hip hop culture:

- Intersections of Hip Hop and Pedagogy

- Rap Music, Hip Hop Culture, and Space/Place

- Theoretical approaches to Hip Hop (i.e., LanguageTheory/Postmodernism/Social Theory)

- Rap, Hip Hop, and Academic Disciplinarity

- Rhetorical Approaches to Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture

- Rap, Hip Hop, and Film/Documentary

- Hip Hop Subjectivities/Agency

- Anthropological/Sociological approaches to Hip Hop Culture

- Economics and Hip Hop Culture

- Discussions of international Hip Hop

- Intersections of Hip Hop and Religion/Theology

- Hip Hop and Technology

- Latino Hip Hop

- Women and Hip Hop

- Hip Hop in the age of Obama

As always, papers and panels that consider the myriad waysthat Rap Music and Hip Hop culture impact and feed upon Popular and Americanculture are encouraged. This Area shouldbe construed broadly, and we seek papers that aren’t afraid to take risks. Proposals from Graduate Students areparticularly welcome, with award opportunities for the best graduate papers.

Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words withrelevant audio/visual requests by December 1, 2011, to http://conference2012.swtxpca.org. Panel proposals should include one abstractof 200 words describing the panel, accompanied by the underlying abstracts of250 words of the individual papers that comprise the panel.

The Business of Dead Rappers

While it is understood that death typically stalls a career, some artists have been able to not only live beyond their untimely deaths, but also extend their popularity. Two icons, Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, are such examples. Having been murdered when they were at the top of the hip-hop game, both continue to live on as icons. Both artists have released posthumous albums. One of Biggie’s albums, “Ready to Die,” released fifteen days after his 1997 death, sold more than 10 million copies by 2000. Tupac's management has released nine records since his death, almost double the five he released when he was alive.

Just as fans have allowed the Beatles or Elvis Presley to live on, it is no different in the hip-hop world. Both Tupac and "Big" captivated their followers. From Tupac's flow about the struggles of being a young black man in America to Biggie revitalizing New York hip-hop and bringing rap back to life on the East Coast, both artists continue to be culturally significant to many people. They spoke to the masses; their music impacted the world.

The legal and business implications that accompany posthumous success are numerous and complex. Managing the legacies of Elvis Presley and John Lennon have proven difficult, but lucrative. The same will likely be true of hip hop giants Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac.

Wiz Khalifa at the Forefront of Rap's Internet Democracy

Social media has dramatically changed the hip hop game. The record label model has been on life support for several years now, and the technological advances of ProTools and social media have not only made the hip hop genre more accessible but is changing the music industry in radical ways. Take Wiz Khalifa as an example. Born in North Dakota; Lived in Europe as a child; Wears skinny jeans; Became best friends with a goofy white guy; Is generally positive in outlook; and is now a hip hop superstar. How did this happen? Wiz Khalifa is a master of social media sites on the Web. Rappers, like the oddball Khalifa, are using Twitter, YouTube, and MySpace in order to generate an enormous following, and then are taking their music and following to the record labels with a leveraged position heretofore unknown.

When these rappers (and other musicians) finally sign with a record label, their fans are already locked in. Curren$y has a virtual community that follows him. Lil B drops dozens of songs and videos on MySpace. Khalifa’s hit song, Black and Yellow, is used as a rallying cry for the Pittsburgh Steelers (and any sports team with similar colors). In particular, Khalifa’s scheduled performances are a testament to the power of the viral world. When rappers combine their talents with the internet, it is easy to understanding how the internet is democratizing rap.

Mia Moody on hip-hop and the "Independent Woman"

Mia Moody has published, "A rhetorical analysis of the meaning of the "independent woman" in the lyrics and videos of male and female rappers" in the 13.1 American Communication Journal 43-58 (Spring 2011). It's worth a read for those interested in hip-hop and feminism.

