One Writer Wants The Hip-Hop Generation To Listen To <i>The Message</i>

Writer Felicia Pride has “spent the last year and a half of my life documenting the power in hip-hop ” and come up with “words of wisdom and motivational mantras” that she’s compiled into a book called The Message: 100 Life Lessons From Hip-Hop’s Greatest Songs, a sort of self-help skills exchange for the fat beats generation. So what are some of the “life lessons” we can expect?

“Friends” by Whodini

How many of us have them? I mean, really. How do we determine those closest to us and how do we feel when we realize that the number of people who truly support us may be a small, but vital group.

“God Made Me Funke” by Kool Moe Dee

We’re all given special gifts, but many of us are scared to utilize our blessings to their fullest potential.

“Be A Father to Your Child” by Ed O.G. and Da Bulldogs

Fathers have to step up to the plate. And those of us, like myself, who weren’t raised by our fathers, can’t continue to allow that fact to affect our relationships and our future.

My goal in writing THE MESSAGE was to use the tools from hip-hop culture to empower my generation. Hip-hop is the language of our youth. It’s a global culture. For those so quick to dismiss or give up on it, I extend the challenge for us to reclaim it’s power and use it for good in our communities. Why should we allow corporate interests/moneyhungryfools/ignorant media to define what hip-hop is, and allow that definition to be overwhelmingly negative?

So the Stop the Violence movement kicks off once again, Arrested Development reunites, and now The Message… it’s halfway to a trend! Okay, call me corny, but Pride’s appeal did speak to the side of me that was once comfortable/proud playing joints like PE’s “Revolutionary Generation” in front of my mom and sister and sundry other female relatives. (While having little in the way of explanation when asked about “Sophisticated Bitch.” It’s always been something of a…complicated genre.)

Don’t Believe The Hype: We Can Learn From Hip-Hop [Black Voices Blogs via Real Talk NY via Paper Thin Walls]