The Bar Exam

Artist: Immortal Technique
Track: The Poverty of Philosophy
Album: Revolutionary, Vol. 1

Most of my Latino and Black people who are struggling to get food, clothes and shelter in the hood are so concerned with that, that philosophizing about freedom and socialist democracy is usually unfortunately beyond their rationale. They don't realize that America can't exist without separating them from their identity, because if we had some sense of who we really are, there's no way in hell we'd allow this country to push it's genocidal consensus on our homelands. This ignorance exists, but it can be destroyed.

Nigga talk about change and working within the system to achieve that. The problem with always being a conformist is that when you try to change the system from within, it's not you who changes the system; it's the system that will eventually change you. There is usually nothing wrong with compromise in a situation, but compromising yourself in a situation is another story completely, and I have seen this happen long enough in the few years that I've been alive to know that it's a serious problem. Latino America is a huge colony of countries whose presidents are cowards in the face of economic imperialism. You see, third world countries are rich places, abundant in resources, and many of these countries have the capacity to feed their starving people and the children we always see digging for food in trash on commercials. But plutocracies, in other words a government run by the rich such as this one and traditionally oppressive European states, force the third world into buying overpriced, unnecessary goods while exporting huge portions of their natural resources.

I'm quite sure that people will look upon my attitude and sentiments and look for hypocrisy and hatred in my words. My revolution is born out of love for my people, not hatred for others.

You see, most of Latinos are here because of the great inflation that was caused by American companies in Latin America. Aside from that, many are seeking a life away from the puppet democracies that were funded by the United States; places like El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Columbia, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Republica Dominicana, and not just Spanish-speaking countries either, but Haiti and Jamaica as well.

As different as we have been taught to look at each other by colonial society, we are in the same struggle and until we realize that, we'll be fighting for scraps from the table of a system that has kept us subservient instead of being self-determined. And that's why we have no control over when the embargo will stop in Cuba, or when the bombs will stop dropping in Vieques.

But you see, here in America the attitude that is fed to us is that outside of America there live lesser people. "Fuck them, let them fend for themselves." No, Fuck you, they are you. No matter how much you want to dye your hair blonde and put fake eyes in, or follow an anorexic standard of beauty, or no matter how many diamonds you buy from people who exploit your own brutally to get them, no matter what kind of car you drive or what kind of fancy clothes you put on, you will never be them. They're always gonna look at you as nothing but a little monkey. I'd rather be proud of what I am, rather than desperately trying to be something I'm really not, just to fit in. And whether we want to accept it or not, that's what this culture or lack of culture is feeding us.

I want a better life for my family and for my children, but it doesn't have to be at the expense of millions of lives in my homeland. We're given the idea that if we didn't have these people to exploit then America wouldn't be rich enough to let us have these little petty material things in our lives and basic standards of living. No, that's wrong. It's the business giants and the government officials who make all the real money. We have whatever they kick down to us. My enemy is not the average white man, it's not the kid down the block or the kids I see on the street; my enemy is the White man I don't see: the people in the white house, the corporate monopoly owners, fake liberal politicians those are my enemies. The generals of the armies that are mostly conservatives those are the real motherfuckers that I need to bring it to, not the poor, broke country-ass soldier that's too stupid to know shit about the way things are set up.

In fact, I have more in common with most working and middle-class White people than I do with most rich Black and Latino people. As much as racism bleeds America, we need to understand that classism is the real issue. Many of us are in the same boat and it's sinking, while these bougie motherfuckers ride on a luxury liner, and as long as we keep fighting over kicking people out of the little boat we're all in, we're gonna miss an opportunity to gain a better standard of living as a whole.

In other words, I don't want to escape the plantation I want to come back, free all my people, hang the motherfucker that kept me there and burn the house to the god damn ground. I want to take over the encomienda and give it back to the people who work the land.