The abstract is here:

Using the concept of intersectionality, this rhetorical analysis combines feminist and critical cultural theories to explore the meanings of the ―independent woman‖ in the lyrics and respective videos of male and female rappers. Findings indicate both groups use misogynistic language to describe women and juxtapose images of independence with material wealth. However, male rappers are more likely to include messages of beautiful, overachieving women paired with average men while female rappers focus on their own sexual prowess. Also worth noting is while male rappers highlight domestic skills such as cooking and cleaning, female rappers do not mention them at all. Based on viewer feedback, it appears very few viewers explore the true meaning of independence and relationships. This study is of significance because rap music is a large part of popular culture that scholars must continuously analyze for new messages and meanings.

Giving away music: A Copyright Conundrum

An interesting article recently appeared in Toronto's Globe and Mail, asking an important question: Who really "owns" them [popular music]? The article makes note of several artists claiming to give away the rights to their music, but this seems to be quite the copyright conundrum.

There are no doubt legal issues at play as music artists are under all sorts of contractual language with respect to the rights to their songs. The ownership of music usually involves a number of players from artists to record companies to the song writers that pen our favorites. I'm not an expert on copyright law, so I'll leave the discussion up to those that are.

This article also includes significant coverage of Somali-Canadian hip-hop star K'naan who has made quite a name for himself for his thought-provoking repertoire.

(Photo courtesy of the Globe and Mail)

-- Nick J. Sciullo

Dayvon Love, Baltimore City Council candidate for the 8th District, Talks Hip-Hop, Social Justice, and His Candidacy with Nick J. Sciullo

Council District 8 in Baltimore City just may have a new look. Dayvon Love, a soon to be Towson University graduate and championship debater, is running for the seat. He is the youngest candidate on the slate and HipHopLaw.com decided to sit down with him and ask him about what it means to be young, Black and taking his first dip in the electoral pool. Nick J. Sciullo sat down with him and posed a few questions to Mr. Love. The questions and his responses follow:

NJS: Many folks will be talking about how young you are. The average candidate for public office isn’t in their 20’s, but you’re taking this monumental step in a city you call home. What do you think the advantages of being a young candidate are?

DL: There are two major advantages I have as a young person running for office. The first is that I have not been pigeonholed into a particular clique or group. I am the new kid on the block in many ways and I get to create the image I want to portray without having to wrestle with a lot of excess baggage. The second advantage I have is that I have a strong appeal to those who are young and who are tired of the status quo. My youth brings a substantive youth presence to Baltimore politics that is severely lacking now.

NJS: You’re a founding member of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS), a Baltimore-based activist group that has been active engaging the political system and asking hard questions of leaders and community members. Until your candidacy, LBS has functioned outside of the political establishment. Why do you feel it’s necessary to fight the system from within?

DL: LBS understands that we need to use every tactic at our disposal in order to effectively address the oppression and suffering of the people of Baltimore. We are focused on developing a fusion of grassroots activism and electoral politics in a way that is not being deployed in this city. Running for office is a natural extension of our focus on public policy and social justice.

NJS: HipHopLaw.com is about engaging the many intersections between the law and all that is hip-hop. As someone who came into hip-hop at the tale end of the hip-hop generation, a generation roughly characterized as those born between the mid-1960’s and the mid-1980’s, what does hip-hop mean to you and how will hip-hop’s influence benefit you and your candidacy?

DL: Hip Hop is an organic expression of the social, political, psychological and existential aspects of subaltern voices. Born out of the womb of Black life during a time of extreme misery brought on by Reaganomics, Hip Hop provides an ear to the lives and the collective consciousness of those who are traditionally excluded by the power structure in Baltimore. Being a person of the Hip Hop generation many of the issues I will address are an outgrowth of the many concerns expressed in Hip Hop.

NJS: Most urban environments are characterized by tense relationships between law enforcement and minority communities. Hip-hop has made much of this tension. Baltimore, like most cities, is not immune from such difficulties. What can you do to help resolve these tensions?

DL: We need a new paradigm of law enforcement that makes substantive community engagement a necessity for those interested in a career in law enforcement. This means that people in uniforms are not merely patrolling their communities, but are involved in other aspects of community life. A policy that demands substantive community engagement of officers with the community would be a policy I would advocate for as a city councilman.

NJS: Debate is a tremendous activity that demands excellent public speaking skills, research skills, and teamwork. Your alma mater, Towson University, is the only intercollegiate policy debate team in Baltimore and one of only two colleges in Maryland, the other being the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. What has debate taught you that will help you work with your potential councilmembers?

