BME Universe: The Evolution of A Culture.
DJ Screw at Maestro’s studio in southwest Houston during the recording of his album 3 ’N the Mornin’, 1996.
DeMo Sherman. Courtesy of DeMo Sherman and University of Houston Libraries Special Collections
Hip-hop/Rap was born in the seventies and quickly became a way for youth without a voice to express themselves and communicate the things that were going on around them to include social issues.
The movement became more popular in inner cities and impoverished ares due to the ability it gave to those who otherwise had no voice or outlet to express to the world the things that were going unnoticed in their neighborhoods and cities.
As a new common ground for the youth that otherwise had no voice, underground communities of hip hop artists, MCs and fans began to develop with one this in common… music.
From house parties with a few friends to block parties that involved entire communities, hip-hop has served as an outlet for millions of around the world to express any and everything from social issues on a personal level to political issues affecting minorities world wide.
Looking back in time, the evolution of hiphop tells a story, a story of pain, a story of injustice, and everything good or bad alike.
The beauty of hip-hop is that the common issues that connected those involved created what we call “The Culture”. Within the culture there are unspoken rules that one can only learn to understand and appreciate through actually living the culture. These unspoken rules govern relationships, social gatherings, and almost everything else Hip-hop or culture. Having such a huge impact on the our youth the evolution of the culture is critical to the health and wellbeing of our communities. A direct reflection of the importance of this relationship can be seen in todays music scene in comparison to whats actually going on in communities around the world.
Understanding that moving forward, our youth will either benefit or suffer as a direct result of the current and future direction that the culture is going. To dive deeper into the importance of preserving the culture, compare todays youth, their actions, current climate in regards to violence and overall progression to that of the youth in the 70’s. Hip-hop music drives the culture, the culture guides the youth and the youth are our future. Understanding these relationships and the effects they have on our youth we have to take responsibility for the culture when it has taken a turn for the worse and correct the course for the sake of our children, our future.
From the inner cities on the East coast to the streets out West and everywhere in-between, the evolution of the culture is upon us and it up to us to take back control of the culture and save Hip-hop from becoming the opposite of what it started out to be.
Salutes to the DJ’s, labels, early MC’s and supporters that made the culture possible and may the odds ever be in favor of the new pioneers and leaders propelling the culture forward in a positive light.