Most politically informed writing on Hip-Hop I have had the
pleasure to read in what feels like years. The dynamic nature of
the sets of activities traditionally associated with Hip-Hop
interpreted through a Marxist lens, which entails an
understanding of the forces and counterforces that constitute a
series of historical Dialectical social occurences. This is an
opening discussion on the Dialectics of Hip-Hop, expressed with
an astute, historically accurate perspective and a hopeful tone.
Hopeful of many things, but especially of Hip-Hop’s ongoing
potential to inform, organize and empower communities. 1.
Activity/Labor/Use Value (not “Culture”) – While we might
casually describe hip-hop as a “culture,” it is far more
consistent with its essence to see it as an activity; an
activity that is historic in nature. By historic we mean that it
rests on the shoulders of the social activity of previous
generations of people and is not something abstract, fixed, or
eternal. Positing hip-hop as an activity as opposed t