Hip Hop and Resistance in Ferguson

"The critique of hip hop should not come as a surprise. While we are used to it coming from right wing conservative factions and many times while we understand that criticisms aimed at hip come from blacks steeped in politics of respectability, these critiques came from within the hip hop community itself. I argue that this in and of itself is not a bad thing because in order to hold the community accountable for its own actions or inactions, one must hold each other compassionate accountability.

However, I also maintain that criticizing hip hop is also a default position for many of us in society–that to blame hip hop for action or in action, for good, bad, or anything in between; to blame hip hop for just existing at times, is the problem. It negates the need to further analyze and see issues and problems that go way beyond the surface. Moreover, as exemplified here, it also negates what hip hop did and continues to do in Ferguson and beyond."

read full article here at Rhetoric, Race & Religion