You cannot change the past but you can make the future, and anyone who tells you different is a fucking lethargic devil. I don't look at a few token Latinos and black people in the public eye as some type of achievement for my people as a whole. Most of those successful individuals are sell-outs and house Negros.

But, I don't consider brothers a sell-out if they move out of the ghetto. Poverty has nothing to do with our people. It's not in our culture to be poor. That's only been the last 500 years of our history; look at the last 2000 years of our existence and what we brought to the world in terms of science, mathematics, agriculture and forms of government. You know the idea of a confederation of provinces where one federal government controls the states? The Europeans who came to this country stole that idea from the Iroquois lead. The idea of impeaching a ruler comes from an Aztec tradition. That's why Montezuma was stoned to death by his own people 'cause he represented the agenda of white Spaniards once he was captured, not the Aztec people who would become Mexicans.

So in conclusion, I'm not gonna vote for anybody just 'cause they Black or Latino they have to truly represent the community and represent what's good for all of us proletariat.
Porque sino entonces te mando por el carajo cabron gusano hijo de puta, seramos libre pronto, viva la revolucion, VIVA LA REVOLUCION!

Who Would Be Your First Five Selections for a Hip Hop Hall of Fame?

With its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this week, Run DMC joined Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five as the only hip hop groups to earn the distinction. The honor led many to call for the creation of a Hip Hop Hall of Fame to better recognize leading contributors to the genre. It also led us to ask ourselves: If a Hip Hop Hall of Fame were created today, who would be our first five inductees? HipHopLaw.com contributors andré douglas pond cummings, Nick J. Sciullo and Brian Welch list their nominees.

andré douglas pond cummings: The true pioneers in hip hop that should be recognized as the original creators of the movement are DJs Afrika Bambaatta and DJ Kool Herc. While I recognize the important contributions of Run DMC in taking hip hop nationwide and mainstream, if I were to select a top five that deserved induction into a Hall of Fame for making an influential and continuing contribution to the genre, I would have to select:

1) Chuck D and Public Enemy: In my view, Public Enemy seized the microphone in the late 1980s and blindsided America with political messages that resonated with urban youth and penetrated suburbia. "Fight the Power," "Don't Believe the Hype," "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" and "911 is a Joke" served up a genuine critique of U.S. politics that caused fear in the hearts of the traditional majority.

2) Tupac Shakur: Lyrically brilliant, confoundingly contradictory and ultimately fearless, Tupac Shakur became the first hip hop magnate. Movie star, hip hop artist and superstar. Mere mention of "Dear Mama," "All Eyes on Me" and California Love" amongst dozens of others immediately sets heads to nodding. He famously said "I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world."

3) KRS One and Boogie Down Productions: KRS One foresaw and believed that he could be a teacher to the masses. His messages following the death of Scott LaRock were ones designed to uplift the hip hop nation. "Edutainment" released in 1991 was a tour de force, including the unforgettable "Love's Gonna Getcha."

4) Ice Cube, Eazy E, Dr. Dre and N.W.A: When N.W.A. burst upon the scene in the late 1980s, the group was furiously criticized for promoting the "gangsta" lifestyle and image. While much of what N.W.A. rapped about was violent and misogynistic, the counter culture messages that described life in American ghettos was real and stark. "F**k the Police," "100 Miles and Runnin'," "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Straight Outta Compton" stunned America and caused the FBI and Tipper Gore to take
notice.

5) Ice-T: Perhaps the originator of "gangsta rap," Ice-T continued the tradition of narrative storytelling through his rhymes. "6 in the Morning" served notice and "Cop Killer" drew national outrage. Today, Ice-T playing a police officer on "Law and Order: SVU" raises the interesting question as to whether commodification of the genre impacts the counter culture messages that seemed so revolutionary twenty years ago.


Nick J. Sciullo: My list focuses on the underdogs as opposed to the obvious (Biggie, Common, KRS-One, Tupac, etc.) In no particular order and with some explanation:

1) Black Thought – The Roots front man has been a loud socially conscious presence for years. The fact that he does all this over a full musical ensemble is all that much more impressive.