DL: Debate has given me skills to rigorously test issues of public policy in a way that no other activity can. It has given me a critical perspective that has a deep intellectual backing. This allows me to be an independent-thinking city councilmember who can exercise leadership on important issues. Debate has also taught me how to effectively refute arguments in a way that is persuasive. Those currently in power provide arguments with a lack of soundness, and debate gives me a unique opportunity to use the skills I’ve learned to challenge councilmembers who are defenders of the status quo.

NJS: What are your policy priorities? Education, crime, access to social services, and (re)development are all issues in Baltimore. What do you plan to do about these issues?

DL: The major issues I want to address are education, criminal and juvenile justice, economic development, housing, and youth development.

On education, I want to focus on 4 major areas:

a) Increased access to Vocation/Industrial education and IT training-

This will allow young people in Baltimore who are not interested in going to college to have real alternatives. Vocational/Industrial education has been mostly abandoned by public schools. Re-integrating this into the education system will allow for young people to have skills that can help them make a living. Also with the rise of Information Technology, there is a huge market for people with skills in this area, and these skills do not require comprehensive academic training. This can provide employment opportunities for many young people in Baltimore who are finding it hard to find employment.

b) Mentorship-

Mentoring needs to be institutionalized into the school system. This is a very basic concept, but also very important.

c) Social Justice-

It should be required that students engage issues of social justice. With so many injustices that confront them everyday, it is a crime not to teach students about the injustices that they see in their own lives.

d) Entrepreneurship-

There is an entrepreneurial spirit amongst the young people in this city, but they are not given the formal skills to start businesses. Schools should provide the opportunity for youth to development businesses so they can be participants in the economic activity of Baltimore.

NJS: And now for a few questions that might be of more direct interest to our readers… Favorite hip-hop artist and album?

DL: Hard question. My answer to this question changes all the time. Right now, it would be Common and his album Like Water for Chocolate.

NJS: What blogs do read regularly?

DL: I don’t read blogs regularly (NJS: Except for HipHopLaw.com of course!).

NJS: Is hip-hop political? If so, how can communities harness this energy?

DL: Hip Hop is political because of it’s ability to capture the attention of the masses. We need the Hip Hop community to take the power that they have and use it to support political candidates that will represent the people in the Hip Hop community.

NJS: Thanks for the time, Dayvon. It's great to see young people taking the opportunity to positively affect their communities and who are willing to advocate for change. Best of luck.

Roots and Reality Check, Part 2: Is “Conscious” Hip-Hop On the Next?

I might've failed to mention that the chick was creative

But once the man got to her, he altered the native
Told her if she got an image and a gimmick
That she could make money, and she did it like a dummy
Now I see her in commercials, she's universal
She used to only swing it with the inner-city circle
Now she be in the burbs lookin' rock and dressin' hip
And on some dumb shit, when she comes to the city
Talkin about poppin glocks, servin rocks, and hittin switches
Now she's a gangsta rollin with gangsta bitches
Always smokin blunts and gettin drunk
Tellin me sad stories, now she only fucks with the funk
Stressin how hardcore and real she is
She was really the realest, before she got into show-biz

-- Common, “I Used to L.O.V.E. Her”

This entry is a follow-up to Roots and Reality Check Part 1: Nuthin’ is Free, which was a reaction to a hot back-and-forth on the topic of free speech and hip hop at American University Washington College of Law’s Roots and Reality II: Hip Hop, Law, and Social Justice Organizing conference held in April.

Another provocative topic that emerged during the final roundtable, entitled “On the Next: Hip Hop in the Grassroots,” was the question of whether “conscious” or politically-engaged hip hop could be commercially viable? And if so, should it be?

I think that the conventional wisdom is a flat “no.” Typically two reasons are given for this, which were expressed by one panelist, Jemar Daniels (J.D., original co-organizer of Roots II). The first reason is the belief that politics won’t sell. After all, who wants to hear about revolution when they can bounce to a repetitive dance track? The other reason often espoused by local conscious artists, like artist and panelist, Head Roc, is that hip hop produced for mass consumption inherently compromises a political message. Interestingly, these are the same reasons that industry folks put out to justify the current sad state of most popular hip-hop, and maintain the status quo of video-vixened, auto-tuned up music.

