It's hard to stay positive in a world where a reality show character is now the president of the United States. African americans (it seems) are targeted by police officers, jobs in America get harder to find (let alone, keep), and a race war is and has always been lurking in the shadows of a nation where the hardest working men and women don't get their just due. The choices being made by our nation's leaders are an unfruitful attempt at masculinity, and more often than not make things worse than before. If our leaders and "example setters" are doing things like beating women, avoiding paying taxes, and even murdering, then who're the good guys? I try not to treat life like some sappy, self-righteous episode of The Brady Bunch, where we always pick the right thing to do and we're accepting of everybody, but you know the world is in a bad place when you look to a T.V. show for your morals. I've always been a firm believer in guidance, because sometimes when you get side tracked in life, you just need that one person in your life to get you back and chugging on the right track (choo choo I always say). Hip hop has always gotten a bad (w)rap (there's my corny metaphor for this article) because of it's glorification of guns, violence, drugs, and the "degradation" of women, but most recently the game is seeming more like a beam of light than the darkness we're used to seeing due to some of it's... heroes.
Chance The Rapper has pretty much rocked the world of rap in the last year or so, it'd almost be nonsense to say he wasn't hip hop's biggest star in 2016. With the release of Coloring Book, Chance made a genre that takes themselves too seriously fun and lighthearted again with a sense of humor and a voice that spoke for the voiceless. An endorsement with Kit Kat and having his song featured on an advertisement for the NBA were huge deals for the Chicago rapper, but the biggest show of Chance's character came early in 2017. In March of 2017, Chance had a meeting with Illinois governor Bruce Rauner to discuss the budget cuts that were taking place in Chicago's school systems. Unable to prevent the cuts, Chance took it upon himself and donated $1 million to Chicago's public schools "to support arts and enrich programming." I guess not all heroes wear capes... or jerseys.
J. Cole is another fellow do-gooder emcee. Despite the preconceived notions that Cole doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to activism and politics (at least, in some "fans" eyes), "Mr. Nice Watch" certainly does more than just brag about his watch and grow his hair out to look "rastafarian." During his 2014 Forest Hills Drive promo run, Cole stayed under the internet radar, but was far from inactive. Cole did things unheard of for an A-list rapper, such as show up randomly at fans' houses and hung out, direct messaged fans on Twitter about secret locations for free concerts, and he even went as far as renting out his former 2014 Forest Hills Drive house for single mothers with multiple children for free for an entire year. Helping the needy when they need it most; that's a hero in my book. Check out some of Cole's fans touring his old home in Fayetteville while listening to the "new-at-the-time" 2014 Forest Hills Drive, in the link to the documentary with the same title below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs0UAIAjcYk&t=5s
Kendrick Lamar's donations, though he may not want the attention, don't go unnoticed either. In December of 2013, Kendrick donated $50,000 to Compton's Centennial High School, which was eventually used for supplies to expand the school's musical program. With Compton being as infamous as it is for it's crime rate, it should be even more noted for the talented rappers it has produced ( the obvious ones like Kendrick, Dr. Dre and NWA, Game, Boogie and many more), and a hefty donation for Compton's musical program could mean up and coming kids finding more talent in themselves than they could have ever thought possible. Kendrick also starred in an ad for the release of To Pimp A Butterfly (which you can find the link for below this paragraph) which featured him and a young boy walking around the streets of Compton, and the lessons Kendrick looks to instill into the boy lie in the title; "Hard Work." With short little PSA's like this, Kendrick is another shining example of positivity and teaching today's youth the right mindset for success.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXZ5dm7XFzg
Have you ever seen a fanbase in hip hop as rabid and loyal as Run The Jewels'? Killer Mike and El-P practically started a cult in 2013 with their self titled debut album, though their first collaboration(s) came on Killer Mike's Rap Music album in 2012, where El-P produced every song. The two worked so well together that... you know, the rest is well documented history. There is no fanbase in hip hop like RTJ's, however. Blacks, whites, Asians, kids, men, and women alike all root for Run The Jewels, from places all over the world, and for good reason. Killer Mike's campaign for Bernie Sanders' presidential run, though unsuccessful, sparked a whole class of citizens to root for him and arguably may have opened up a whole new demographic for Bernie, and as cool an old man as Bernie is, he even introduced Run The Jewels at Coachella in 2016. Killer Mike and El-P's constant fight against the evils of America and politics are reminiscent of the values that hip hop was founded upon; values that even Public Enemy would be proud of. Check the link of Mike's Bernie co-sign right below this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikgh4JbAWUU
(*I do not own these pictures, videos, or the rights to any of them*)
You know the craziest part about a hero? No matter if they've stolen a pack of gum, robbed a bank, or even blown up a hospital, if the villain was hanging off the ledge of a skyscraper by their mere fingers shaking in desperation, the hero would still do anything to save them. The attitudes that have been instilled in hip hop haven't all been winners, the "no new friends" and "IDFWU" motto's, and the lack of trust aren't exactly shining examples of what to say or how to act (and believe that these aren't the only examples), but I try to avoid those acts altogether and just stick to the music (though it can be hard sometimes with what some of these guys are saying, or lack thereof). I know how it is because I still get like that sometimes; Budden vs. Drake was like David vs. Goliath, and, just like the story goes, David came out unscathed (say want you want but Budden properly put Drake in his place by EMCEEING). Even in the case of Remy Ma vs. Nicki Minaj, yeah, Remy did go for Nicki's neck, but she stopped once she realized there was no use. Everything Eminem drops is like Superman coming to save the day once again, in the time when we need him most. A character that doesn't change the way that he is because a couple of people don't see the humor in the situations. Maybe they can't be your Superman or Supergirl, but they can be somebody's. And if they aren't setting the example that you wish to see, then there's always the latter; set it yourself. Be the change that you wish to see in the world, and the rest will fall into place.