2) Kool G Rap – Although often forgotten in discussions of 80’s hip hop and largely ignored in the gangsta rap discourse, Kool G Rap has been spittin’ fire for years. He put hardcore hip-hop on the map. For a more modern look at this artist, check out The Giancana Story.

3) Immortal Technique – If you didn’t think hard hip-hop and socially conscious, message-centered hip hop could coexist, then you haven’t listened to Immortal Technique. His delivery and lyrics combine to form a compelling political action.

4) Lord Have Mercy – This former member of Busta Rhymes' Flipmode squad has a delivery that is nothing but unique. He combines the power of DMX with the freestyle feel of Wu-Tang Clan. He’s made memorable appearances on Busta Rhymes tracks, especially on Busta’s first album The Coming, on Flipmode Squad’s The Imperial, and also on MOP’s Warriorz. If you haven’t listened, you should.

5) Wyclef Jean – I’m a Wyclef fan, but I don’t choose him because I’m a fan. Wyclef revolutionized hip-hop by including international rhythms in his music. He’s worked with international artists like Muzion, Celia Cruz, and Aadesh Shrivastava. He brought attention to the plight of Haiti and Haitian-Americans and delivered memorable songs like Gone ‘Til November, Slow Down, President, and Next Generation.


Brian Welch: In the interest of geographic diversity, and with a disclaimer of my relative youth (I wasn’t alive when Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released “The Message”), I present my five nominees:

1) Run DMC: Okay, so their spot in the Hall is a given. But who brought hip hop to the fore more fully than DJ Run, DMC, and the late JamMaster Jay? I challenge you to find someone, anyone, who hasn’t heard of the trio from Hollis, Queens.

2) Ice Cube: In a toss up between Cube and Dre, I choose O’Shea. Sure, no album was more eye-opening than The Chronic, but the former N.W.A. catalyst turned breakout star wins on longevity. Mr. Jackson owned the 1990s with legendary albums (The Predator, Lethal Injection) and hit movies (Boyz n the Hood, Friday).

3) Jay-Z: Quick, name your favorite Jay-Z tracks. If you’re still counting five minutes from now, you’re not alone. His catalog is ridiculous. His business acumen is unsurpassed in the music industry. What other rapper could announce a joint partnership with perfume manufacturer Elizabeth Arden and not lose a drop of credibility?

4) The Roots: Can I offer an opinion? Black Thought is the best rapper alive. Listen to his angst and paranoia on the Bush-era magnum opus “Game Theory”. Listen to him combine seething criticism and unbridled optimism on the lost-on-some “Rising Down”. And is there a better drummer than ?uestlove? No group puts together more complete albums, from the first track to the last.

5) OutKast: I’ll admit, their last two albums were awful. But damn, were their first four albums not the sickest syntheses of sounds you’ve ever heard? They put Atlanta, and the entire South, on the hip hop map.

Who would be your first five?

The Bar Exam

Artist: Immortal Technique
Track: Harlem Streets
Album: Revolutionary, Vol. 2...

Yeah... Harlem streets stay flooded in white powder
Like those mother fuckers runnin' away from the twin towers
Gun shots rock the earth like a meteor shower
Bowling For Columbine, fear, giving the media power
Innocence devoured like a chicken spot snack box
Government cocaine cooked into ghetto crack rocks
Corrupt cops false testimony at your arraignment
Check to check, constant struggle to make the payments
Working your whole life wondering where the day went
The subway stays packed like a multi-cultural slave ship
It's rush hour, 2:30 to 8, non stoppin'
And people coming home after corporate share croppin'
And fuck flossin', mothers are trying to feed children
But gentrification is kicking them out of their building
A generation of babies born without health care
Families homeless, thrown the fuck off of the welfare