But, are these reasons true? Another panelist, Mazi Mutafa, founder of Words Beats and Life, Inc., flipped these ideas on their head, by droppin’ science of his own: because some conscious hip hop does sell (take a look at some of Jay-Z’s, Kayne’s, and Common’s music) why do we give life to a myth that no conscious hip hop can’t be commercial? (Head-nodding.)

Mazi’s got a point. Some hip-hop with conscious elements can and do blow-up. Regardless of what you think about Kayne, his body of work from College Dropout’s “Jesus Walks” to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s “All of the Lights,” contains politicalized themes about perseverance, violence, and power. These tracks are not Dead Prez’s “Hip Hop,” or even Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” but they are critical and complicated in ways much of popular radio hip-hop is not. But they are more like Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie,” which is analytically rich, among other things.

There’s a lot more to say on this subject, but I think it breaks down to this: explicitly political hip hop may not sell platinum because the politics may scare some listeners or may rhyme in a language unfamiliar to others, but this gap can be bridged, ‘cause we know that politicized hip hop music can sell if industry execs, artist power-houses, or savvy producers give life to it.

And maybe if hip-hop lovers are willing to expand their ideas of what’s political and “conscious,” we may be surprised by the reception to the message. I want us to find a way to defy the conventional wisdom because hip hop politics have got to become popular—as a way to resist the crushing political forces, like mass incarceration, which threaten the communities where hip-hop calls home. I can’t be down with sellin’ out, but I can be down with transforming what’s “out” there.

-- Richael Faithful

Law Reviews and Hip-Hop; Thoughts on Placing Your Article

A 05/10/11 LexisNexis search with no date restrictions on journals with the most articles containing the word “hip-hop” produced some interesting results. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (24) is by far in the lead, but the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law (18), Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal (15), UC-Davis Law Review (15), Howard Law Journal (12), and UCLA Entertainment Law Review (12) round out a strong top 6.

Here we see 3 of the Top 10 Arts, Entertainment and Sports Law journals according to the W&L law review rankings. Not bad it would seem for an area that is relatively new to the legal academy.

The next 5 are also a strong group of journals: Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts (11), DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law (10), Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal (10), Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal (10), and New York University Law Review (10).

Here again are another 4 articles in the Top 16 Arts, Entertainment and Sports Law journals. 7 of the Top 16 of these specialty journals have published 10 or more articles that at least mention “hip-hop.”

Several journals had 9 articles (Cardozo Law Review & de novo and Michigan Journal of Race & Law). Several came in with 8 (Berkeley Technology law Journal, California Law Review & The Circuit, DePaul Law Review, and Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology). Strong showings at 7 as well (American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law, Michigan Law Review, and Stanford Law Review).

For the sake of space I only included those journals with 6 (Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review, New York University Review of Law & Social Change, Southern California Law Review, Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, and Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal) and 5 articles (Asian Law Journal, Boston University Law Review, Indiana Law Journal & Supplement, Iowa Law Review, Kentucky Law Journal, Law & Society Review, Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law, Tulane Law Review, University of Colorado Law Review, University of Pittsburgh Law Review, University of Richmond Law Review, Villanova Sports & Entertainment Law Journal, Washington & Lee Law Review, and The Yale Law Journal). There are many more journals with fewer articles, but they’d be too cumbersome to mention.

The above list also includes 3 of the Top 8 journals in Minority, Race and Ethnic Issues according to W&L rankings.

Those journals that feature “hip-hop” in the title are much fewer in number. The Michigan Journal of Race & Law and UCLA Entertainment Law Review lead the way with 2 articles each. The 13 other journals that feature an article with “hip-hop” in the title are Michigan Law Review, National Black Law Journal, North Carolina Law Review, Oklahoma City University Law Review, Rutgers Race and the Law Review, Santa Clara Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law, University of Louisville Law Review, Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, and Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal.

