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Tribute to Hip-Hop, 50 years

I miss NYC for occasions like the 50th Anniversary of HipHop, because “I am Hip-Hop.” 8/11/2023 50 years of Hip-Hop music revolutionizing music, society and cultures, globally.

I would have been in the mix celebrating this beautiful art form birthed, like the lotus in the the swamp, from obstruction and adversities. Hip Hop music came from the voices of the pain and disdain of a marginalized and oppressed underclass to become a global cultural phenomenon. But, Hip Hop is more than music, it is embodied in the spirit and the soul of our generation. It awakened and enlightened us to possibilities that the status quo could not have envisioned for us. It is the social commentary of our childhood; voices that outed the status quo, refused to be unheard and silenced, demanded inclusion, equality and equity on our terms. This is the Hip-Hop music, birthed in the Streets, apartments, parks of New York City, that caught the world in its grips and revolutionized the industry of music and the status quo as we know it.

With influences in #Jamaica #jamaicanmusic and the indomitable Jamaican spirit, when Hip-Hop pioneer, DJ Kool Herc migrated from Jamaica, he imported to the USA, a unique sound embedded in his Jamaican DNA, that is definitely founded in Jamaican Street Dances, (Dances in the street), Sound Systems, DJ battles and Clashes, that are still prevalent in Jamaica today. Herc brought with him to the USA, the voices. music, and the indomitable spirit of the marginalized, uuderserved underclass in Jamaica, and the rest the say is history.

I love KRS1 and all the forward thinking soldiers, including pioneers, like Curtis Blow, and others who are essentially the archivists of this social, political, economic, musical and educational history and movement. I am grateful for their activism as pioneers and creators, in preserving and protecting this, our generationally created artistic and culturally significant musical art form, and the global influence and impact it continues to have this past half a century, and ongoingly, for another half a century and more.

We continue to live and dream Hip-Hop in our unique expressions, for in so doing, we are organically a part of the revolution and evolution of this expressive outlet created from the pain and rejection of being black, brown and immigrant in New York City in the 80’s and 80’s, positively expressed through the voices of the formerly and presently unheard, oppressed and misunderstood.

From street music, boom boxes, loud speakers, tecnnics turntables, park battles, creative beats, scratching and rapping, originally perceived as noise and deviance, to the universally accepted, much appropriated, monetized and exploited, phenomenal musical art form that became the global culture of generations past, present and continuing. “Who knew Hip-Hop would come this far?” Hip-Hop is a sociological, anthropological,and ethnomusicological testament of our time. “I am Hip-Hop.”

Cheers to many more lifetimes of old school, new school and future schools of Hip-Hop. “Don’t sweat the technique.” Happy 50th HIP-HOP, here’s to the next 50 years, to infinity and beyond. #hiphop #hiphopmusic #hiphop50thanniversary #hiphopculture

Published by: Local Lives, Global Voices

I, Chandra Young, ‘the moon that outshines the stars, was born in Kingston Jamaica to an Indian Father whose family migrated from India, and a mulatto mother, whose family, paternally and maternally, trace their history on the island to the 17th century sale of slaves, and slaves themselves. We migrated to the United States while I was a youngster. I later went on to graduate from The City College of New York, with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science; then Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, with a Jurisdoctor degree; and I am currently on hiatus from my doctoral studies in Law and Policy at Northeastern University. After graduating from law school, I successfully sat for both the Florida and New York Bars, and worked in both the Private and Public Sectors. Simultaneously, my role as mother and my passion for education pushed me into Academia, where I have lectured at colleges in the areas of Political Science, History, Business Law, Sociology, Pluralism and Diversity, Critical Thinking, Critical Academic Reading and English Composition. In these capacities, I have mentored inner city/urban college students, and have also served as Guardian Ad Litem to the Seminole County Courts, where I advocated on behalf of children of families in crisis. Being a scholar of Political Science in my collegiate years, I contributed my talents and passions towards championing of the rights of my fellow students, many of whom, like myself, were of Immigrant families. I was instrumental in a student movement that spearheaded a University-wide student boycott protesting tuition hikes in the City University system. The successful protest led to the shutdown of all the University’s colleges in every Borough, and got the attention of the media and politicians of the day. The result of the successful protest was a halt of any tuition increase for several fiscal terms. Today, the City University and State University systems are free to families earning less that $125,000.00, which include most urban, inner-city and immigrant students. While at City College, I was selected as a student ambassador contestant in the Ms. Jamaica-USA pageant, sponsored by the Jamaica Progressive League and the Honorable Una Clarke, the first Caribbean and Jamaican born woman to be elected to the legislature of the City of New York, and mother of United States Congresswoman Yvette Clark. A diligent advocate of affordable housing for New Yorkers, I was committed to the mission of realizing the American dream of home ownership for New Yorkers and I am the recipient of a Proclamation by the City Council of the City of New York, for my efforts in that regard. My dedication to the City of New York and immigrant communities, particularly those of Caribbean heritage, have been unwavering, and I was presented with the Marcus Garvey Award of Recognition by the New York based Jamaica National Movement, for service to Jamaicans and Caribbean people in the City of New York. I continued my passion of being a part of a mission to champion the rights of underprivileged and underrepresented persons in my recent milestone, the United States Peace Corps, where I dedicated 18 months of my life, away from home and family, to the people of Jamaica, as a Literacy Adviser and Community Developer. I am the mother of two children, a writer, blogger and poet. I always loved writing. As a child, I remember finding privacy and solace to write in my garage, where I could hide the written pages amongst the plethora of books our family stored there. I began blogging on my Facebook page and was encouraged by friends who enjoyed by posts, to start a blog. I officially started this blog during my Peace Corps Service, but it is certainly not limited to my service. In fact, it represents an amalgamation of thoughts expressed and lived through the direct and vicarious experiences that being a global citizen can provide. This blog is my way of building a bridge that connects our local lives experienced in our specific localities, with the global voices that unites us in the similar experiences, concerns, pains, passions, etc that joins us together as human beings in spite of geography. You there.......Me here. We....together in one world....one humanity.

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