The Northern Light

Renowned hip-hop author Bakari Kitwana will give a talk on hip-hop and the Constitution during UAA's annual observation of Constitution Day, Sept. 18. The talk will take place in the Student Union Den at 7:30 p.m.

Kitwana's talk will be the first in a series of lectures scheduled over the coming months. Other presentations will include Saul Williams and Jonathan Kozol, also notable hip-hop writers.

Mike McCormick, UAA's Student Activities Coordinator, booked Kitwana to give the Constitution Day lecture.

"He's very political, and I thought it'd be interesting if he'd be willing to talk about politics of the hip-hop generation, hip-hop music and hip-hop culture in general, as it relates to the Constitution," McCormick said. "It will make the Constitution more alive and bring some relevance to someone who might come in."

Kitwana said, "Growing up as a young black male in New York in the '80s, I witnessed people's constitutional rights violated on a daily basis by the War on Drugs. I'm concerned about the implications for people's rights being violated by some of the provisions of the Patriot Act and the War on Terror."

Kitwana also said that questions of freedom of speech have been raised by hip-hop throughout its history.

Hip-hop has grown beyond the four elements €" graffiti, break-dancing, rapping and DJ-ing €" that early early hip-hop pioneers like Afrika Bambata used to define it, Kitwana said.

"I think the commercialization of rap music expanded that definition." Kitwana said. "So hip-hop culture now includes many more other components. It includes a style of dress, body language, verbal language, fashion companies and designers."

Faye Sikora, a local spoken word artist, identifies with what Kitwana refers to as the "hip-hop generation."

"Hip-hop was not a replication of anything," Sikora said. "Before they put the labels on it, it was just what we did. The hip-hop generation was really innovative, whereas now they use sample drumbeats."

Kitwana is the author of "The Hip Hop Generation" and "Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop," and is the former editor of Vibe magazine. But he recognizes that America's youth are sometimes hesitant to read.

"I think as a society, we're moving away from reading as a primary means of information gathering, in terms of books," said Kitwana. "I just think we're in an information age when we're oversaturated with meaningless information."

Sikora said hip-hop could be a powerful means of changing American society, if only people would recognize its power.

"I don't think black Americans in general think about the politics of hip-hop. I don't think they realize the power of hip-hop; otherwise they'd do more with it," Sikora said.

Kitwana reaches out for others to use their right to vote through the National Hip-Hop Political Convention, which he co-founded.

"I hope we can use the power and influence of hip-hop to change the country and move the country in a more constructive and positive direction, where young people feel their voices matter, and where the quality of life for Americans across race and class is clearly moving in a much better direction," Kitwana said.

Kitwana also said he thinks youth tend to be under-involved in politics and voting because political leaders don't address the things that are relevant to young people.

"We don't have issues on the table that young people are concerned with €" that's affecting their daily lives immediately. If we're going to engage young people in politics, we have to engage them from the standpoint of issues that matter to them."

Article Tools