A reasonable question for scholars hoping to place their hip-hop article is, “Will I be able to place my article at a reputable journal?” A good question! The evidence looks rewarding. Not only do hip-hop articles place frequently in the highest specialty journals, they also place in perhaps some unexpectedly strong General Law reviews. Looking at those reviews that have published more than 5 articles and again using the W&L General U.S. Law Review list… Articles that contain “hip-hop” appear in the journals ranked 3, 4, 5, 9, 22, 23, 24, and 29. I obviously didn’t go through the whole list, but these are not bad numbers.

Articles that featured “hip-hop” in the title faired well too. They placed in General Law reviews at 4, 9, 24, 75, 101, and 187. Again, not too bad. They also placed in the Arts, Entertainment and Sports Law journals at positions 6, 9, and 12 for those specialty journals.

-- Nick J. Sciullo

Placing your hip-hop scholarship

It occurred to me that there really isn't a list of journals that publish on hip-hop. While, law reviews are increasingly embracing hip-hop as part of the larger critical race theory dialogue, there are also other journals that are actively soliciting hip-hop contributions. I've listed them below, in no particular order. I will follow up this post with some thoughts on law reviews and hip-hop scholarship.

Words. Beats. Life.

http://www.wblinc.org/the-global-journal-of-hip-hop-culture/

Publisher: Words Beats & Life Inc.

Citation: APA

Length: 5,000 for research articles, shorter for other forms

Publication frequency: 2 editions per year

Submission email: submissions@wblic.org

The Journal of African American History

http://www.jaah.org/

Publisher: Association for the Study of African American Life and History

Citation: Chicago Manual of Style

Length: 35 page maximum

Publication frequency: 4 editions per year

Submission email: Hard copy only, in triplicate

Popular Music and Society

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/rpms

Publisher: Routledge

Citation: Will review APA, Chicago/Turabian, and MLA; MLA for publication

Length: 4,000-10,000 words

Publication frequency: 5 editions per year

Submission email: TMOGCB1@wpo.cso.niu.edu

American Music

http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/am.html

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Citation: Chicago Manual of Style

Length: 25-50 pages

Publication frequency: 4 editions per year

Submission email: nlearner@davidson.edu

Journal of Popular Music Studies

http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1524-2226

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell/International Association for the Study of Popular Music

Citation: Chicago Manual of Style

Length: 5,000-7,500 words

Publication frequency: 4 editions per year

Submission email: submissions@thejpms.net

Popular Music

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=PMU

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Citation: Specified in author guidelines

Length: 10,000 word maximum

Publication frequency: 1 per year

Submission email: cos01kn@gold.ac.uk

Ethnomusicology

http://www.jaah.org/

Publisher: University of Illinois Press/Society for Ethnomusicology

Citation: Chicago Manual of Style

Length: 10,000 word maximum

Publication frequency: 3 editions per year

Submission email: ethnomusicology@umd.edu

Callaloo

http://callaloo.tamu.edu/

Publisher: Texas A&M University

Citation: MLA

Length: 10,000 word maximum

Publication frequency: 4 times per year

Submission email: http://callaloo.expressacademic.org/login.php

Journal of Black Studies

http://jbs.sagepub.com/

Publisher: Sage

Citation: APA

Length: 25 page maximum

Publication frequency: 6 times per year

Submission email: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jbs

-- Nick J. Sciullo

The Bar Exam

Artist: Common

Track: Gladiator

Album: Universal Mind Control

Verse 1:

I was told by a wise old to come from the heart
Though I might've did The Light, I don't run from the dark
The dark knight to spark mics, and start fights
The warrior archetype like Kimbo Slice
It's strength in the beard, am I loved or feared
A beast amongst boys like Paul I'm Revere'd
Vroof, vroof vroof vroof vroof vroof vroof well
Like Jacob Jewel, I keep clientele
You frail on the mic like you might break a nail
I might smoke a joint but I won't take the L
I knew a fat girl who broke the scale
Still touched down cause I was off Artell
Had dreams of breaking Mike Vick out of jail
Took the underground rail to the NFL
I rebel, NYSL
Here to leave a trail like Nelson Mandela

