August io. 2005______________________________________
ilï‘^ lo rtlan ò (© bseruer______ ________________________
Small City.
continued
P hoto by N icole H ooher /T he P ortland O bserver
Author Bakari Kitwana writes about the parallels between hip hop and the Civil
Rights movement in his book “Why White Kids Love Hip Hop. "
Why White Kids Love Hip Hop
continued
from Front
dent that rap has crossover appeal.
His opinions and theories are formed by
interviews with white hip-hop kids and by
documenting hip-hop for over 10 years.
One thing that Kitwana heard consis
tently from both white hip hop fans and
artists is that they had a fascination with
black culture early on in life that they
couldn'texplain.
In the movie Malibu’s Most Wanted,
comedian Jamie Kennedy played the lead
roleofa white suburban kid who thinks he’s
a black person named B-Rad. At a young
age his parents weren’t there for him, but
his black nanny was and turned him on to
hip-hop. B-Rad’s parents take him to a
psychiatrist as if something is wrong with
him because he identifies with black culture
and he isdiagnosed with "gangsterfrienia”.
To Kitwana, the story tells of the pro
found social implication of white kids lov
ing hip-hop. Since B-Rad’s parents’ aren’t
home, Yo! MTV Raps and Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air is how he learns life lessons.
“Culture used to be translated from
parent to child,” he said. "Now culture is
transm itted through telecom m unica
tions.”
In W hy W hite K id’s Love Hip Hop,
K itw ana discusses the ‘w ig g ers’ or
‘w ankstas,’ words that many would de
scribe the B-Rad character. Can white
kids’ really understand hip-hop or is it
just something they play to anger their
parents?
Kitwana believes that a line is crossed
when there isn’t a sincere appreciation for
the beginning of hip-hop.
“As a white kid in hip-hop you have a
responsibility to not only engage in hip-
hop as music but to look at the politics and
cultural stem of the music,” Kitwana said.
“You can’t just go to a concert, learn how
to break dance and go home.”
He believes hip-hop will go far when
rappers change what they are talking about
because it offends their white audiences.
As a journalist and author, Kitwana’s
work has been praised but also dissed.
“It bothers me when people misquote me
or belittle me. I think that we as a country
need a healthy conversation about race,”
he said.
Why White Kids Love Hip Hop chal
lenges the musical genre as a both cultural
movement and apolitical one to ensure that
what our parents fought for in the Civil
Rights era will not be forgotten.
In the
Neighborhood
Everyone wants to be into hip hop
because it's in. Other cultures
besides African-Americans are
trying to get on the bandwagon.
All of the sudden it’s cool. I don’t
like it and I take it personal.
Everyone is trying to steal rap.
-R a sh a d Salter
How has hip-hop
music influenced
society?
People are showing a lot
more skin, it’s more main
stream to sing about sex and
body parts. It’s made people
feel more comfortable with
sexuality and it’s okay to
have a bigger butt now.
--Erin Morgan
Diversity Works at
Big HiP H op
from Front
They’re still very humble and very hun
g ry ”
When musicians still have that hun
ger, Sokonisaid.it makes their music real.
“Hip hop is about talking about what’s
going on in the street and the things that
the everyday person goes through,” he
said. “You'll get that from an artist before
he blows up. You're going to get those
types of everyday struggles.”
Once an artist goes mainstream, he
said, those struggles begin to mean deal
ing with success, haters, and bling bling
- issues not everyone on the streets can
relate to anymore.
Considering Portland’s African Ameri
can community is slowly diminishing
(only making up 6 percent of the city’s
population in the year 2(XX)) there’s a
stark reality at the forefront of his hip-
hop messages.
“Portland is super, super w hite,”
Sokoni said. “Even though you have a
northeast Portland, you still have white
people everywhere on MLK (Martin
Luther King Jr. Bou
levard). What hap
pens in Portland is
kind of what hap
pens in a cafeteria at
a p re d o m in a te ly
white school - all the
black kids come to
school and sit at the
same table. The dynamics of not having
a huge black community is that you have
artists with different issues.”
Sokoni gives a voice to artists frus
trated by the mandatory sentences of
Measure 11, corrupt police officers and
multiracial relationships.
Another issue the music genre faces
is a generation gap between the civil
rights generation and the hip-hop gen
eration. Sokoni believes it’s due to lack
of communication.
“Hip hop has taken over the entire
PaseAS
photo by K atherine
B i ackmore
Opio Sokoni brings light to Portland's
hip hop community, a hub for impres
sive but undiscovered talent.
"It shows about how these people do
business. It shows some of the positive
things they deal with," Sokoni said. “You
get the young people at the same time
talking about how the adults don't under
stand. We bridge that gap.”
Sokoni’s primary hope for the film,
though, is simply to get the message out
that in the world o f hip hop, the Rose City
definitely shouldn’t be overlooked.
“I made it as a teaching tool for people
outside to see w hat’sgoing on. 1 like to say
I made this for the bootleggers. 1 just want
to get it out there,” Sokoni said. "When
the street cats pick it up, they can learn to
appreciate something intelligent. They’ll
begin to think about respect.”
Locally, it’s going to take collaboration
to put the city on the map with hip hop.
“The people here need to appreciated
what they have and really begin thinking
the unity that’s needed for a city to blow
up. Y ou’re not going to get any help
anywhere else unless you have your own
community,” Sokoni said.
Appearances in the film include com
munity members Turiya Autry, Kamari
Lohar-Singh, Bosko, Soul Plasma,
Libretto, U Krew,
L iq u id A n th ra x ,
R odeezy,
M ic
Crenshaw, DJ Chill,
Marlon McClain of
P leasu re, M aniac
Lok, Good Sista/Bad
— Opio Sokoni
Sista, Paul KnausSr.,
N z in g a S o k o n i,
Kevin Berry, Afrodijio, Elijah Hasan,
Walidah Imarisha, Rob Ingram, Stephen
Spyrit, W olverine, Monique Serrell and
Pastor W.G. Hardy.
“Small City, Big Hip Hop" will debut at
the Hollywood Theatre at 4122 N.E. Sandy
Blvd. on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m.
For more information or to reserve seat
ing, visit 503-493-1128 or 503-335-9305, or
visit hollywoodtheatre.org. Sokoni and
participants in the film will be available for
a question and answer period following
the screening.
It shows about how these people
do business. It shows some o f the
positive things they deal with.
world, but it did it the way a bastard would
do it - without a father. It did it without
learning from the adults. It's doing it the
way it wants to do it,” Sokoni said. “ Inside
the music, they talk too much about issues
that adults really can't support. The im
ages are so strong - always talking about
drug dealing, pimping, strip clubs - that
adults never really get to see too much of
the positive side.
“SmalI City, Big Hip Hop” is consciously
appropriate for all audiences, with no
strong language or foul content.
I think hip hop is a real
culture most of society
wants to be a part of it. I
think hip hop has taken over
everything like clothing and
cars; you can’t get away
from it.
—Rashaad Pitcher
It’s given an opportunity for young
black men like Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg
to open their own businesses that are
outside of rap. Businesses are now
catering to hip-hop music lovers.
—Linda Scott
It's music that for the first time gives people
who aren’t affluent a venue to get their point
across. It has influenced art with graffiti. It's
a chance for people to be political especially
those who have been kept from having a
voice. It’s great that everyone likes hip hop
and it has a collective voice.
--Jen Hackworth
Overall it’s just caused a
blending and this "anything
goes" mentality. It's sort o f like
a culture pastiche. Hip-hop has
made its way into every form of
art and pop culture and every
day conversation.
-N ic k Bruno