They say he's a radical, he don't fit the game
A heart full of glory and a fist of pain
A couple of battle scars but shit's the same
Are you not entertained
So all the onlookers and the bystanders
Wait til intermission, run buy your camera
Record the moment, cause it'll be platinum
And you could say you seen Common rock the stadium

My words is the sword, my skill is the shield
My life is the style I stay dressed to kill
A legend like Will Smith with the steel
I could save the world when shit get for real
Skinny George Foreman, all in your grill
My rhyme style is blind, it's all in the feel
Touch it and watch the blood fall when it's real
The weak raps you wrote you could call that your will
My drive VROOM is how I stay the livest
Your guys got you gassed, my flow is a hybrid
Crashed I survived it, gashes over eyelids
You easy to take out cause you hot garbage
I'm amped like wattage, the truth nigga honest
Any moment opponents drop out like college
Kneel and pay homage to the rap Ziggy Stardust
Stadium hands in the air, fists balled up

Roots & Reality Check, Part 1: Nuthin’ is Free

All I need is one mic... yeah, yeah yeah yeah

All I need is one mic... that's all I ever needed in this world, fuck cash


All I need is one mic... fuck the cars, the jewelry


All I need is one mic... to spread my voice to the whole world

-- Nas, One Mic

On April 13, American University Washington College of Law (WCL) sponsored Roots and Reality II: Hip Hop, Law, and Social Justice Organizing. RRII is the second installment of the Roots and Reality Social Justice Project—a collective of activists, lawyers, artists, and others committed to public interest law, and the “public” they serve—envisioned and co-organized by hiphoplaw.com contributor, Professor Pamela Bridgewater. I was humbled to serve as a student co-organizer for the event this year.

RRII turned out to be a dope event, featuring hiphoplaw.com co-founders, andré douglas pond cummings and Nick J. Sciullo, among other leading legal minds, activists, artists, and young people, who shared the space in community and conversation for two days. This post is first of two RRII afterthoughts prompted from the event.

Our first roundtable, Law(lessness), (In)Justice and Legacy of Hip Hop Music and Culture, centered on a “hot” question, “which degrees of free speech does the law guarantee for artists and activists resisting the powers that be?” You can watch the impassioned exchange between Rosa Clemente (activist, former Green Party VP candidate) and Mora Namdar (activist, WCL third-year student) where Mora explains her view that dissident speech is better protected in the US (than in Iran), and where Rosa fiercely challenges her. It was sort of like a freestyle battle, but rather with a spit-beat, it pulsed on a heart-beat.

I felt an unfolding of reactions as I watched it live, but in hindsight, I settled on some perspective: Mora is a law student, artist, and activist; she was threatened with arrest for her paintings in the US while in college; and who is engaged with artists/activists in Iran (the homeland of her parents who left after the Iranian Revolution). These Iranian activists’ messages are violently silenced by the state (from sudden disappearances to street murders) forcing them to use technology and the underground. Rosa is a PhD student, hip hop artist, and activist; a native New Yorker who is well-known for her radical organizing and writing; and who like many people faced military intimidation while bearing witness to Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. The resistance of radical activists’ with whom she engages has been targeted by the state through overt and covert police action (from warrantless wiretaps to the FBI’s COINTELPRO programs).

Both activists described self-proclaimed democracies which have a history of violent suppression of dissident speech, often squash meaningful legal interventions, and especially don’t want to hear criticism from strugglin’ folk through hip hop. So although Rosa and Mora disagreed on the degree of speech guarantees, as the audience member who commented at the end, neither approximates free speech—both regimes circumvent their own laws for “national” interests. All in all—whether it is the savage terrorist violence oppressing Iran’s Green Wave or brutal police assassination of young vocal leaders, such Fred Hampton in Chicago—it’s insidious, inhumane stuff.

Breaking it down, in my mind, the crucial point from the back-and-forth was the reality that our role as lawyers and activists, here or elsewhere, is as effective as our ability to work as creative resistors to hypocritical systems. Where a constitutional claim or protest might not reach, a hip hop track might move, even if the music is censored, or artist’s life destroyed. In that way, art forms like hip hop, is a freedom that no law can ever guarantee, but no law can ever fully contain.

-- Richael Faithful